Righteous Among the Nations, Rescuer, and March of the Living Witness
Czesława Żak was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1927. During the German occupation of Poland, she was still a teenager when her family made the life-threatening decision to hide Jews from the Nazis. In occupied Poland, helping Jews carried the threat of death, not only for the person being hidden, but also for the rescuers and their families.
Together with her parents and family, Czesława helped shelter 14 Jews in a modest apartment in Warsaw for more than two years. The people they hid included members of Jewish families who were being hunted during the Holocaust. Czesława later spoke about her family’s actions with humility, describing their decision to help as a natural human response to people in danger.
In 1993, Czesława Żak and members of her family were recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations, the honour given to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Her story became part of the moral legacy of the Righteous — ordinary people who chose courage and compassion in a time of terror.
Czesława’s story has also been connected with March of the Living, where students encountered the history of rescue alongside the history of destruction. Her testimony helped young people understand that even under Nazi occupation, individuals still faced moral choices — and that choosing to save a life could mean risking everything.
One of the most moving chapters in Czesława’s later life was her reunion with Olga Kost, one of the people her family had helped rescue during the Holocaust. In 2013, with the help of March of the Living and Jewish Federations of Canada, Czesława travelled to Israel, fulfilling a lifelong dream to visit the country and reunite with Olga.
Their story is preserved in the MOLDAP film Czeslawa & Olga, which documents the reunion between Polish Righteous Among the Nations Czesława Żak and Holocaust survivor Olga Kost. The film reflects the deep bond created by rescue, memory, gratitude, and the responsibility to pass these stories to future generations.
Czesława Żak passed away in Warsaw on April 12, 2019, at the age of 92. Through March of the Living, MOLDAP, and the continued telling of her story, her example remains a powerful reminder that in the darkest moments of history, acts of courage and kindness could save entire worlds.
Featured Media
Czeslawa & Olga
A MOLDAP documentary film about Polish Righteous Among the Nations Czesława Żak and her reunion in Israel with Olga Kost, one of the Jewish people her family helped rescue during the Holocaust.
Saving the World Entire: Rescuers During the Holocaust
A March of the Living documentary about four Polish Righteous Among the Nations: Zygmunt Krynski, Sister Klara Jaroszynska, Czesława Żak, and Krystyna Puchalski-Maciejewska. The film includes stories of the Holocaust survivors they rescued, including Olga Kost.
Witness: Passing the torch of holocaust memory to new generations
Witness: Passing the Torch of Holocaust Memory to New Generations is a powerful, visually rich volume first published in 2015 and inspired by a 2014 United Nations exhibition that paired reflections from Holocaust survivors with the reactions of students who travelled on March of the Living educational trips to Poland. The book’s core mission is to educate new generations about the atrocities of the Holocaust by directly connecting them with the firsthand experiences of survivors and the emotional responses of youth encountering these histories at the sites where they occurred.