Keeping the Faith

By Dr. Mordecai Paldiel

When remembering heroism during the Holocaust, most people recall the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Jewish partisans or other astonishing acts of courage. However, heroism took many forms during those years— physical, mental, spiritual and religious. In Pinczów, near Kielce (Poland), one family displayed incredible bravery despite the possible terrible consequences of their actions, while another was kept alive thanks to that bravery and their own deep religious faith.

Pages from the Jewish calendar (left) and Book of Psalms (right) written by the Szejner family while in hiding

On Sukkot 1942, Pinczów's remaining Jews were rounded up and sent to their deaths. One of the Jewish residents, Shlomo Szejner, and his eldest son, Alter Yechiel, found temporary sanctuary with a Pole. However, they were soon compelled to rejoin his wife, Alte Chaja, and their three other children—Israel, Yitzhak Menachem and Tova Gittel—fleeing to the nearby woods under a hail of German bullets. For three months, the family moved from place to place in a continuing quest for food and safety.

As the temperature in the forest dropped to below freezing, Shlomo realized that he had no choice but to ask a local acquaintance, Franciszek Matjas, for help.  Before the war, Shlomo had lent Franciszek money to finish constructing his home, assuring him that he could pay off the loan whenever he was able. Franciszek promised one day to return the favor. On Christmas night 1942, Shlomo arrived at the Matjas’s home in Debowka. Shocked at Shlomo’s disheveled appearance Franciszek soon remembered Shlomo’s earlier kindness and, despite his fear of Nazi retribution if he was ever discovered, agreed to help. The seven people—the six Szejners and Shlomo’s nephew Tzemach—spent the next two years in a dark enclosure adjoining the kitchen, with only one small air vent. The Matjases brought them food through an opening in the roof leading to a barn—all the time respecting their guests’ kosher dietary requirements.

Only Franciszek Matjas, his wife Józefa and three of their five children knew about the hidden Jews. To keep themselves occupied and their spirits lifted, Shlomo and his sons produced their own copies of religious prayer books, including the Book of Psalms, a Siddur and a Haggadah. For ink, they removed the lead from pencils and melted it; the Matjas’s children gave them notebooks to write on. Shlomo and his son Israel also composed a Jewish calendar, on which is recorded not only the Jewish festivals but also the tragic events of 1943 as witnessed by Franciszek, including the following: “14.4.43 - 18 Jews shot in Góra, including our neighbor Gross and Mordechai Gold with son Yitzhak; 27.5.43 - the Andros ‘Reczka’ underground unit killed four Jews near Wislicz; 6.11.43 - 17 Jews shot in the Boguszyce forest.”

Tragically, Tzemach died from gangrene while in hiding, and was temporarily buried by Franciszek in his courtyard.  Upon liberation in January 1945, the Szejners returned to Pinczów, but found the town’s Jewish population almost completely wiped out. After escaping an attack by marauding Poles, they moved to Lodz, then France, and ultimately to Israel. They took with them their beautifully hand-written works and a pair of tefillin, given to Israel Szejner for his bar-mitzvah, and used by all the men while in hiding.

In 1988, Franciszek and Józefa Matjas were recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.  At the ceremony, Alter Yechiel Szejner said that when he passes on from this world, he is not sure where he will go, but if he is sent to heaven, he knows whom he will find: Franciszek Matjas. This summer, Israel Szejner agreed to loan to Yad Vashem some of the religious artifacts his family produced while in hiding. Here they will give witness to an extraordinary story of courage and heroism—and faith in better days to come.

The author is Director of the Righteous Among the Nations Department

Copyright ©2004 Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority