Burek Gabriela (Marczewska); Mother: Klajn Ryszard

Smolińska-Bełza, Michalina Klajn, Gabriela-Józefa Klajn, Ryszard Klajn, Zofia-Agnieszka Files 6052, 6052a Several Jewish families lived in Potok Stany (Lublin district), including the Goldsztajns—husband, wife, and three daughters. In 1942, the Jews in this village were ordered to report to the nearby town of Zaklików, where they were interned in the ghetto. The five Goldsztajns decided to remain in their village and moved from hideout to hideout in their former neighbors’ homes. The police quickly became aware of the presence of Jewish refugees in the village, conducted a raid, and swept up four of the Goldsztajns, who vanished without a trace. Only one of the daughters, Cyrla, was spared because during the police raid she was at the home of her classmate, Michalina Bełza. After the raid, Bełza concealed Cyrla in her parents’ home and provided her provisionally with care and shelter. Cyrla had to leave her friend’s home several weeks later and, in search of an alternative hideout, moved from house to house as few of her many acquaintances agreed to offer her temporary asylum. After much hardship, persecution, and anguish she reached the home of Gabriela-Józefa Klajn, a widow who lived with her son Ryszard and her daughter Zofia-Agnieszka. Although the police frequently raided the area in search of Jews, the three Klajns protected the orphaned Cyrla, met all her needs, and sought nothing in return. Their only motives in saving Cyrla Goldsztajn’s life were pity for their former neighbor and sheer humanitarianism. Goldstein was liberated in July 1944 and moved to France after the war. On April 12, 1994, Yad Vashem recognized Michalina Smolińska, nee Bełza, and Gabriela-Józefa Klajn, her son Ryszard, and her daughter Zofia-Agnieszka as Righteous Among the Nations.