Sixty New York Jewish men, women and children met tonight in a Bronx restaurant to honor a Polish Catholic who saved eight of the adults from the Nazi annihilation program in occupied Galicia during World War II.
The eight adults were among 32 Jews saved by Staszek Jackow, 54, coachman of Stanislav, who managed to hide the intended victims for two years in a cellar in his home, only a few doors from the local headquarters of the Gestapo. When the Russians liberated Stanislav, the Jews left Europe and, later, settled in-various parts of the world, including New York and Buenos Aires.
Last April, they arranged to bring Mr. Jackow to New York. Later his wife and three sons were brought to the United States with the aid of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, New York Democrat, to whom the rescued Jews appealed for aid.
Mr. Jackow has since been helped by an informal committee of the survivors, headed by Jacob Spiegel, owner of a New York neckware factory. The committee has collected $12, 000 to aid Mr. Jackow and his family with all the problems of adjusting to a new country. Mr. Jackow hopes eventually to become an American citizen.
Several weeks ago, the committee arranged for temporary residence for the Jackow family in a Manhattan hotel. Last week, he and his family moved into a Bronx apartment located by the owner of the restaurant where the meeting was held tonight. The owner is one of the 32 who owe their lives to Mr. Jackow. Since Mr. Jakow is unable to work on his visitor’s visa, the committee is paying his rent.
Mr. Spiegel told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the committee will assist Mr. Jackow in learning a trade, as an upholsterer, a field allied to coachmaking. The committee also plan to help the Jackow family acquire United States citizenship.
The meeting tonight was arranged to enable the children of the Jewish survivors to express their thanks to Mr. Jackow. The eight adults were among a larger number of survivors who greeted Mr. Jackow when he arrived here last April.
Since the eight survivors settled in America, their families have grown to a total of 60 persons.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
