STRANGER
This week we had the pleasure to meet Mr. Tadeusz Plezia from Ropczyce, in the Podkarpacie region. Mr. Plezia shared with us the story of his father Antoni’s help given to a stranger of Jewish descent in the village of Okonin.
A gentle rustle of locked doors came out of the hallway. Antoni was surprised because he didn’t expect anyone at that time. „The stranger would have knocked,” thought Antoni. Moments later a man jumped onto the kitchen plate out of the blue. Without „good morning”, or anything. He just sat down on the stowe and looked at the wall with an absent eye. Antoni approached him and grabbed his hand. – Come on, I’ll get you a place to sleep – the host turned to the guest in a gentle voice. He took him to the stable and handed him a haystack. When Antoni came over in the morning, the man was already gone. „He probably joined the other Jews who were in the forest,” he thought. „If the Germans don’t track them down, they won’t starve to death there. – he was thinking. And he was right. A childless Skowron couple took care of the Jews who were hiding in the forest in Okonin. Until the end of the occupation, Poles brought them food, medicines and warm clothes.
