Jan Celej and Stefan Kapczyński - murdered for helping Jews
Place
Kotłówka
People
Celej Jan
Kapczyński Stefan
Kapczyński Grzegorz
– Hey, Stefan, what’s that noise? – the neighbour, Jan Celej, who was visiting him, expressed his clear concern in his voice. Stefan Kapczyński stalled. – It’ s Germans… – he whispered. And he was right. A moment later, the German gendarmerie and navy blue policemen were roaming the house and the whole farm of Stefan Kapczyński, located on the outskirts of Kotłówka village. Terka Holtzhandler, a Jewish woman from nearby Żelechów, was found hiding there. 33-year-old Stefan and 28-year-old Jan were murdered for helping and hiding a person of Jewish origin. Of course, the Jewish woman was also killed. The bodies remained in public view until the evening. Later, the navy blue police from Żelechów ordered to bury them. Several days later, the neighbors took the corpse to the cemetery. After the war, the woman’s remains were probably taken away by the Jewish family.
Today, on the edge of the village where the tragedy took place, there is a monument commemorating this event, founded by Grzegorz Kapczyński, grandson of the murdered.
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