rescuers of jews

     In September 1941, when Wolf and Rachel Godrov, residents of Vievis, learned from a Lithuanian police officer that all of the town's Jews would soon be deported from the town, they immediately fled to the nearby estate of the Polish engineer Stanisław Wichert, whom they knew well.
     Despite the danger, Stanisław Wichert hid the fugitives on his estate, provided them with food and firewood, and took care of all their needs. Refusing any form of payment, he sheltered the Godrovs for eight months, until May 1942, when he learned that two of his cousins, who held anti-Jewish views, were planning to visit the estate.
     Wichert then reached an agreement with a farmer he knew, Ignatijus Karpavičius, who lived twelve kilometres away in the village of Zabarija (Vilnius district) with his wife Zofija and their six children, asking whether they would take Wolf and Rachel Godrov into hiding.
     Although the Karpavičius family themselves lived in modest circumstances, they warmly welcomed the Godrovs. Fully aware of the danger they faced, Ignatijus Karpavičius had even prepared a hiding place beside his own house for himself if it should ever become necessary. The family shared their meagre food supplies with those in hiding and instructed their children to keep the presence of their guests a secret and to watch carefully for strangers approaching the house. Meanwhile, Stanisław Wichert continued to assist the Karpavičius family by supplying food and other essential provisions both for them and for the people they were sheltering.
     One day, when Rachel developed a severe toothache, Ignatijus Karpavičius accompanied her and her husband to a dentist in a small forced labour camp near Vilnius that was guarded by Jewish policemen. To everyone's surprise, the Godrovs encountered their relatives there – Chaja and Katriel Šapiro. Deeply moved by the reunion, Ignatijus Karpavičius immediately offered the Šapiro shelter as well, asking nothing in return. Under the cover of darkness, Chaja and Katriel Šapiro left the camp and moved into the Karpavičius household, where they remained until July 1944, when the area was liberated from German occupation by the Red Army.
     From the memoirs of Danuta Jančiauskienė, granddaughter of the Karpavičius family: From what I remember my father Aleksandras and my aunt Stanislava telling me, my grandparents were poor farmers. They grew vegetables and kept a small number of livestock, which was how they made their living. My grandfather loved listening to the radio and always dreamed of owning a better radio receiver. During the warmer seasons – spring and summer – they hid the Jews in a bunker dug near the Karpavičius home, beside a small forest in the village of Zabarija. In autumn and winter, the Jews lived in a hiding place built behind the wall of one of the rooms in the house. Although my grandparents themselves lived modestly, they were kind-hearted people and did everything they could to ensure that the Jews under their protection had enough food. They took great care of them. At night, when it was safe, they allowed the Jews to leave the bunker and walk in the nearby forest. The Karpavičius children never told anyone that Jews were hiding in their home, although many people asked questions. On one occasion, police officers came to my grandparents' house, apparently having received information that Jews were being hidden there, but fortunately everything ended well. After the war, my grandparents moved from the village of Zabarija to the village of Grabijolai, on the opposite bank of the Neris River, in Vilnius district, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Today, only fragments of their house remain. My grandmother died first, and when the Jews learned of her death, they came to her funeral and carried her coffin to the cemetery on their shoulders. The Righteous Among the Nations medal was brought to my grandfather and presented to him by the very Jews whose lives he had saved. This took place before Lithuania regained its independence, while the country was still part of the Soviet Union. Today, the medal is passed from one member of the Karpavičius family to another. Each of us wishes to feel connected to this story, and we are all deeply proud of our grandparents.
     After the war, the Godrov and Šapiro families emigrated to Israel.
     On 17 January 1990, the Yad Vashem Memorial Institute recognized Stanisław Wichert, as well as Ignatijus and Zofija Karpavičius (Ignacy Karpowicz and Zofia Karpowicz), as Righteous Among the Nations. By decision of the Yad Vashem Memorial Institute, their names are included in the list of Polish Righteous Among the Nations.
     In 2026, Ignatijus and Zofija Karpavičius, who helped save Wolf and Rachel Godrov as well as Chaja and Katriel Šapiro during the Nazi occupation, were awarded the Lithuanian state decoration Life Saving Cross.