Rescuers of Jews
Stanielko Julija
Weronika Stankiewicz and Julia Stanielko
On the eve of the war, Weronika Stankiewicz and Julia Stanielko worked for the Zhabinsky family in Vilnius. Stanielko was employed as the housekeeper while Stankiewicz was the governess for the family’s daughter, Shulamith (1928).
When the Germans occupied Vilnius, the two women came to the aid of the Zhabinsky family. During the aktions, Stankiewicz hid Shulamith in her one-room apartment in the suburbs of Vilnius, which she shared with her elderly mother. Shulamith stayed hidden in her nanny’s flat periodically, each time for several weeks, and then used to get back to her parents in the ghetto.
Stanielko, by the agreement with the Zhabinskys, moved in the Zhabinskys’ home outside the ghetto. During the years of the Nazi occupation she used to sell the family’s belongings and bought food out of that money, which was brought to her Jewish friends in the ghetto. That food and other help provided by Stanielko helped the Zhabinskys to survive.
After the liquidation of the Vilnius ghetto Shulamith was deported to Latvia and from there to Stutthof concentration camp. She survived and after the liberation in 1945 came back to Lithuania. Shulamith maintained contacts with her rescuers after the war. In 1989 she emigrated to Canada.
On the eve of the war, Weronika Stankiewicz and Julia Stanielko worked for the Zhabinsky family in Vilnius. Stanielko was employed as the housekeeper while Stankiewicz was the governess for the family’s daughter, Shulamith (1928).
When the Germans occupied Vilnius, the two women came to the aid of the Zhabinsky family. During the aktions, Stankiewicz hid Shulamith in her one-room apartment in the suburbs of Vilnius, which she shared with her elderly mother. Shulamith stayed hidden in her nanny’s flat periodically, each time for several weeks, and then used to get back to her parents in the ghetto.
Stanielko, by the agreement with the Zhabinskys, moved in the Zhabinskys’ home outside the ghetto. During the years of the Nazi occupation she used to sell the family’s belongings and bought food out of that money, which was brought to her Jewish friends in the ghetto. That food and other help provided by Stanielko helped the Zhabinskys to survive.
After the liquidation of the Vilnius ghetto Shulamith was deported to Latvia and from there to Stutthof concentration camp. She survived and after the liberation in 1945 came back to Lithuania. Shulamith maintained contacts with her rescuers after the war. In 1989 she emigrated to Canada.