Jaremków Jan & Tekla ; Son: Edward

Jaremków Jan Jaremków Tekla Jaremków Edward During the German occupation, Jan and Tekla Jaremków, with their children, Władysław, Janina, Tadeusz, Edward and Bronisław, all lived in the small village of Kobeleńczyzna (a little hamlet of Strutyń), near Złoczów (now Zolochiv, Ukraine). They were Catholic farmers who owned their own farm. Jan Jaremków oversaw the construction of a bridge for which the Germans brought Jewish workers from the nearby forced labor camp. Among those laborers was Isaac Silber from Złoczów. Persuaded by his oldest daughter Janina, Jan agreed to help Isaac organize his own escape as well as that of his brother-in-law, Münz. They came to the Jaremkóws in May 1943 and prepared a hiding place under the barn to which they brought their families from the Złoczów ghetto. In September 1943, the rescuers agreed to take in additional relatives who had been hiding in the forest and who had been discovered by Wiesław, a forester and Janina’s boyfriend. They also took in children of other Jewish families hiding in the forest. They assisted another young Jew who found his way to their farm, providing him with food and a hiding place in the forest and later in a bunker. The Jaremkóws not only provided the Jews with shelter and food but also brought them newspapers and books. The food was prepared by Tekla, the mother, and brought to the barn by her children, especially by the 17-year-old Edward. In sheltering 14 Jews, the Jaremkóws were motivated by the desire to save lives despite the reservations of their two older sons who left the farm fearing for their own safety. The Jews they cared for had no financial resources to offer in exchange. They left their hiding places on July 20, 1944, under the cover of night, to protect the Jaremkóws from their neighbors. After the war, the survivors immigrated separately to the United States, Canada and Israel, staying in touch with their rescuers and providing them with financial assistance. On September3, 2000, Yad Vashem recognized Jan and Tekla Jaremków and their son Edward as Righteous Among the Nations. File 8970