Małysiak Albin

Małysiak, Albin Wilemska, Bronisława During the occupation, Reverend Albin Małysiak and Sister Bronisława Wilemska helped five Jews. At that time, Sister Bronisława was the head of the Helcls Home for the Aged and Retarded in Kraków, where Reverend Albin was chaplain. In 1943, five Jews came to the home and stayed there as wards: Katarzyna Styczeń, 45; Helena Kachel, 50; Zbigniew Koszanowski, who was in his forties; Henryk Juański, who was in his thirties, and another man who was aged between 30 and 35. They were provided with forged papers, meals, and clothing. “We helped them for humanitarian reasons. Jesus Christ told us to love everybody,” wrote Reverend Albin in his testimony to Yad Vashem. In the spring of 1944, all the tenants of the Home, including the sisters, nurses, and secular staff, were deported by the Germans to Szczawnica Zdrój, Nowy Sącz district. The five Jews also went along to Szczawnica as if they were regular residents of the home. “Nearly all those living in the Home knew that Sister Wilemska and I were hiding Jews,” wrote Rev. Albin. Many of the residents of Szczawnica knew it too, but no one informed the authorities, despite the fact that there was a German police post in the neighborhood. Helena Kachel died in the fall of 1944. Soon afterwards, Katarzyna Styczeń also died. The men survived until the liberation in January 1945. Katarzyna’s daughter, Maria Rolicka, went to Szczawnica after receiving news of her mother’s death. “I talked to the sisters and the Reverend father who helped my mother and the four other Jews,” she wrote. Reverend Albin told her that he and her mother had many “long talks and discussions. We used to walk in Górny Park in Szczawnica and discuss different problems of Jews, Poles, and humanity in general.” On November 21, 1993, Yad Vashem recognized Reverend Albin Małysiak as Righteous Among the Nations. On April 25, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Sister Bronisława Wilemska as Righteous Among the Nations. Files 5895, 5895a