Fake diamond ring bartered to save the life of a Jewish family

Abraham (Bumek) Gruber was born to Osjasz and Sara Gruber, near or in Drohobycz, Poland (Drohobych, Ukraine). He had three siblings: Ryfka, born 1916, Josef, and Laura, born November 6, 1904. Laura married Jakub Drimmer in 1903 and had two children, Marcel, born May 1, 1904, and Irena (Mila) born July 4, 1936. Bumek was a butcher by trade. During the early 1930s he served in the Polish Army. Bumek married Blimka and they had a daughter Liba. Since the mid-19th century, the region had been the leading producer of oil for the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the industry continued after the dissolution of the Empire following World War I (1914-1918).

In September 1939, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany. A few weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east and under the terms of the German-Soviet Pact, this region fell under Soviet authority. German killing squads arrived in Drohobycz in early July 1941. During the ensuing pogrom, the Germans, assisted by local Ukrainians, murdered 400 Jews in the streets. Bumek’s father Osjasz was killed by Ukrainians during these attacks. In March 1942, the Germans forced the Jewish population of Drohobycz into a ghetto. Bumek’s mother Sara lived with his sister Laura and her two children and husband, as well as her mother-in-law, Sara Drimmer, and sister-in-law Ryfcia and her two children in one house. The Germans ordered all Jews to report for forced labor. Bumek was assigned to the oil refinery camp Galizien. His wife Blimka and daughter Liba also lived at the camp as protected family members of an essential worker. In August 1942, there was an Aktion in Drohobycz and all the people in Laura’s house, except Laura, the two children, and Jakub, were deported to Belzec killing center. Laura and the children had been at their prewar nanny’s house and escaped by hiding in a nearby field. Jakub was ordered by the Germans to stay at the lumberyard where he worked.

In the late summer of 1943, the Germans took Bumek’s wife and child, and the other protected worker families, to the Brunica forest and executed them. Bumek decided to turn himself in during the next round-up. A few weeks later in the camp, he met a Jewish woman Tusia with a four year old daughter Fela. He now decided to save them all by going into hiding. Warned of the next Aktion, they escaped the camp and fled to nearby Mlynki Szkolnikowe, a native village of the Gruber‘s. Bumek had made a pretend diamond ring from nickel and glass for use in emergencies. Bumek went to the home of the Sawinski family and offered them the fake ring in exchange for hiding him and his new family. This Polish-Ukrainian family, Jan and Zofia, and their four children, agreed to take them in. They were already hiding Bumek’s sister Laura, her husband Jakub, and children Marcel and Mila, as well as six other Jews. Jan wanted to sell the ring to buy livestock, but Bumek told them it was a family heirloom and begged him to wait until after the war, when he would buy him a new cow. The Grubers, Drimmers, and the other Jews first were hidden in the stable. Later during the winter, they hid in an underground dugout.

The Soviet Army liberated Drohobycz and the Boryslaw area on August 7, 1944. Only about 600 Jews, from a population of nearly 50,000, were still alive. Jan returned the ring and Bumek eventually bought him a cow. Bumek and Tusia had a son Oded. In January 1946, his sister Laura and her family moved to Walbrzych in western Poland, as eastern Poland, including Drohobycz, was annexed by the Soviet Union. Marcel married Ania, a pharmacist, and in 1961, immigrated to the United States. In 1963, Irena and her husband, Manes Wysoki, who survived the Holocaust in the Soviet Union, accompanied by Irena's parents Jakub and Laura, immigrated to Israel. In 1990, Jan and Zofia Sawinski and their four children, Edward, Muzyka, Paulina, and Tadeus, were honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations.

Marcel Drimmer (later Drimer) was born on May 1, 1934, in Drohobycz, Poland (Drohobych, Ukraine) to Jakub and Laura Lea Gruber Drimmer, who were also from Drohobycz. Jakub (1904-1976) was born on January 10, 1904 to Izak, a foreman in the oil refinery. Jakub had four siblings: Ryfcia, Syma, Mirka, and Abraham. Laura (1904-1994) was born on November 6, 1904, to Osjasz and Sara Gruber and had three siblings: Ryfka, born 1916, Abraham (Bumek, 1910-1998), and Josef. Jakub worked as an accountant in a lumber factory and Laura was a seamstress. Jakub and Laura married in 1933. Marcel’s younger sister Irena (Mila) was born on July 4, 1936. The family lived comfortably and were near their extended family.

In September 1939, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany. A few weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east and per the German-Soviet Pact, Drohobycz fell under Soviet authority. On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In early July, German killing squads, assisted by local Ukrainian groups, launched a pogrom and 400 Jews were killed in the streets. Marcel’s maternal grandfather Osjasz was among those killed. Jakub was in Lvov with his sister-in-law Ryfka. An order was issued for Jews to report for forced labor, but Ryfka insisted that Jakub not report because of his poor health. Ryfka was killed in Lvov in July 1941. Jakub returned to his family in Drohobycz. Jakub’s brother and two sisters, Mirka and Syma, fled east to the USSR.

In March 1942, the Germans forced the Jewish population into a ghetto. The Drimmer family was crowded into one house: Marcel, Irena, their parents, Sara, Izak, and Ryfcia and her two children. In August, Marcel contracted whooping cough and his prewar nanny, Jancia, now pregnant, came to take him to her house. Irena begged her mother to get her brother back, so Laura took Mila went to Jancia’s. As they entered her home, Jancia went into early labor. Laura helped save Jancia’s life, but the baby was stillborn. Jancia’s husband returned from work and reported that an Aktion against the Jews was to take place soon. He told them that if the Germans found Jews in his house, they would all be killed. He gave them some bread and asked Laura and her two small children to leave. Laura and the children ran through the rain to the nearby wheat field. They huddled there, covered with Laura’s raincoat, getting colder and wetter. German SS and Ukrainian police entered the field and started to capture hiding Jews. Marcel and Irena remember hearing screaming, praying, shouting and barking dogs. This went on for hours, but the children did not utter a sound. When night fell, Laura decided to return to Jancia’s. As they were leaving the wheat field, they saw a single German soldier standing guard. He saw them, and then turned his back and let them go. Jancia fed them, dried their clothes, and let them spend the night.

The next morning, Laura and the children returned to their ghetto house. All their relatives were gone. The house had been plundered by the neighbors; feathers were everywhere, as they had ripped pillows and covers searching for hidden valuables. Fifteen hundred Jews from this roundup were deported to Belzec killing center. Jakub had been at the lumberyard during the Aktion and ordered to stay by the Germans. Aktions became more frequent and each time the Drimmer family hid in a different place. The Germans took the furniture from their home, so they slept on the floor. Jakub and Laura made a hiding place under the floor, covered by a mattress.

In August 1943, Jakub arranged for his family to escape the Drohobycz ghetto. First, he hid his wife and two small children in the lumberyard. For a few weeks, they sat in a shed and Jakub brought them food at night. A Polish woman at the factory noticed this, and decided to get proof so that she could denounce him. She confided her plans to another woman who told Jakub. Before the woman could report them, Jakub, assisted by a Jewish physician who pretended to be an SS officer, wrote an anonymous letter accusing this woman of spreading venereal disease. She was taken away by the SS. Jakub then went to nearby Mlynki Szkolnikowe, a native village of the Gruber‘s, and contacted the Sawinski family. This Polish-Ukrainian family, Jan and Zofia, and their four children, agreed to take Laura and Irena, but not Marcel and Jakub. At the last moment, Mrs. Sawinski felt unable to leave the small boy behind and the Sawinski’s hid all four.

That fall of 1943, Laura’s brother, Bumek Gruber, arrived at the Sawinski’s farm. A butcher by trade, he had been assigned as an essential worker in the oil refinery camp Galizien. His wife Blimka and daughter Liba had lived at the camp as protected family members of an essential worker. Recently, the Germans had taken the protected families and executed them in the Bronica forest. Bumek had planned to give himself up in the next Aktion. But he met a 4 year old Jewish girl Fela and her mother Tusia Szindler (d. 1973) and changed his mind and decided to save them. Bumek had made a false diamond ring and warned of an upcoming Aktion, escaped Galizien for Mlynki where he offered the ring to the Sawinski’s in exchange for hiding him and his new family. When the Sawinski's later wanted to sell the ring to buy livestock, Bumek told them it was a family heirloom and convinced them to wait until after the war, when he would buy them a new cow. The Drimmers, Grubers and about six other Jews first were hidden in the stable, and later, during the winter, in an underground dugout.

The Soviet Army liberated Drohobycz and the Boryslaw area on August 7, 1944. Only about 600 Jews, from a population of nearly 50,000, were still alive. Marcel, now ten, was unable to stand on his own feet, due to malnutrition and the lack of movement. It took months for him to walk again. In the fall of 1945, the Drimmer family moved to Walbrzych in western Poland, as eastern Poland, including Drohobycz, was annexed by the Soviet Union. Marcel and Irena graduated from high school in Walbrzych and then obtained graduate degrees in engineering at the University of Wroclaw. Marcel married Ania Sadowski, a pharmacist, and in 1961, they immigrated to the United States and settled in Virginia. In 1963, Irena and her husband, Manes Wysoki, who survived the Holocaust in the Soviet Union, accompanied by Irena's parents, Jakub and Laura, immigrated to Israel. Jakub died in 1976 and Laura in 1994.

Jan and Zofia Sawinski and their four children, Edward, Muzyka, Paulina, and Tadeusz, were honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations.

Marcel is currently a volunteer with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Irena (Mila) Drimmer was born on July 4, 1936, in Drohobycz, Poland (Drohobych (Ukraine) to Jakub and Laura Gruber Drimmer, who were also from Drohobycz. Jakub was born January 10, 1904, to Izak, a foreman in the oil refinery. Jakub had four siblings: Ryfka (Ryfcia), Syma, Mirka, and Abraham (Bumek). Laura was born on November 6, 1904, to Osjasz and Sara Gruber and had three siblings: Ryfka, born 1916, Abraham (Bumek) and Josef. Jakub worked as an accountant in a lumber factory and Laura was a seamstress. Jakub and Laura married in 1933. Irena’s older brother Marcel was born May 1, 1934. The family lived comfortably, near their extended family. Since the mid-19th century, the region had been the leading producer of oil for the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the industry continued after the dissolution of the Empire following World War I (1914-1918).

In September 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany. A few weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east and Drohobycz fell under Soviet authority. On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In early July, German killing squads, assisted by local Ukrainian groups, launched a pogrom and 400 Jews were killed in the streets. Irena’s maternal grandfather was among those killed. Jakub was in Lvov with his sister-in-law Ryfka. An order was issued for Jews to report for forced labor, but Ryfka insisted that Jakub not report because of his poor health. The pogrom launched in Lvov by the Germans and the Ukrainians extended into July. Ryfka was killed. Jakub returned to his family in Drohobycz. Jakub’s brother Bumek and two sisters, Mirka and Syma, fled east to the USSR.

In March 1942, the Germans forced the Jewish population into a ghetto. The Drimmer family was crowded into one house: Mila, Marcel, their parents, Sara, Izak, and Ryfcia and her two children. In August, Marcel contracted whooping cough and his prewar non-Jewish nanny, Jancia, now pregnant, came to take him to her house. Mila begged her mother to get her brother back, so Laura took Mila and went to Jancia’s. Jancia went into early labor. Laura helped save Jancia’s life, but the baby was stillborn. Jancia’s husband returned from work and reported that an Aktion against the Jews was to take place soon. He told them that if the Germans found Jews in his house, they would all be killed. He gave them bread and asked Laura to leave. Laura and and the children ran to hide in the nearby wheat field. As they crouched in silence in the rain and cold, they heard Germans and Ukrainians catching hidden Jews. Marcel and Mila remember hearing screaming, praying, shouting, and barking dogs for hours. When night fell, Laura decided to return to Jancia’s. As they were leaving the field, a German soldier standing guard saw them, and then turned his back and let them go. Jancia let them spend the night and they returned home the next morning. All their relatives were gone. There were feathers everywhere, as neighbors have stolen their belongings and ripped pillows and covers searching for hidden valuables. Jakub had been at the lumberyard and was told by the Germans to stay. The Aktions became more frequent and the family hid in different places. The Germans took the furniture from their home, so they slept on the floor. Jakub and Laura made a hiding place under the floor, covered by a mattress. In August 1943, Jakub arranged for his family to escape. For a few weeks, they hid in a shed in the lumberyard. Jakub brought them food at night. A Polish woman at the factory noticed, and decided to denounce him. She confided her plans to another woman who told Jakub. Before she reported them, Jakub, assisted by a Jewish physician who pretended to be an SS officer, wrote an anonymous letter accusing this woman of spreading venereal disease. She was taken away by the SS. Jakub then went to nearby Mlynki Szkolnikowe, his wife family's native village and contacted the Jan and Zofia Sawinski. This Polish-Ukrainian family agreed to take Laura and Mila, but not Marcel and Jakub. But at the last moment, Zofia felt unable to leave the small boy behind and they hid all four members of the family.
A few months later, Bumek, Laura’s brother, and his new wife and her young child, came to ask the Sawinski's to hide them. Bumek had been an essential worker at the oil refinery camp Galizien. His first wife Blimka and daughter Liba lived with him in the camp, protected from deportation as family of essential workers. In fall 1943, the Germans executed the protected families in the Bronica forest. Bumek was going to give himself up in the next Aktion, but he met the woman and her daughter and the common misery united them. The Drimmers, Grubers, and six other Jews at first were hidden in the stable and later, in an underground dugout.

The Soviet Army liberated Drohobycz and the Boryslaw area on August 7, 1944. Only about 600 Jews, from a population of nearly 50,000, were still alive. Marcel, now ten, was unable to stand on his own feet, due to malnutrition and the lack of movement. It took months for him to walk again. In the fall of 1945, the Drimmer family moved to Walbrzych in western Poland, as eastern Poland, including Drohobycz, was annexed by the Soviet Union. Marcel and Mila graduated from high school in Walbrzych and then obtained graduate degrees in engineering at the University of Wroclaw. Marcel married Ania, a pharmacist, and in 1961, they immigrated to the US and settled in Virginia. In 1963, Irena and her husband, Manes Wysoki, who survived the Holocaust in the Soviet Union, accompanied by Jakub and Laura, immigrated to Israel. Jakub died in 1976 and Laura in 1994, both in Israel. Jan and Zofia Sawinski and their four children were honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations.