European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

Hiding a Jew, Maria, at home

The daughter of a lawyer, a Jew, his name was Holzkener,

his daughter Maria, I took her out of the ghetto, when the ghetto was being built,

when the wall was built, I took her to our place,

so that she could live there, and for the whole time till my arrest, she lived at our place.

Loyalty was great.

And the fact that we were in touch, my mother was in touch with Jews.

Many people living there in Hołówki Street, knew about this.

I know it from my mother, that after my arrest, the girl lived at our place for a while.

Later on, she was scared.

I do not know the exact reason, but she moved from my mother for a short time.

And then, it was in 1943 I guess, the Germans announced in Warsaw,

that Jews who will come to Polski Hotel will be sent for an exchange to Turkey.

As an exchange for German prisoners.

It was the version from my mother.

And she, my mother, she said that everybody advised her not to go that but she agreed,

because she was scared as it grew harder after 1942.

After the uprising 1943 in the ghetto it was really hard. It was before the uprising in ghetto.

None of the transport went to Turkey, it took some time when other free people,

and in Warsaw there were a couple of thousands of Jews on the Aryan side,