European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

We had stayed in touch with the Rudziński family,

I mean me and the Świezewski family used to go there,

all of them knew about Maryśka coming,

maybe some documents were needed to give to Maryśka so the church was also a good place.

Those two men, these village leaders, did not let Gestapo get to Orwidów two or three times.

When the Gestapo came and started investigating the inhabitants,

Mr. Žemaitis went to his farm house, bringing rotgut from there, some meat - they organized a big party and informed me.

Hiding a Jewish girl: Sonia; Gestapo’s raid

One beautiful day Jadzia came to me and said:

Nitson is asking if you would mind taking his niece to your place, Sonia,

as they live in the forest in the shelter and Sonia cannot stand this place any more,

she gets angry and would prefer to live among people.

Sonia is fifteen years old, is a daughter of a rich sales man in the town called Niemenczyn

and his Mr. Rubin Nitson`s sister he also was a rich sales man,

she could not speak Polish very well.

Does she have papers? No, she does not.

They managed somehow to leave the ghetto in Niemenczyn, they were hiding a few kilometers from us next to Drzwiniany.

But what was Sonia is going to do?

Sonia and Janusz could mind the cows.

Janusz, he was my mum`s cousin`s son, who was sent by his aunt in summer to Orwidów