Young Anna Bogusz worked until 1942, as a house keeper at the Jewish Falik family. Faliks lived in Lwów near Zofia’s Square. At the same time, one of the Faliks’ daughters married Samuel Weirauch. After the outbreak of the war, Anna went to her brother Piotr and his wife Karolina in Oleszyce. Falik family could not longer afford the house keeper. In the second half of 1942, Samuel started sending letters to Anna, asking her to visit him. After Anna’s departure, Samuel and his wife worked at the grouped institutions for people of Jewish origin.

Recently, a woman was deported to Bełżec by the Gestapo. Anna decided to help the man. At the start, they hid him at Andrzej Gazdana’s, her half-brother. The situation affected Andrew’s health, who couldn’t sleep from the stress. He stood watch at night, afraid of the German inspection. It was time to chane the shelter. Samuel moved to Piotr’s and Karolina’s place, who had two children: Matylda and little Gertruda.

Shelter was arranged in the room, under the floor, behind the bed. Everyday, he spent time with the Bogusz family. He slept in the common room on the couch. The house was always locked. Samuel entered the hiding place only when there were guests in the apartment. For example the commandant of the local German police, who visited the apartment shortly after Samuel started living there. Someone most likely reported them. The whole apartment apartment was searched, but the shelter was not found. The suspicions of the commandant were raised by the pipe laying on the table.

Caroline Bogush recalls: „From the details all that I remember is, that the commandant asked us, who smokes a pipe (pipe belonged to Samuel). It was laying on the table. He didn’t manage to take it with him into the hideout. Staying calm, I claimed that I do. I told him my German maiden name, Überle – I think that it convinced him that no one was hiding at our home.”1. My mother told me, that the governor said that he was going to send a Ukrainian policeman, but he changed his mind – Ukrainian would have surely found the hideout and, as they are known for their cruelty, we would have all died. The situation did not repeat itself.

Samuel lived at Bogusz place untill the spring of 1944. Attacks of the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA), led to the family fleeing and losing all their property. Bogusz went to Łańcut, and later to Brzoza Stadnicka. Anna and Samuel ran to Handzlówki. Anna i Samuel uciekli do Handzlówki. The man changed his name to ” Zdzisław Cepak”. He married Anna. After the war they settled in Chełmno. In 50-ies the married couple, together with four children, went to Israel. After some time they moved to the United States. 10 March 1992, Karolina and Piotr Bogusz were recognized by the Yad Vashem Institute as the Righteous Among the Nations of the World.

Bibliography:

  1. FLV, List od Matyldy Relikowskiej (Relacja Karoliny i Piotra Boguszów [odpis z oryginału]), Osiek Jasielski, 18.09.2013 r.