SKWARA, Zdzislaw (1930 – 2009)
At the start of the war, Efraim Weinberg, a tailor, and his wife, Ester, moved with their baby daughter, Chava, to Baczki near Lochow in the county of Wegrow, Warsaw district. Among Weinberg’s customers were the Skwaras from the nearby village of Kamionna and the two families soon became friends. When the situation of the local Jews deteriorated, the Skwaras provided the Weinbergs with food, carried out various errands for them, and offered to shelter them in times of emergency. In the autumn of 1942, when the Germans surrounded Baczki, the Weinbergs fled straight to the Skwaras’ house, leaving all their possessions behind.
At first, the Skwaras hid them in a storehouse on the farm, but when the weather turned cold they rented a room for them with a neighbor and continued to see to their needs. When they had to leave the room, the Weinbergs once again turned to the Skwaras, who again prepared a special hiding place for them. The Weinbergs stayed with the Skwaras until shortly before the liberation, when they moved to the nearby forest. The Skwaras continued to look after their Jewish charges in the forest, even though their house had been burned down and they were left virtually destitute. For two years, the Skwaras hid the Weinbergs in a hostile environment where Jews were routinely betrayed. So dangerous was the rescue operation that they kept the refugees’ presence hidden even from their children, except for their son, Zdzislaw, who helped look after them. Being devout Catholics, the Skwaras felt it was their duty to save the Weinbergs and never asked for anything in return. After the liberation, they bought Weinberg a sewing machine to enable him to earn a living and rehabilitate his family. In saving Jews, Skwara and his family were guided by humanitarian principles, which sprang from their religious faith. Skwara was fond of saying,”God created us all equal, and we all have a right to live.”After the war, the Weinbergs immigrated to Israel.
On July 25, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Eugenia and Wladyslaw Skwara and their son, Zdzislaw, as Righteous Among the Nations.
(Excerpt from”The Encyclopedia of the Righteous Among the Nations”, Poland, Yad Vashem Publications, p. 720-721)
