Julian Bilecki
By: Lisa Dube
Julian Bilecki was a teenager when he and his family hid 23 Jews in their underground bunker in June of 1943. They were all running away from Poland because the Nazis were exterminating all the Jews. They built a bunker just for them, and got them food which was extremely dangerous & difficult considering they had to ration their food & they had 23 extra people to feed. They gave them food & clothes regularly for about a year, and once a week a member of the family would sing them Jewish hymns. One of the survivors Sima Weissman said they “not only hid us, but spent time with us, reading the Bible and praying for our salvation..three times it was necessary to change hiding places, so that nearby villagers would suspect nothing. It's impossible to describe what these people did for us. No family member would have done more than they did."
One day they heard shots above the bunker, but it was because the Jews were finally free. On March 27, 1944 the Russian Army liberated the area. After the whole ordeal, survivors of the holocaust brought food and clothes to the Bilecki family who was very poor. Later on in his life Julian met back with 5 of the people he sheltered and they had a happy reunion. Julian was included in Righteous Among The Nations for Ukraine citizens & was honored as a hero.
Source: http://www.auschwitz.dk/bilecki.htm
By: Lisa Dube
Julian Bilecki was a teenager when he and his family hid 23 Jews in their underground bunker in June of 1943. They were all running away from Poland because the Nazis were exterminating all the Jews. They built a bunker just for them, and got them food which was extremely dangerous & difficult considering they had to ration their food & they had 23 extra people to feed. They gave them food & clothes regularly for about a year, and once a week a member of the family would sing them Jewish hymns. One of the survivors Sima Weissman said they “not only hid us, but spent time with us, reading the Bible and praying for our salvation..three times it was necessary to change hiding places, so that nearby villagers would suspect nothing. It's impossible to describe what these people did for us. No family member would have done more than they did."
One day they heard shots above the bunker, but it was because the Jews were finally free. On March 27, 1944 the Russian Army liberated the area. After the whole ordeal, survivors of the holocaust brought food and clothes to the Bilecki family who was very poor. Later on in his life Julian met back with 5 of the people he sheltered and they had a happy reunion. Julian was included in Righteous Among The Nations for Ukraine citizens & was honored as a hero.
Source: http://www.auschwitz.dk/bilecki.htm
Our group felt that Julian was a true hero. I mean, if I were him at his age I don’t think I’d have the courage to do what he did for those people. He put his life on the line just to get them food to eat, and depriving himself of things he needs. What he did was truly amazing & inspirational.