{"id":262049,"date":"2022-02-06T11:40:46","date_gmt":"2022-02-06T17:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=262049"},"modified":"2022-02-04T16:36:43","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T22:36:43","slug":"housekeeper-nazi-officer-holocaust-13-jews-preborn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/housekeeper-nazi-officer-holocaust-13-jews-preborn\/","title":{"rendered":"Housekeeper for Nazi officer saved 13 Jews, including preborn baby, during Holocaust"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Irena (“Irene”) Gut Opdyke is a name largely lost to history, despite her heroic efforts to save lives during the Holocaust. But a new feature by NBC News<\/a> is making sure more people know the courageous woman’s story.<\/p>\n

Born in Poland to a Catholic family, Opdyke began her adult life by enrolling in nursing school in 1939, when the Nazis and Germans together invaded her home country. Yet she was more than just a nursing student; she was also a member of the Polish resistance, which had life-altering consequences. Caught alone by a group of Russian soldiers, Opdyke was gang-raped and left for dead. After recovering, she was sentenced to hard labor at the young age of 19.<\/p>\n

Opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n

One day, she fainted at the feet of Eduard Rugemer, a Nazi officer. He took pity on her, and arranged for her to be placed in an easier job, working in the mess hall serving Nazi troops. She used that opportunity to smuggle food to the Tarnopol Ghetto<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But there was still no escaping the brutality of the Nazi regime; Opdyke was horrified when she witnessed a Nazi officer shoot an infant in cold blood in 1942, saying in a 2001 interview that it was “something you can never forget.”<\/p>\n

Working in the mess hall, serving food and drinks to Nazi troops, she learned that Jewish residents were set to be rounded up and killed, which fortunately came at the same time as an opportunity that was presented to her: Rugemer wanted her to be his housekeeper.\u00a0Opdyke quickly agreed.<\/p>\n

The villa where Rugemer would be living had a secret tunnel leading to the basement, which Opdyke used to smuggle 12 Jews into the home. After Rugemer left for work, Opdyke allowed the secret occupants to come out, where they would help cook and keep the house clean. \u201cThey were like mice in a cheese shop guarded by a sleeping cat,\u201d Opdyke\u00a0wrote in her book<\/a>.<\/p>\n