Main Commission for the Investigation of Crimes
against the Polish Nation
in Warsaw
I am writing on behalf of my mother, Janina Śpiewak, because since childhood I have been listening to her stories about how, during the war, she helped people who needed it and asked for it.
At that time she lived in Częstochowa, in the Prędziszów district, near a quarry, aerodrome, and munitions factory. At her place, mum prepared breakfasts and dinners for people of Jewish origin who were transported from the Częstochowa ghetto for labor in the quarry. She used the food products which she also had smuggled across the border, carrying them on her back, as she often visited nearby villages. Frequently, she also put Jews up for a night at her place or in the basement, where it would be relatively safe.
This took place more or less from 1941 to 1943, when the Częstochowa ghetto was liquidated. Around that period, educated people visited my mum, such as doctors or dentists. My mum remembers the names of Mr. Jakub Fiszer and Mr. Grojnowski, along with Ms. Jadwiga, who was also a dentist from Łódź.
She did not know the names of other people because at that time she was afraid to know who was who. Also, she often put up people who crossed the border and she held their IDs for them. She took three women across the border, having their IDs on her. It was a short distance but it took a full day. I remember that located near that border were an aerodrome and a munitions warehouse. It is impossible to describe all this in a letter: all those moments of fear, terror, night-time escapes, executions which my mum saw or – hiding somewhere in the rye – heard. I myself, although many years have passed since my mother told me these stories, cannot describe the situation in detail because tears are welling up in my eyes.
My mum knows people who are still alive and could testify concerning these events and her whole-hearted help. Just as my mum honestly and righteously helped all these people, so too her decency does not allow her to claim a symbolic “thank you”. Hence, being her daughter, I am giving a very concise account of my mother’s sacrifice and of the help that she offered to the people who were in need of such help. I would be very grateful for some response and some reaction, so an 83-year-old woman will know that her sacrifice was noticed and amounted to something.
I am 43 years old. The stories told by my mum have been impressed upon me to such an extent that I have mastered the Jewish accent. At this point, I want to underline what a powerful effect the experiences of parents can have on the children.
[My mum’s details:]
Janina Śpiewak née Paruzel
b. 16 June 1916 in Częstochowa
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Sincerely,
Janina Haupenthal
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