Jadwiga, Wincenty, and their daughter Lucyna were honored with the title of Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Institute. The commemorative plaque is located on the wall of the Tuskulėnai Manor (in a district of Vilnius).
"The plaque displays their names and the dates of their lives. It provides basic information about who offered help and during what time. Its purpose is to encourage deeper exploration of this history and to preserve the memory of these actions," explains Ilona Lewandowska, a historian at the Tuskulėnai Memorial Park in Vilnius.
In 1942, the Antonowicz family purchased the manor on the outskirts of Lithuania’s capital to protect their children from being sent to forced labor in Germany.
Early in the German occupation, the family decided to hide a Jewish girl in their apartment in central Vilnius.
After moving to Tuskulėnai, the family sheltered more than 20 Jews.
In the aftermath of the war, as the Red Army captured Vilnius, Soviet authorities confiscated the manor's grounds.
In 1994, mass graves were discovered on the property, containing the remains of over 700 people who had been executed by the KGB between 1944 and 1947.
From left: Yad Vashem Medal for Wincenty and Jadwiga Antonowicz and Diploma for Lucyna Bauer (née Antonowicz) POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Source: IAR/sprawiedliwi.org
(m p)