Flondra Jan & Maria

Flondra, Jan Wojciech Flondra, Maria Harry Sperber, who lived in Debno, in the county of Krakow, was interned with his wife and two daughters in the ghetto of the nearby town of Brzesko. During the liquidation of the ghetto, the four members of the Sperber family escaped from the ghetto. After wandering around for about three weeks, they were discovered by policemen who killed Sperber’s wife and their two daughters on the spot. Sperber himself managed to escape, and found a provisional shelter, where he met Regina Glassner, who had also lost all her family. In June 1943, Sperber moved into the home of Jan and Maria Flondra, who knew him from before the war. Although the Flondras agreed to hide him for a few days only, he ended up staying with them, despite the danger. One day in June 1943, when Sperber emerged from his hiding place, he came across Glassner and took her back with him to the Flondras. The Flondras, guided by humanitarian motives, which overrode considerations of personal safety or economic hardship, looked after Sperber and Glassner for eighteen months until the area was liberated by the Red Army. After the war, Sperber married Glassner, and they moved to the United States. On January 18, 1983, Yad Vashem recognized Jan Wojciech Flondra, and his wife, Maria Flondra as Righteous Among the Nations.