Górniak Tatiana ; Son: Jan ; Son: Michał ; Daughter-In-Law: Józefa

Górniak, Tatiana Górniak, Jan Górniak, Michał Górniak, Józefa After their parents died, Shmuel and Arie Halpern, residents of Chorostkow in the Tarnopol district, were interned in the Kamionka Strumilowa labor camp. In July 1943, when the camp was surrounded by German and Ukrainian police in readiness for its liquidation, the Halpern brothers escaped. With great difficulty, they reached the village of Iwanowka, where they knocked on the door of the Górniaks, former acquaintances of their parents. Tatiana Górniak gave them a warm reception, while her husband, sons (Jan and Michał), and daughter-in-law prepared a hiding place for the fugitives in the loft of their cowshed, where the whole family protected and looked after them. One night, a gang of Ukrainian nationalists raided the farm, killing Tatiana’s husband and brother. The fact that her son, Michał, slept with the Halpern brothers in their hiding place, saved his life – which the Górniaks interpreted as a miracle and a divine recompense for helping the Jews. Jan, Tatiana’s eldest son, and his wife, Józefa, who lived in another building, also participated in the rescue effort. In endangering their lives to help the Halpern brothers, the Górniaks were acting out of simple humanity, and a loyalty which triumphed over adversity Later, Arie Halpern, who immigrated to Israel, and his brother Shmuel, who immigrated to the United States, kept up contact with their saviors’ family. Michał and Józefa later came to Jerusalem, where they were given a hero’s welcome in a ceremony specially held on their behalf. On May 9, 1985, Yad Vashem recognized Tatiana Górniak, her sons Jan and Michał, and her daughter-in-law, Józefa, as Righteous Among the Nations.