Gwozdowicz Matylda ; Daughter: Kowalewska Helena (Gwozdowicz); Daughter: Irena

Gwozdowicz Matylda Gwozdowicz Irena Kowalewska-Gwozdowicz Helena As school friends, Irena Gwozdowicz and Ludwika Rozen, from the town of Bursztyn in the Stanisławów district, spent a lot of time at each other’s house. Before the war, the Gwozdowiczes moved to the town of Przemyśl, while Ludwika and her parents remained in Bursztyn. After the German occupation, the Rozens were interned in the local ghetto and in 1942, when the Germans began liquidating the local Jewish communities, Ludwika fled from the ghetto to the Gwozdowiczes in Przemyśl, where they gave her a warm reception. Irena’s mother, Matylda, and her sister, Helena, obtained “Aryan” documents for Ludwika, passed her off as the daughter of their maid, who, under Soviet rule, had been exiled to Siberia, and found work for her in a German soldier’s club (Soldatenheim). In saving Rozen’s life, the Gwozdowiczes were prompted by humanity, religious faith, and a loyalty that triumphed over adversity. Rozen stayed with the Gwozdowiczes until the area was liberated in July 1944. After the war, Ludwika immigrated to Israel where, in 1963, Irena Gwozdowicz, her friend and savior, came to visit her. On May 25, 1988, Yad Vashem recognized Matylda Gwozdowicz and her daughters, Irena Gwozdowicz and Helena Kowalewska-Gwozdowicz, as Righteous Among the Nations. File 3869