Wierzbicki Leopold & Wierzbicka Marianna

Wierzbicki, Leopold Wierzbicki, Marianna Leopold Wierzbicki, a Polish farmer, lived with his wife, Marianna, and son, Kazimierz, in Józki, Poland. When Wolf Alperin, a Jewish former business associate, appeared on his doorstep asking for help surviving the Nazi occupation, Leopold agreed to help. Wolf returned a few days later with his future wife, Zofia Finkelsztejn; her parents, Chaim and Matylda; and two siblings, Abram and Chana. They had all been hiding in the woods in the area. Wolf had run away from the Bransk Ghetto with his mother, Szejna, and brother, Herszko, when the deportations began, but Szejna and Herszko had been discovered and killed by the Nazis. Wierzbicki excavated a pit in his granary for the Jews to hide in. He and Marianna brought food and provisions to them every day for a year and a half. According to Zofia’s testimony, Marianna treated her as a daughter, telling the more trustworthy neighbors that she was her niece, but whenever someone unfamiliar arrived at the farm, Zofia had to hide immediately. The Finkelsztejns moved about somewhat during their hiding period, but Zofia remained with the Wierzbickis, and her family returned there after a while. When one day Chaim left the pit, he was immediately found and murdered, but the rest of the family survived in that granary until the area was liberated in mid-1944. Wolf and Zofia married, and they all moved to Israel. The Polish A.K. (Armia Krajowa Polish military resistance organization), discovered that Leopold had been hiding Jews and murdered him. On July 19, 2016, Yad Vashem recognized Leopold and Marianna Wierzbicki as Righteous Among the Nations.