A CARD FROM THE CALENDAR - ALEKSANDRA SKŁODOWSKA AND HIERONIM SKŁODOWSKI
The Skłodowskis had lived in the Skłody-Piotrowice village for generations. Aleksandra, the family elder, was already well advanced in years, sick and bed-ridden. Her oldest son, Hieronim, acted as the head of the household. He took tender care of his mother and cherished his wife and five underage children. On 19 January 1944, the fire under the stove in the Skłodowskis’ little cottage was beginning to die down somewhat, and a cold wind blew outside, when a neighbour knocked on their door. “They’re going to search your house, they’re already getting ready” – he warned Hieronim. The Jews hiding in the barn left their shelter the same night so as not to endanger their hosts. The Germans surrounded the Skłodowskis’ farmstead first thing in the morning. While they only managed to discover an empty hideout that the Jews had luckily managed to vacate, it was clear to the Germans that somebody had been hiding there very recently. The whole family was chased out of their home. “Kill the crone if she can’t get up” – shouted a policeman to his colleague before shooting Hieronim himself. Both the mother and her son were dead. The wife, Amelia, and all the children were put into the Jasienica jail, where they spent the next week.
