Anastazja Kusiak (?–1943) - Instytut Pileckiego

Called by name / The commemorated

Anastazja Kusiak (?–1943)

Commemorated in 2020.

Anastazja Kusiak was commemorated by Pilecki Institute on 8 October 2020 in Stary Lipowiec.

She lived with her husband Wojciech and sons Roman, Franciszek and Józef in the village of Stary Lipowiec near Biłgoraj. The family earned a living by working the land. During the German occupation the Kusiak family hid a young Jewish woman despite the threat of facing the death penalty. The girl was also helped by several other families, and because she could sew, she always managed to repay her helpers. Nevertheless, she was captured by the Germans and forced to give the names of the people with whom she was hiding. On 5 January 1943, German gendarmes arrived at the Kusiak property along with the previously arrested woman, who pointed out their home as one of the places where she had received help. Thus the fate of the family was sealed. Witnesses say that the property was first looted, mainly for its livestock, and then the house was set on fire. Anastazja was burned alive with six other people, including the captured Jewish woman.

Anastazja Kusiak was commemorated by Pilecki Institute on 8 October 2020 in Stary Lipowiec, click here to read about it.