Zaleska Helena (Harasymiszyn); Sister: Harasymiszyn Franciszka

Harasymyszyn, Franciszka Zaleska, Helena (Harasymyszyn) From their youth, the sisters, Franciszka, b.1902, and Helena, b.1911, Harasymyszyn, from the village of Nowiki, were employed as nannies and housekeepers by the Strikers, a Jewish family who was living in the adjacent town of Zbaraz (Tarnopol District, today, Ukraine). They remained loyal to their employers even during the harshest times of the German occupation. In 1943, Franciszka and Helena decided to rescue the Striker family before the liquidation of the ghetto in Zbaraz. They smuggled Cecilia, the mother, and her two sons, Jakub and Menachem, to their home in the village, where they sheltered them for 16 months in a camouflaged hiding place they had prepared in the courtyard, until the liberation in the spring of 1944. Throughout this period the sisters supplied the fugitives with food and helped them in other ways as well, all the while maintaining strict secrecy, not even telling their parents or close relatives who were living in the vicinity. The Strikers did not forget the devotion of the two women. They remained in touch with them and provided them with financial support after immigrating to Israel and establishing themselves. On October 13, 2003, Yad Vashem recognized Franciszka Harasymyszyn and her sister, Helena Harasymyszyn-Zaleska, as Righteous Among the Nations.