The area surrounding the village of Szwejki became quieter. The Germans had finished their manhunt, although they knew that many Jews had managed to escape. – There will be time for another one – the Germans hoped. A large group of the pursued hid in the barn of Marianna and Jan Kur. At this point, they carefully left the barn, looking for safer hiding places. – Can I stay with you? – timidly asked one of the women, the only one who stayed. Before the war, she had been a maths teacher, living in Sterdynia. – I will not go to the ghetto, as only death can happen there,” she lowered her head. The Kur family had to take some time to think about it. There were six of them living in the house – with Jan’s mother and their three children. The youngest was 6 years old, the oldest was 12. – We cannot hide her in the barn. That’s the first place the Germans will look – Jan thought aloud. – We would have to dig a cellar… Mom, no one will dare to look under your bed. They won’t think of it – Jan turned to his mother. – But you have to hide it in a clever way”, answered the elderly lady. – Otherwise I would not have proposed – agreed Jan. And as he thought it out, so he did. It was the beginning of the summer of 1941.

Summer had passed, autumn had come, and winter had arrived. – Happy New Year! May this war end quickly – wished each other in Kurów on 1 January 1942. The next day, they had unannounced guests: members of the Navy-Blue Police. – We are here to take the Jewish girl you are hiding”, they announced, going straight to the room with Władysława’s bed. In a short time, they led both the Jewish woman and Marianna out of the house. Both women were taken to Sterdynia and put in a building that served as a detention centre. At night, there was a noticeable commotion among the prisoners. Someone quietly said: „Partisans are coming for us, we are running away! – Shall we go? – a Jewish woman turned to Marianna. The Polish woman was clearly fighting with herself, finally she answered: „No. I have three children. If I run away, they will kill them. For sure.”

At the end of January, information came to the Kur family: 'Marianna Kur has been transported to Siedlce’. And that was all. No more news regarding the fate of Marianna Kur and the hidden female teacher reached the Kur family. Most probably they were shot in the Kirkut. Marianna’s husband, Jan Kur, was in hiding for 3 years, and his children were looked after by their grandmother.

PHOTOS

  • Henryka Lisowska

    Henryka Lisowska