February 2023 Portrait of the Month — Wlodzimierz Daniluk

Wlodzimierz Daniluk

February’s Portrait of the Month features Wlodzimierz Daniluk, a Polish man whose family risked their lives to save Jewish people from the Nazis. Wlodzimierz, his wife Anna, and their daughters Luba and Raisa were recognized by Yad Vashem in 2003 as Righteous Among Nations for their courage in acting to save four Jewish men from deportation. Despite the extreme risk to their own lives, the Daniluks took in these men and hid them until their village was liberated.

When the Nazis were defeated, they threw a party to celebrate, inviting the Jewish men and their families, as well as their neighbors. Tragically, during the celebration, Polish Nationalists stormed in and killed Wlodzimierz, Luba and several others. The danger to Jews and their allies was not over at the end of the war.

This portrait was made at a high school in Włocławek, Poland, which is the hometown of Memory Project Production founder Roz Jacob’s mother Anna, and Uncle Kalman. It was a memorable workshop and encouraging to see the students so engaged in learning about the complicated history of the region.