"Am I dreaming?"

Mr Ryszard got her address from the Polish Red Cross, and the phone number from the information office. He called a few times, but always failed to start the conversation. The sixth time he was asked which language he wished to speak in, he answered Polish.

“Polish? Rysiu is that You?! Rysiu are Your parents alive? I can't hear, I can't see , I am an old woman, I can hardly managed to walk, I should actually use a wheelchair. Listen, write me everything, write, come, because I have to see you before I die.”


The only thing Mr Richard could do was to buy a ticket to Melbourne and fly. By a weird coincidence his relatives lived in Melbourne. They were on a contract in Africa, and when martial law was established in Poland in 1981 instead of returning home they flew to Australia and settled down there. They took care of Mr Ryszard and he met with Mrs Paulina and Jasia, his peer who was very ill at that time. Mrs Paulina proposed to Zielinski's family for the “Righteous among the nations” award. On 26th of May 1999 the Yad Vashem institute in Jerusalem posthumously awarded Zbigniew Kazimiera and their son Richard Zielinski for selfless help during the war which they gave, risking the life of their entire family.

Saved

After the happy meeting of Mr and Mrs Berek and their daughter Jasia it became apparent that the rest of their family was not so lucky. As we mentioned before, they started to look for a safe place to survive the Uprising. Unfortunately, the Germans found the hideout and burned the building along with all its inhabitants. When the Zielinski family returned to Warsaw in 1945 they found their old home on Narutowicz square plundered. There were no windows, but some plates remained which survive to this day on the wall in one of Mr Richard's apartment rooms. After the war the Bereks' first moved to Lodz, but failed to live in the harsh, postwar reality. So they left for Paris, and finally landed in Melbourne, Australia. From this moment any contact with Mr Ryszard were severed. The Polish communist government forbade any relation with the generally understood “West". Years passed, Mr Ryszard's parents died, he set up home. It was in 1998 when he received a letter from the Polish Red Cross. After the visit to the PRC headquarters, they said that a certain Paulina Berek was looking for him.

“Grandpa, but it's impossible”

A bovine wagon transported people to the work and concentration camps. At each station they were divided according to commission guidelines. After arriving at the distribution camp in Mekingsburg (between Hanover and Bremen) Mr Ryszard was very thirsty, which was understandable as he wasn't given anything for the last few days. Apart from a bowl of rainwater he didn't find anything to quench his thirst. When the “Righteous” told this story to his grandson he couldn't believe it and was sure that his grandfather was joking. But it really happened. Mr Ryszard couldn't stand the thirst and drank the rainwater. The Germans are famous for their scrupulosity, and thanks to the fact that people name's were placed on registers, Ryszard's mother found out where her son was. After some time he received his mother's letter from which he learned that his father was getting better in a private hospital. The life of Mr Ryszard's family is full of such coincidences, lucky events which Mr Ryszard describe as miracles. Such a miracle was also the salvation of Mr Kazimierz, who by a rather “unclear way” left Pruszków and became employed by the town mayor. After the war, Ryszard returned with Mrs Paulina to Poland from the forced labour camp. Aunt Pola took him to a safe place, and she was left searching for her lost husband.

Will I ever return here?

After arriving in Pruszkow, father was taken care of and placed in hospital. The wounded man was accompanied by his wife and only she could enter the building. Mr Ryszard had to wait at the gates. Full of fear and crying he was left alone among people he didn't know. Looking at the crowd squeezing through the gate Mr Ryszard spotted a familiar face – it was Mrs Paulina Berek, known to him as aunt Pola. He made an agreement with her that he will be her son so that her life would not be threatened – as she had an Aryan son she would have a proof that she's not a Jew. After a few days everybody had to stand before the commision which assessed the suitability for work. Luckily both Ryszard and Mrs Pola were assessed as able to work, which meant that they will be sent to Germany. That's when Mr Ryszard understood that he will have to part from his family. That's when he met a doctor who promised the boy that if he sends the letter to the hospital in Pruszków, she will give it to his parents. After this promise he took the train and went to Germany.

A hell!

All the Warsaw citizens were rounded-up to Zieleniak - a big area where people could buy their vegetables near Banacha street. The injured Mr Zbigniew Zieliński was taken care of by everyone - Mr Ryszard still thinks it was a miracle:

“Up to this day I’m very amazed that people with nothing, who didn't know my father, helped us.”

All the time they were surrounded by Ukrainian officers who were stealing, raping young women - and all this was seen by a 13 year old boy. From Zieleniak everyone was led by the Ukrainian officers to Zachodni railway station, then to Pruszków (city near Warsaw) where was a railway service station. The way to Zachodni railway station was terrible, Mr Zieliński describe it as “A road through hell” because everywhere there were burning houses. Ryszard’s mum - Kazimiera Zielińska said to him that he had to run away but he stayed with his family. Only Mr and Mrs Berek managed to catch the first train. In front of the entrance only Zielińscy family was left. They knew that was very dangerous but they didn't have enough energy to carry his father. Fortunately they met countymen who were going with their stuff because the Germans guaranteed that they could take it with them. Of course it was a lie. Because Mr Ryszard help them with their stuff, the peasants took Mr Zbigniew to the railway station and to the train.

Let's go shopping.

On the 1st of August '44 Ryszard’s father didn’t go to work. That was very strange for the other members of the family, which apart from Zielińscy was also Mr and Mrs Berek. He didn’t say why, he only went shopping with his boy. They were returning home when they went into a grocery store. While buying some herrings someone started to shoot. They couldn’t return home because the Germans were shooting everyone who moved. When the morning came they decided to go back to their house. They watched the entrance all night, but it was under German control. Every building was joined and had a special underpass. They moved to some tenement-house and its courtyard. Suddenly Mr Ryszard realised that he was alone. He turned around. His father was lying on the floor. As he told us after all these years:

“My father got shot really bad in the liver and kidney.”

They found a doctor who took out the bullet so Mr Zbigniew was fortunately rescued but he could only lie. On the 10th of August they heard the words: “Raus, raus, raus!” - surprisingly not German but a Ukrainian division. The Ukrainians helped Hitler after he promised them an independent country.

Parents going to their friends.

"A curfew was coming. I left home with aunt Pola and uncle Kazik because my parents were at their friend’s house. I and my uncles heard a patter of hobnailed shoes and suddenly a doorbell with the words of a German officer: "mister Zieliński."

Mr Ryszard related dramatically, even now he is describing it with fear in his eyes. Fortunately Mr Kazimierz closed a hiding-place under the windowsill and always the suspicious Germans didn’t find him. After this incident, Zbigniew and Kazimierz had to ‘disappear’ for a couple of days because the Germans might come back soon. After some time, Zieliński with Berek returned home. It was near the date of Mr Kazimierz's birthday. So Ryszard’s parents decided to organize a meeting with all the members of the Berek family. It was as dangerous as rescuing the Jews from the Ghetto. During the meeting they were disputing about a place where they could survive the Warsaw Uprising, about which they were convinced. But Paulina and Kazimierz Berek stayed with the Zielińscy family and at the beginning of August '44 they lost contact with their relatives...

Where Germans won’t search?

Germans were inspecting the Polish families in their houses to search for hiding Jews. It was very dangerous for them but also to all Poles. If officers found a hiding person, he and the helping family would die. So the Zielińscy family had to find a hiding place for Kazik. The apartment where they were living didn't have a radiator and walls were very thick, so they decided (with help their friend - a sandman) to remove a few bricks under the windowsill to hide Kazimierz. They made lot of noise but fortunately no one paid attention to it.

Aunt Pola and uncle Kazik.

One day in 1943 Zbigniew Zieliński returned from work with a woman - a Jew. To take her from a Ghetto they had to imitate a married couple. Ryszard called her aunt Pola (real name Paulina Berek). For the neighbors she was the mother’s friend, who would stay in Poland for a while. The real problem was to take Paulina’s husband - Kazimierz to live with her on the Aryan side. He had Semitic appearance, so Mr Zbigniew hid him in a box with fabric. Fortunately next day the Bereks were able to be together. The Berek family were so lucky that everyone found living quarters on the Aryan side. But Paulina and Kazimierz’s daughter, Jasia was living with another Polish family. Ryszard had a very important job to do - he had to deliver letters to each other. Now, when he is walking on Piękna street (where Jasia lived) he always looks into the gate where there are still beige cobblestones which remembers the time of war.

Can we cheat a numbers?

Zbigniew Zieliński became acquainted with many Jews. He knew who he could talk freely with and who he should avoid. The Ghetto was shrinking. Day by day the Jews were moved to concentration camps (10 000 people in 24h). Every Jew wanted to move somehow to the Aryan side. Ryszard’s father was thinking how to take as many Jews as possible. Some Ghetto inhabitants worked on the ‘other’ side of the wall. It was a chance to escape. But not so simple. Every time the Germans were counting how many Jews left the Ghetto and when they came back. When the Jews were returning from the ‘Aryan’ factories he dropped into the row and put the Jewish armband on so that one of workers could run away. Mr Zieliński had a pass from the Ghetto where he was working so he could go back home freely. These kind of actions were so dangerous that if he was caughed he would never come back from the factory.
At his work he met Kaziemierz and Paulina Berek...

Can I say something now?

The work in the factory was long and strenuous. Leaving children alone at home was very dangerous. The only way to look after the child was to take him with us. Of course it was forbidden. Everyone was thinking where those children would be safe and many times hiding places were undiscovered. However, the Germans knew about Jewish actions. They caught some of those children. One of Mr Zbigniew's friend had a little boy - David, who all the time was with her in the factory. One day the Germans organized an assembly in the factory courtyard. David had to be hidden - everyone said. Mr Zieliński had a splendid idea. He put the child into a small box with fabric. Mother said to him that he can’t say anything until they come back. The assembly was very long - too long. They had to stay there until 6:00 pm - to the end of work. David’s mother was thrilled, but to rescue herself and her son she had to go home. The next day, at 5:00 am she and Mr Zbigniew ran to the factory to see what was going on with the boy. Fortunately he was alive but blue with cold, trembling and exhausted. His first words were: “Can I say something now?” .

The return.

When Germans marched into Warsaw they were staying in the best hotels in the city. All Polish national institutions were closed, also the Supreme Chamber of Control where Ryszard’s father worked before the war. After a few days from the beginning of the war Zbigniew Zieliński returned home. He was scrawny but very happy. After a few days he decided to look for a new job. During this time Germans took over all Jewish factories. The owners had to let the Germans have it for nothing, but they could work there to earn some money to live. One of these was a small textile factory near Ogrodowa street were Mr Zbigniew had a job.

What they expected, happened!

As we mentioned before, in '39, Poles were ready to fight in the war. Narutowicz square - the place where Mr Zieliński lived, was very important to the capital defense. Because of this, everyone who lived in the square had to move out to another part of the city. Zielińscy family moved to their friends on Wspólna street. As many historians say Warsaw was very important to Germany's strategy (Fall Weiss) . They decided to assault the capital on the 1st of September at 5:00 am. In Mr Ryszard's opinion the sound of bombarding is a traumatic experience. We’ve seen in Zieliński's eyes that he remembered every second of the action. He can still hear the swish of the missiles and the explosions. We can’t really imagine what an 8 year old boy felt who hid in a bomb shelter and wondered if his house was still standing.

These horrible moments lasted to the end of September (the 28th). Warsaw was conquered. The Zielińscy family came back home which looked the same as it did before the 1st. Only the windows were broken. Two days later, the Germans came to the city. Zieliński and his mother had to live as usual but without a father. The Righteous reminded us that Polish solidarity was increasing due to such a hopeless situation.

We are strong, serried and ready!

The anxieties which were close to the Poles before the war began at the end of July - begining of August. About the 15th of August Ziliński’s father received a call-up to the Polish army. In spite of many days of preparations most of the Warsaw citizens were not worried and they didn’t fear the days to come - the terrible days. The summer of '39 was very hot and pleasant. Everyone wanted to be happy and took every minute of his life. Ryszard Zieliński mention with great sentiment a poster which was showed a few men - Polish army officers and above their heads a keynote: “We are strong, serried and ready!”.

It's not heroic!

Meeting with Righteous exceeded our expectations. Mr Ryszard turned out to be very likable and talkative. His history which we heard was really fascinating, but also full of pain and suffering. The experiences which accompanied Mr Zieliński were unimaginable for a person who didn’t live during the time of war. Despite the danger, Zieliński’s family decided to carry two Jews - Mrs Paulina and Kazimierz Berek. Heroism of this action is certain, but Mr Zieliński with his natural modesty said: 

“It’s not heroic. Each person would do the same in my place”. 

After a few years we can’t say that this behavior was habitual for the most Polish Citizens. The best proof of our words is the medal “Righteous among the Nations” for only couple of Poles. So we can’t agree with Mr Zieliński that his behavior was obvious. His attitude is an exemplar for all youths to follow.