Alfreda and Bolesław Pietraszek

Who was Alfreda and Bolesław Pietraszek?

Alfreda and Bolesław Pietraszek were a Polish husband and wife who sheltered several Jewish families consisting of 18 people during the Nazi German occupation of Poland in World War II. They were posthumously bestowed the titles of Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in September 2007. The medals and a diploma were presented by the Israeli vice-ambassador in Poland, Yossef Levy, to their two surviving cousins, Zofia Panfil and Jolanta Okulicz-Kozaryn from Olsztyn. In his speech, Yossef Levy said. "We have the utmost respect for those who risked their lives to save Jews under the threat of death. The rescued will never forget the rescuers."

Alfreda was a well-educated woman, who spoke four languages including German, which was very helpful during the war, when she had to prevent the Nazi Germans from searching through their property. Her husband was raised with a patriotic spirit; his father participated in the January Uprising at the age of 17, and his brother Marian died as a volunteer in the Polish-Soviet War. Their birthdates are unknown, it has only been established that they were married in 1920.