“Who do I have?” : The story of Janina Ecker

Janina (Halina) Ecker was born in Krakow in 1932 to Dawid and Sara Layman. She had two older brothers, Ryszard and Olek. With the outbreak of World War II and the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union, Dawid and Ryszard fled to Lviv, where they were apprehended by the Soviets and sent to Siberia. Janina stayed in Krakow with her mother and brother Olek. They were subjected to the harsh anti-Jewish policies of the Nazi regime. After being expelled from the town, they were taken, along with other Jews from the district, to the neighboring village of Gdow and from there to the town of Wieliczka. During the action in the city, her mother managed to send an urgent telegram to Polish acquaintances in Krakow, Józefa and Tadeusz Latawiec, who arrived on the scene and took Janina into their custody. Fearing denunciation, the couple transferred Janina to a convent in the village of Staniątki, where she remained until the end of the war. After the war, Janina lived with the Latawiecs. Eventually, his parents and brother Ryszard also returned to town. In 1949, they emigrated to Israel. Janina married and worked for many years in a management position at El Al. She has three daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She lives in Givatayim.

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