Kotarski Wacław & Kotarska Marcelina ; Son: Kazimierz ; Son: Czesław ; Daughter: Zalech Janina (Kotarska); Daughter-In-Law: Kotarska Irena

Kotarski, Wacław Kotarska, Marcelina Kotarski, Czesław-Kazimierz Zalech-Kotarska, Janina Kotarska, Irena In August 1942, Batsheva Szpigel, Shulamit Muszkat, and Shulamit's mother escaped from the massacre perpetrated against the Jews of the town of Rozyszcze and its environs, in the Volhynia district. During the flight, Shulamit's mother became separated from the girls, who continued on their own, wandering through fields and villages populated by hostile Ukrainians. After several days of wandering, the girls reached the home of Waclaw and Marcelina Kotarski, poor Polish peasants who lived with their three children on the village outskirts. The Kotarskis, inspired by humanitarian principles and Christian love, sheltered the two refugees in their home without expecting anything in return. Despite the danger to their lives and the economic hardship involved, they prepared special hiding places for the girls, looked after them devotedly, and saw to all their needs. Their children, Janina, Czeslaw Kazimierz, and Irena, helped them and kept the refugees' presence secret from friends and neighbors alike. Later, Shulamit was reunited with her mother, who, after months of wandering through forests, found her way to the Kotarskis' home. The two girls and Shulamit's mother stayed in their hiding place until July 1944, when the area was liberated, After the war, the girls immigrated to Israel and in 1988, invited Czeslaw Kazimierz Kotarski to visit them. On June 23, 1988, Yad Vashem recognized Marcelina and Wacław Kotarski, their son Czesław-Kazimierz, and their daughters, Janina Zalech (née Kotarska) and Irena Kotarska, as Righteous Among the Nations.