Władysława Choms

Władysława Choms (1895 – 1966), the wife of the Polish army officer Frederic Сhoms, was well known in Drohobych as the public activist. She was the first woman who ran to the city council and headed the Commission for the Social Care. At the same time, she led the women civil labor union in Drohobych, keeping contact with the Jewish organizations and protesting against the anti-Semitic and nationalist tendencies. She was a member of the district council of the Polish Democratic Party.

In 1934, together with the Deputy City Mayor Leon Tenenbaum, the leader of the Jewish religious community, Władysława Choms visited Palestine. After this trip, the woman was interested in the Zionist movement, in particular, the activity of the female Jewish organizations WIZO and Hadas, wrote articles and gave lectures on Palestine.

In 1938, the Choms family moved to Lviv. After the outbreak of the World War 2, Frederic got into the German camp for the prisoners of war. Their son Wiesław, the graduate of the Air Force Cadet School in Dęblin, was fortunate to get to England. Władysława remained in Lviv, hiding under different names, and participated in the underground of the District Command of the Polish Home Army. In the spring of 1943, she headed the Lviv branch of the Żegota, the Council to Aid the Jews, established by the Polish government in exile.

During the year, the woman organized escape of the few dozens of the Jewish families from the ghetto, getting the false documents for them and finding the residence on the outskirts of Lviv. She found shelter for many Jewish orphans in the Christian orphanages and local monasteries. The saved Jews called her the ‘angel from Lviv’.

 “I personally know many cases when she refused from the last remained food, which was difficult to get then, in order to help the poor Jewish neighbors… I have no words to describe what she tried to do and what she had to live through for her assistance to us, the Jews… The huge gratitude for all she did for us, for risking her own life while she tried to save ours”. From the memories of the saved Sigmund Chotiner

“There are many people in the world, saved by her, who even don’t know for sure who was their protector angel”. From the memories of the saved Bronia Tenenbaum

“She not only helped us survive, but also stimulated us to live after this…”. From the memories of the saved Dorotha Taub

At the end of 1943, when the Germans learned about Władysława’s activity, she managed to flee to Warsaw, where she continued assistance to the Jews and then took an active part in the Warsaw uprising. Later, Władysława Choms moved to Paris, where she found her husband and learned that her son, pilot, perished in 1941. She spent last years of her life in Israel, keeping in touch with many Jews, saved by her.

In 1966, the Yad Vashem recognized Władysława Choms as the Righteous among the Nations.