Struk Stefania ; Son: Tadeusz

Struk, Stefania Struk, Tadeusz The family of Mosze and Cyla (née Levitt) Eisenstein lived in the town of Chodorów (Lwów District). It consisted of their children, Toby and Betty, Cyla's sister Rywka, Rywka’s husband, Yehuda Kneidel, and their children, Eli and Róża, and the grandmother, Dora Levitt. Mosze Eisenstein was the proprietor of a textile store, which was located next to his home. In the fall of 1942, as the Germans began to deport the town’s Jews for extermination, Mosze did not wait until the last moment but asked one of his loyal clients, Stefania Struk, to shelter his entire extended family, promising to reimburse her when they survived. Stefania was a poor woman who was barely able to provide for her family from her vegetable patch and a few animals. Her situation worsened when her husband was called up for service in the Red Army and she remained at home with her two children, then 19 and 17. Nevertheless, she hid the whole Jewish family in the hayloft behind her house. It was clear from the outset that owing to her circumstances they would have to obtain food on their own. They left their refuge occasionally to get what they needed, so it was only a matter of time before they would be discovered. Indeed, one evening the police arrived and searched for Jews in hiding but fortunately did not find the fugitives. However, the incident unnerved Stefania and she asked the family leave. Just before the family was about to leave, Stefania’s younger son, Tadeusz, entered the picture. He told them to wait and built them a spacious – and better hidden – place of shelter. He also undertook to provide their material needs. Relations improved, and the entire family remained until the liberation in the summer of 1944. Mosze Eisenstein was as good as his word. After the war, before he and his family emigrated, he transferred his remaining assets, including his house, to Stefania. She and Tadeusz had risked their lives to save a family of nine souls. The Eisensteins continued to help the Struks from their new home in the United States. On December 23, 2004, Yad Vashem recognized Stefania Struk and her son, Tadeusz Struk, as Righteous Among the Nations.