Anastazja and Stanisław Błaszczyk, and their two adult daughters, Stanisława and Zofia, lived in Warszaw at ul. Złota 39. The Jewish Kuniegis family – Zofia, Bernard and their son Jerzy – they had met Stanisława, the elder of the Błaszczyk sisters, before the War.
In November 1942, Zofia i Bernard (under the false surname "Kierski") turned, for help, to the Błaszczyk family. They sheltered Zofia and, using the younger daughter's birth certificate, obtained an identity card for her.
Bernard returned to the ghetto, but soon returned, at which time Stanisław helped him find a safe hiding place. The Kuniegis' son, Jerzy, also escaped form the ghetto. He was arrested by the Germans and was killed.
Stanisław Błaszczyk's Arrest by the Blue [Polish] Police
Zofia Kuniegis' brother's family was also in hiding outside the ghetto. Both adults died in unknown circumstances in early 1943, but their child survived. Five-year-old Krystyna was cared for by Stanisław, who found a place for the little girl with trusted friends in the countryside. The girl remained there until the end of the occupation.
Błaszczyk, himself, was detained by the Navy-Blue [Polish] Police at the beginning of 1944, when he was preparing a hiding place for the Kuniegis family at ul. Ciasna 5. The family "bought him" out of arrest for twenty dollars.
Honouring the Błaszczyk Family
After this unfortunate event, the Kuniegis family had to change their hiding-place. They left Warsaw and, for several months, hid wandering from village to village. They both survived and, after the War, adopted Krystyna. In the 1960s, they left for Israel, remaining in contact with the Błaszczyk family.
On 22nd November 1989, Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem honoured the Błaszczyk family with the title of Righteous Among the Nations.
