Barcikowska Helena (Ząmbroń); Son: Barcikowski Józef ; Son: Barcikowski Tadeusz

File 3277 Barcikowska, Helena Barcikowski, Tadeusz Barcikowski, Józef Helena Barcikowska lived with her two sons in the village of Wiśniowiec in the Tarnopol district. Following the Nazi invasion of the area in 1941, she found employment as an agricultural worker in the fields of a German-administered estate, where she became acquainted with two Jewish brothers from Warsaw, Adam and Michał Gajło. In 1942, when the Jews of the village were incarcerated in a ghetto, Helena decided to take the brothers into her home. Only Adam was able to take advantage of her offer, however, as Michał was bedridden. As a devout Catholic, Helena regarded the saving of human life as both a duty and a privilege. The danger of the undertaking was not lost on her, since the German and Ukrainian police were constantly searching for Jewish fugitives. The house was raided twice, and it was only due to Helena’s astuteness that her activities remained undiscovered. Adam Gajło remained in hiding until October 1943. Helena requested no recompense for sheltering him and, despite her dire financial situation, shared her meager earnings as a seamstress between her Jewish charge and her sons Tadeusz, aged 14, and Józef, aged 13. The latter were actively involved in caring for Adam. They built a hideout for him beneath the house, brought him food, and kept the hiding-place clean. At the end of 1943, Helena obtained a forged birth certificate for Adam and, fearing the intrigues of her Ukrainian neighbors, fled westward with her children before the approaching Russian front. Adam escaped together with them, but afterward their paths separated. Under his new name, Krzysztof Bolesław Sawicki – which he also retained after the war – he moved to Łańcut, where he remained until the liberation. The friendship between him and Tadeusz and Józef continued for many years after the war. On October 10, 1985, Yad Vashem recognized Helena Barcikowska as Righteous Among the Nations. OnDecember 29, 1992, Yad Vashem recognized Tadeusz Barcikowski and his brother – Józef Barcikowski, as Righteous Among the Nations.