A CARD FROM THE CALENDAR - WIKTORIA TOMAL WITH HER CHILDREN
– Tomalko! – a shout sounded. It was Rachela Kohan with her son Eliasz asking for help. The ghetto in Żabno had been liquidated, the woman’s youngest daughter had starved to death, and the Germans deported her other son and daughter to Auschwitz. Eliasz managed to escape from the death train, while Rachela avoided deportation by sneaking out that day to get something to eat. They were both starving and miserable. Prior to the occupation, Eliasz had been friends with Wiktoria’s son, Janek. He knew that the Polish family from Nieciecza would not refuse them help. They dug a dugout in their barn. At night, they took walks along the Dunajec River. Janek’s younger sisters, Stasia and Józka, were also involved in helping them. After the War, Eliasz married a Jewish woman who survived in a neighbouring village thanks to the sacrifice of another Polish family. They had two children and left for the USA.
