Sikora Wojciech & Aniela (Białek); Daughter: Flak Władysława (Sikora)

Sikora Wojciech Sikora Aniela Flak-Sikora Władysława In the summer of 1942, during the liquidation of local Jewish communities, Klara Kantor (later Karni), a young Jewess from the town of Otynia, in the county of Tłumacz, in Eastern Galicia, began looking for a hiding place in the surrounding villages. One day, as she wandered through the marketplace of the nearby town of Kołomyja, Aniela Sikora noticed her and asked her where she was going. Klara replied that she was going to Otynia. Aniela asked Klara to accompany her to Święty Stanisław where she lived. On the way, Klara, who felt she could trust Aniela, told her she was Jewish and before they parted, Aniela told her that she could come to her if ever she was in trouble. Soon after, Klara took up the offer of help. Aniela and Wojciech Sikora, who had six children, the eldest of whom (Władysława) was eighteen, could barely make ends meet and lived off the proceeds of their small farm and the occasional carpentry job Wojciech undertook. The above notwithstanding, they made Klara welcome and shared their meager fare with her, until the area was liberated in the spring of 1944. When Klara informed the Sikoras that a friend of hers from Otynia with a two-year-old daughter was unable to find a hiding place, Wojciech went to Otynia, brought the little girl – Ryśka Londner – back with him, looked after her, and treated her like one of the family. Later, it transpired that Ryśka’s mother had perished. In risking their lives to save Jews, the Sikoras were guided by compassion, and never expected anything in return. Their children, who were raised in the same spirit of compassion, kept Klara’s presence a secret throughout her stay. After the war, Klara immigrated to Israel, and the Sikoras resettled within Poland’s postwar borders. In 1993, Klara invited two of Sikora’s daughters to visit her in Israel. On November 17, 1992, Yad Vashem recognized Aniela and Wojciech Sikora and their daughter, WładysławaFlak-Sikora, as Righteous Among the Nations. File 5611