Tyż Grzegorz & Maria (Koreniuk)

TYŻ, GRZEGORZ TYŻ, MARIA SKRZESZEWSKA, HELENA Helena Skrzeszewska resided in a villa in the village of Jelechowice, near Zloczow, in Eastern Galicia. Prior to the war, she rented out rooms for summer residents and hence became acquainted with the Sten and Tennenbaum families, two Jewish families. In 1939, Helena and her husband, Karol, fled to western Poland. They left their home under the protection of Grzegorz Tyż and Maria Koreniuk (Grzegorz and Maria later married). In August 1942, as deportations from Zloczow were underway, Grzegorz and Maria offered Anna Sten and her son Efraim shelter in the villa. Grzegorz took their belongings to his village while Anna and Efraim moved to Jelechowice following the second Aktion in Zloczow in November 1942. The Stens were given a room and one week later Helena Skrzeszewska returned to Jelechowice. After the liquidation of the ghetto in Zloczow in April 1943, the Stens’ protectors rescued Anna’s cousin, Elisabeth Tennenbaum and her husband Samuel as well as their two daughters, Edith (seven years old) and Selma (eight years old) and Elisabeth’s mother, Basia Horowitz. One month later, their acquaintance Edith Weinstock and her daughter Eva joined them. All the fugitives lived in one room, but in case of danger they were able to hide in a hideaway arranged by Grzegorz, which could be entered through a wardrobe, located in the room. Grzegorz sold clothes, linens and other things that he got from the hidden Jews and in return, he bought flour, coffee, fat and other essential items for his wards. In November 1943, the hiding Jews learned by chance that the Parilles family was being hidden in Helena’s stable. On July 16, 1944, Jelechowice was liberated and all of the hidden Jews were able to emerge from their hideouts. Altogether, fourteen had been saved. After the war, the survivors left Poland, some for Israel and others for the United States. On May 25, 1988, Yad Vashem recognized Grzegorz Tyż, his wife, MariaTyż and Helena Skrzeszewska as Righteous Among the Nations.