 |
(From left to right) Amy Lakritz, Anna Wolyniec,
Bronislawa Skoczylas, Jay Lakritz and Sheldon Haber
in the Hall of Remembrance following the ceremony |
In
a touching ceremony on Thursday, January 16, 2014
Yad Vashem held an
event posthumously honoring Maria Zurawska as Righteous Among the Nations. The
medal and certificate of honor were accepted by her daughter Bronislawa
Skoczylas who arrived from Poland to attend the ceremony. Family members of the
late Righteous Among the Nations Maria Zurawska from Poland and descendants of Julia Lakritz
z’’l, the Holocaust survivor she rescued, from the United
States gathered for an emotional celebration of the special life of a woman whose
rescue of an entire family, under extraordinary risk to herself and her family,
was befitting of this special recognition.
 |
Cantor Yonatan Hainowitz recites Psalms during the memorial ceremony
in the Hall of Remembrance |
The
event began with a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance and continued on
to the recognition event. During the ceremony, Anna Wolyniec, the grandaughter
of Righteous Among the Nations Maria Zurawska spoke from the heart evoking the memory
of her grandmother and the sacrifices she made in protecting the Jewish women from
persecution and certain death. In the summer of 1943, Helen Haber (nee Scheps) was warned by a labor
camp guard of the upcoming liquidation of the camp in which she was imprisoned.
Helen managed to escape and join her mother Gittel and her daughter Julia Haber
(later Lakritz) who had fled to the forests. Julia was just 5 years old, very
sick and her body was covered with sores. Desperate and ill, the three reached
the house of Maria Zurawska in the summer of 1943.
 |
(From left to right) Amy Lakritz, Polish Ambassador to Israel Jacek
Hodorowicz, Bronislawa Skoczylas, Anna Wolyniec and members of the
two families |
The
next to offer words at the ceremony was Amy Lakritz, daughter of Holocaust
survivor Julia
Lakritz
z’’l, who spoke about her mother and grandmother and the
continuation of the connection between the two families, binded by “the
kindness of one woman (Maria Zurawska) who is very much a
Righteous Among the Nations.” When the Haber women arrived at her house, Maria
had just been widowed only a year earlier after her husband Josef was killed
along with four Jews who he had sheltered. Despite this, and despite remaining alone
with five children, Maria agreed to hide the three Jewish fugitives in the
bunker which had been made specifically by her husband to hide Jews. Maria
looked after the young Julia with devotion and love, until she regained her
strength.
 |
(From left to right) Granddaughter Anna Wolyniec and daughter Bronislawa
Skoczylas accept the medal of honor and certificate on behalf of Righteous
Among the Nations Maria Zurawska presented by Dr. Ehud Loeb and David
Falkowicz, members of the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous
Among the Nations |
 |
Amy Lakritz, daughter of the late Holocaust survivor Julia Lakritz z''l
embraces Bronislawa Skoczylas, daughter of Righteous Among the
Nations Maria Zurawska |
The last person to address the event was Polish Ambassador to Israel Jacek Hodorowicz who remarked
that while each individual Righteous story is in its own right unique, this one
in particular stood out for him concerning the level of Maria’s self-sacrifice.
One day, the Germans
came to Maria's house looking for hidden Jewish people. Without missing a beat,
Maria calmly explained to them that the Jews were at the end of the street and
persuaded them to leave. Immediately afterwards, Maria left her home with her
children and the three hidden Jews in a horse and buggy. Together they moved to
the village of Koltow, where Maria's parents lived and remained there until the
summer of 1944 when the area was liberated. After the war, the Jewish survivors
left Poland and traveled west where they settled in the Domincian Republic and
later in the United States. They asked Maria to join them but she opted to stay
with her family in Poland. Over the years, the Lakritz family and Maria kept
in touch by exchanging letters until her death in 1996.
 |
(Front row from left to right) Jay Lakritz, Bronislawa Skoczylas, Amy Lakritz,
Sheldon Haber. (Back row from left to right): First three: Grandaughter and
great-grandaughters of Righteous Among the Nations Maria Zurawska
and family members and descendants of Julia Lakritz z''l |
The
event took place in the presence of H.E. Polish Ambassador to Israel Jacek
Hodorowicz, Jay and Amy Lakritz, the children of the late Holocaust survivor
Julia Lakritz who came from the U.S., Sheldon Haber, brother of the late
Holocaust survivor, grandaughter and two great-granddaughters of the Righteous
Among the Nations from Poland, Holocaust survivors, Members of the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous Among the
Nations, family members and friends. The
medal of honor and certificate were presented by Dr. Ehud Loeb and David Falkowicz, members of the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous Among
the Nations, and the Director of the Department of the Righetous Among the
Nations at Yad Vashem Irena Steinfeldt.
In a video testimony screened for the
families at the conclusion of the event, Holocaust survivor Julia Lakritz who
passed away in 2006 was shown describing Maria
Zurawska’s direct and heartfelt response when asked why she came to the
aid of the Haber family during the Shoah: “It’s the right thing to do.”
On October 16, 2013, the Commission for the
Designation of the Righteous Among the Nations of Yad Vashem decided to
recognize Maria Zurawska as a Righteous Among the Nations.
For more information about
the Righteous Among the Nations please visit the Yad Vashem website:
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/
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