Szwajkajzer Stefan & Teofila (Muraszko); Son: Zbigniew ; Daughter: Wyrzykowska Wanda ; Daughter: Zdanowicz Ewa (Szwajkajzer)

File 2565 SZWAJKAJZER, TEOFILA SZWAJKAJZER, STEFAN SZWAJKAJZER-ZDANOWICZ, EWA (LIGIA) SZWAJKAJZER-WYRZYKOWSKA, WANDA SZWAJKAJZER, ZBIGNIEW Before the war and until 1942, Teofila and Stefan Szwajkajzer, along with their nine children lived in the village of Zimodry, near Kurzeniec [Kołowicze/Wilejka commune, pl. Wilejski county, (pl. Województwo Wileńskie) Wilno voivodeship]. One day in 1941, the priest of Stara Wilejka (a town) asked Teofila to shelter a young Jewish girl named Czertok (later known as- Czereśnia) Czesława, from Wilno. Czesława, at age of seventeen, remained alone in the occupied Wilno. All of her family had been murdered in Ponary. Czesława had escaped from Wilno ghetto and after numerous experiences had found herself in Stara Wilejka (located today in Belarus) and was completely at a loss as to where she could turn for help. Thus, she turned to the local priest who kept her for a couple of weeks until he found shelter for her at the home of a large and devoutly Catholic family - the Szwajkajzers, from Zimodry. As the children: Wanda, Zbigniew and Ewa (Ligia), knew about Czesława’s true identity. Together with their parents, they cared for her needs and security. The head of the family obtained a document from the local municipality of Kurzeniec, “proving” that Czesława was their relative. One day, Czesława received a force labor decree to Germany. Stefan went to Stara Wilejka and, for a bribe, acquired a forge document for Czesława, certifying that she was already employed at a local mill. The document helped Czesława to avoid forced labor in Germany. In the fall of 1942, when the Szwajkajzers moved to Kurzeniec, Czesława was detained because of an informer. In an attempt to release her, Zbigniew went to the police. Before he arrived, Czesława was lucky to flee and reach the house of his sister, Wanda. Wanda was a teacher and hired a room with a peasant family, at a village situated 10 km away from Kurzeniec. Wanda,contacted Czesława her with the local Jewish pharmacist who the partisans and joined their ranks, fighting until the liberation of the area in 1944. After the war, Czesława came back to Kurzeniec in order to locate her foster parents. It turned out that all of the residents were deported during the Nazi’s withdrawal. Czesława went to Zimodry and there she met Teofila, who was looking for the rest of her family. The two women parted under the condition that they would return to Poland. Their next meeting took place in Warsaw in 1948. Czesława was already married. The Szwajkajzers received her and her husband as if they were a family. “Since that time they have been my closest family, despite all of my efforts, I failed to find anyone of my biological relatives,” wrote Czesława in her testimony to Yad Vashem. In 1969, after a painful parting with the Szwajkajzers, Czesława and her family immigrated to Israel. Some time afterwards, through her acquaintances who were on a visit to Poland, she renewed contacts with her wartime rescuers. Zbigniew, by then a resident of London, came to Israel to meet Czesława. On the 21st of April 1983, Yad Vashem recognized Szwajkajzer Stefan his wife, Szwajkajzer Teofila, and their children, Szwajkajzer-Wyrzykowska Wanda, Ewa (Ligia) Szwajkajzer-Zdanowicz, and Szwajkajzer Zbigniew, as Righteous Among the Nations.