Wartime Rescue of Jews by the Polish Catholic Clergy

earby Wola Rzeczycka, or at least the father and son did, with the mother attending occasionally. …

But one more step was necessary. During the winter of 1943 little Jurek began confirmation [sic] classes along with Andrzej Migdalek and other boys his age. The parish priest, Father Sebastianski [Sebastyański], had been briefed by Father Okon and was sympathetic. …

Jurek and Andrzej did well in the confirmation classes, and as a result they were selected to serve as altar boys during evening masses. …

The culmination of this religious training took place in May of 1943 when Jurek Kosinski, along with Andrzej Migdalek and the other local boys of his age, received Holy Communion for the first time. To celebrate the occasion the Kosinskis gave a party, not only for Jurek but for all the children taking First Communion. …

The party was held in the churchyard at Wola Rzeczycka, and benches were set out for the children with cookies and cups of hot cocoa—an unheard-of luxury.
Two rescue stories involve assistance from clergymen in Baranów Sandomierski, located near Sandomierz and Tarnobrzeg. It is not clear whether they pertain to the same child. The local pastor issued a baptismal certificate for a Jewish girl who was adopted by Franciszka Surowiec in 1942. The girl survived the war and was taken by relatives after the war.³⁰⁴ The daughter of Mala Perlmutter from Tarnobrzeg was abandoned with a note stating she was the daughter of a Polish army officer who had been killed by the Germans and that her mother could not look after her. Although widely suspected of being Jewish, the child was protected by Karol Wawrzycki, a local high school. She was sheltered in the parish rectory where she was cared for by the priest’s housekeeper. An aunt came to claim the child after the war.³⁰⁵
Karolina Jus (née Frist) and her Gentile husband Andrzej Jus described the assistance they received from Eugeniusz Baziak, auxiliary bishop of Lwów, and various priests in southeastern Poland, in their published memoirs, Our Journey in the Valley of Tears (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991). (Tonia Desiato, “Faith and love guided couple through ‘valley of tears’,” The Catholic Register, Toronto, November 9, 1991.)
In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and soon after Lwów was also occupied by the Nazis. The young couple had planned to marry but the occupation made their marriage a dangerous one. …

“My husband is a hero, he saved me,” she said. “People don’t understand that Poles were risking their lives; he was not obliged to marry me, nor help me.

“If a Pole was found giving a glass of water to a Jew his penalty was death and that would also be Andrzej's penalty for loving me.” …

It was in their deep despair that they turned to the Catholic Church for help.

Mrs. Jus and her family were very faithful to their religion and she never considered converting to Catholicism. She knew, however, that by following the Jewish religion she placed not only herself but her future husband and his family in danger.

The distraught young woman thought and prayed all night before making a decision …

The bishop of Lwów [Eugeniusz Baziak] began preparations not only for Mrs. Jus’s baptism and marriage but also to conceal her Jewish identity. Changing her past was the only way to save her from death …

It was no easy task and Mr. Jus risked his life in making all the necessary arrangements and countless trips to give his future wife a new birth certificate and a recorded baptism.

He did this with the help of Father Alojzy Palus. During the day, the young priest studied the archdiocesan records looking for the proper spot to place Mrs. Jus’s birth and baptismal dates.

Painstakingly, the two men entered the new dates and names using thinned ink, to make the writing seem worn.

Her place and date of birth and the names of her parents were changed. Her date of baptism and her godparents were created and the couple’s marriage date was entered as December 1938 before the outbreak of the war. …

Mrs. Jus’s family did not accept the offer of the local Catholic church and bishop to hide in a nearby convent. The offer was made with no strings attached, the Church was not looking for conversions, said Mr. Jus, just to give them refuge.