Jan Fiałkowski (Fijałkowski) from Lachy near Próżany
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- Jan Fiałkowski (Fijałkowski) from Lachy near Próżany
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Lachy k. Próżany
People
Fiałkowski (Fijałkowski) Jan
– Why has he been gone for so long? – wife of Janek Fijałkowski became increasingly worried.
She had a feeling that something bad had happened. That day, December 8th 1942, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, their home was visited by the Gestapo. At first, the woman was scared, because there was so much going on at their house … someone could see something, report it … But soon afterwards the burden had been lifted.
– Lead us to the village chief – she heard the words of the officers addressed to Jan.
The woman calmed down, thinking her husband would be back soon. However, hours passed and Janek did not return. The clock was ticking louder or so it had seemed to her.
– Mom, where’s dad? – asked the children.
– He had something to do. But he’ll come back, don’t worry – she tried to smile.
In her head, she arranged a conversation with her husband upon his return:
– … no more slaughtering cows for the inhabitants of the Prużan ghetto, no more smuggling food and medicine for Jews. Living in constant fear for my own family is unbearable.
The woman felt growing anxiety, she thought her head could explode at any moment now.
– I know that these are our friends in the ghetto, our good friends from before the war … that we need to help them … but do we have the moral right to decide about the lives and deaths of our children? They are already living in a horrible tension, not understanding much of all these secrets, prohibitions and necessity of silence – she analysed.
Finally, she decided to go looking for the man. She found him in the forest, pierced with two bullets from a German rifle. Her heart was breaking with pain. With her final strength, she wanted to move his body and bury him properly in the cemetery: put a cross, a commemorative plaque. However, the Germans categorically said :
– Nein!”
The man’s body was forever to remain in the forest.
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