Krystyna Dańko
Encyclopedia
Krystyna Dańko a Polish
orphan from the town of Otwock
, daughter of Karol Chłond – a respected city official in prewar Poland
– was awarded the title of Righteous among the Nations
by Yad Vashem
in 1998, for saving the lives of Polish Jews during the Holocaust, at the time of Nazi German occupation of Poland.
Krystyna Dańko received her medal at the request of Maryna (Maria) Bartoń née
Kokoszko, whom she "smuggled" into a safer place from Otwock to Warsaw
, where Maryna's extended family could take care of her. Unafraid of endangering her own life, Krystyna helped her Jewish friends by giving them food she bought, clothing as well as money, and by fulfilling their heartfelt requests.
Several years before the outbreak of World War II, Krystyna Dańko established a close friendship with Lusia, the eldest daughter of Kokoszko family, who was her high school classmate. Krystyna spent a great deal of time in their home. Once the Holocaust began, she did everything in her power to help the family survive the Nazis. "I was never afraid of anything", she said.
In 1951 Krystyna Dańko née
Chłond married Mieczysław Dańko, social activist from Otwock persecuted by the Stalinist regime. He died in 1982. Krystyna was honoured in Jerusalem as Righteous Among the Nations on 13 December 1998 for helping to save the lives of Eugenia, Helena, Maria, and dr. Michał Kokoszko who settled in Warsaw after the war. The eyewitness testimony came from the youngest daughter of the Kokoszko family, Maria Kokoszko-Barton who submitted her deposition to Yad Vashem. Two other members of Dańko family were awarded their medals posthumously on 16 December 2008: Jadwiga Dańko née
Wojciechowska (1904 – 1968) and husband Mieczysław Dańko (1905 – 1982) who separately saved Wecer (Weczer) family in Otwock.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
orphan from the town of Otwock
Otwock
Otwock is a town in central Poland, some southeast of Warsaw, with 42,765 inhabitants . It is situated on the right bank of Vistula River below the mouth of Swider River. Otwock is home to a unique architectural style called Swidermajer....
, daughter of Karol Chłond – a respected city official in prewar Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
– was awarded the title of Righteous among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
by Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
in 1998, for saving the lives of Polish Jews during the Holocaust, at the time of Nazi German occupation of Poland.
Krystyna Dańko received her medal at the request of Maryna (Maria) Bartoń née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Kokoszko, whom she "smuggled" into a safer place from Otwock to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, where Maryna's extended family could take care of her. Unafraid of endangering her own life, Krystyna helped her Jewish friends by giving them food she bought, clothing as well as money, and by fulfilling their heartfelt requests.
Several years before the outbreak of World War II, Krystyna Dańko established a close friendship with Lusia, the eldest daughter of Kokoszko family, who was her high school classmate. Krystyna spent a great deal of time in their home. Once the Holocaust began, she did everything in her power to help the family survive the Nazis. "I was never afraid of anything", she said.
Rescuing the Kokoszkos
After Kokoszko's successful escape from the ghetto, Krystyna helped to hide them, including father, mother and Helena (Lusia), in a secret location at a neaby village. She took the youngest daughter, age 6, on a train to the capital, where the girl was placed in a Polish orphanage in Warsaw under an assumed name. Krystyna became the liaison between the family and their youngest child, delivering messages and information back and forth. Krystyna asked nothing in return for her heroic effort, stating that helping others was her moral obligation as a human being. Otwock Ghetto was liquidated on September 19, 1942, when 75% of its Jewish population numbering around 8,000, was assembled at a layover yard in Otwock (pictured) and shipped to Treblinka death camp. Jews who remained were summarily shot on Reymonta Street thereafter.In 1951 Krystyna Dańko née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Chłond married Mieczysław Dańko, social activist from Otwock persecuted by the Stalinist regime. He died in 1982. Krystyna was honoured in Jerusalem as Righteous Among the Nations on 13 December 1998 for helping to save the lives of Eugenia, Helena, Maria, and dr. Michał Kokoszko who settled in Warsaw after the war. The eyewitness testimony came from the youngest daughter of the Kokoszko family, Maria Kokoszko-Barton who submitted her deposition to Yad Vashem. Two other members of Dańko family were awarded their medals posthumously on 16 December 2008: Jadwiga Dańko née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Wojciechowska (1904 – 1968) and husband Mieczysław Dańko (1905 – 1982) who separately saved Wecer (Weczer) family in Otwock.