A CARD FROM THE CALENDAR - KATARZYNA AND STEFAN PYRA, JÓZEF JANCZAREK
September 1942. The Rudniki Szlacheckie village had already finished the harvest. Some of the stubble fields had already been plowed, including those of the local owner of a large farmstead, Jan Pyra. The day was beautiful, sunny, ideal for work. Jan and his niece, Janina, were threshing cereal in the barn, when they glimpsed policemen through the ajar door. “Go slowly through the village, the Germans want to kill you” – said the commanding officer to Jan. The women hid in the cubbyhole above the barn, while the Germans surrounded the farm with lightning speed. They shot Stefan (Jan’s brother), Katarzyna (Jan’s mother) and Józef Janczarek (Jan’s brother-in-law). Some villager reported that they’d been hiding ten Jews in shelter dug in the forest. The young Janina survived in the cubbyhole. Jan also managed to survive and later took care of her. All the hiding Jews were shot dead.
