Płaksej Zachariasz & Bronisława ; Daughter: Kisielewska Paulina (Płaksej)

Płaksej, Zachariasz Płaksej, Bronisława Kisielewska-Płaksej, Paulina Zachariasz and Bronisława Płaksej lived with their daughter Paulina in Kalusz, in Eastern Galicia, and before the occupation, enjoyed excellent relations with the local Jews. The Płaksej family was known for its friendly relations with Jews and during the occupation, they extended help to all the Jews that knocked on their door asking for help. It was known in the ghetto of the town that any Jewish child arriving on their doorstep would be given a bowl of hot soup, and in the summer of 1942, when the Germans began to deport the Jews to death camps, the Płaksej family did whatever it could to help save Jews, both those they knew as well as Jews they had never met before. In the autumn of 1942, Miriam Helfgot arrived at the home of the Płaksej family, after she fled from a train on the way to the Belzec death camp. Helfgot planned to continue on to Krakow, and despite the fact that before the war she had not had any particular connection to the Płaksej family, they invited her to stay and hid her in their home for a few weeks. Afterwards, Zachariasz Płaksej took her to a relative of his that lived in Lwow, and using false "Aryan" papers, she found work in Austria as a Pole and was thus saved. After the liquidation of the Kalusz ghetto, 10-year-old Rosa Unger remained all alone and looked for somewhere to hide. After she learned that the Płaksej family was willing to help Jews, she came to them for help, although she had never met them before. The Płaksej family eventually found her a Ukrainian family that agreed to hide her in return for regular payment that the Płaksejs gave them. Płaksej visited Rosa for many months in her place of hiding and brought her clothes. The Płaksej family also helped save the lives of Sara and Shalom Szapira and their young son Chaim, as well as the life of David Halperin. Everything the Płaksej family did to save Jews was motivated by religious-moral principles,and they never asked for any remuneration for their efforts. After the war, the survivors left Poland. Most immigrated to Israel, some to the United States and the Płaksej family moved to an area within the new Polish borders. On February 15, 1979, Yad Vashem recognized Bronisława Płaksej and her husband Zachariasz Płaksej as Righteous Among the Nations. On December 28, 1987, Yad Vashem recognized Paulina Kisielewska (née Płaksej) as Righteous Among the Nations.