On the evening of 15 July, Mykola’s brother-in-law appeared at the Korens’ doorstep, accompanied by four children of their neighbors, the Adamowiczs: nine-year-old Teresa, five-year-old Janusz, three-year-old Stasia and one-and-a-half-year-old Henio.

Anastasiya Koren (1908–1967), Mykola Koren (1905–1944)

The residents of Aleksandrówka knew everything about each other – who was Roman Catholic and who was Orthodox, who made the tastiest traditional festive dishes, and even when Anastasiya and Mykola Koren arrived in the village. The spouses had three children: Oleksiy, Halyna and Yevhenia.

The war had been going on for a few years, but the summer of 1943 was different. The rhythm of the day, determined by labor in the fields and taking care of one’s children, was disturbed by news of the widespread murders of Poles. When on 15 July Mykola’s brother-in-law, Pavlo Kyts, knocked on the Korens’ front door, dusk was already falling. The man had not come alone – in fact, he was accompanied by a number of youngsters. Anastasiya immediately recognized the faces of the children of her neighbors, the Adamowicz family: nine-year-old Teresa, five-year-old Janusz, three-year-old Stasia and oneand-a-half-year-old Heniek. The Korens just managed to hide them in the pantry when some Banderites appeared at their doorstep. Although it was night, Teresa could not sleep a wink. She heard how “the bandits barged into the house and asked about the Poles, but when they were told that there were none there, they left.” The Korens knew that this lie could have cost them their lives, however their assistance did not end there. For a few weeks, the Adamowicz children hid in the fields during the day, and spent the nights in Anastasiya and Mykola’s barn. In August, they returned to their family, who took the difficult decision to split up. Teresa and her grandmother were hidden with the Bondaruk family; both survived the war. Her parents, sister and brothers were placed in a bunker concealed in a field. Tragically, they left their hiding place and were all murdered. In 1944, the Korens had their fourth and final child, Nina – a daughter. In the same year, Mykola fell ill and died. Anastasiya continued to work on the farm and raised the children herself; she did not remarry. She died in 1967, and was buried together with her husband.

“Kyts quickly led us to a close neighbor, Koren, and they hid us in a room under lock and key […]. We froze with fear when the bandits barged into the house and asked about the Poles, but when they were told that there were none there, they left […]. When the gunshots stopped and the band went away, Koren took us to the barn, where he had prepared a hideout. Hay had been placed in the hayloft and in the middle there was a passage leading to a wall with a hole, large enough to sit in (…). For three or four weeks, we spent the days in the field and the nights in the hideout at Koren’s farm.”

Account of Teresa Radziszewska, Kiedy przyszli nas zabijać, Archiwum Ośrodka Karta [KARTA Center Archives], AW II/1914