Epilogue
Following liberation, after a brief stay in Krakow, Stanley and Diana returned to Warsaw. Stanley went back to his work as a distributor of coffee and vinegar essence. Diana became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Krzysztof.
Unfortunately, the young family was struck with a loss that must have built upon all the losses wrought by the Nazis: Krzysztof died at the age of three months. Diana was heartbroken; she would mourn Krzysztof for the rest of her life.
In the meantime, antisemitism was rising in postwar Poland, now under communist rule. Stanley began to apply for copies of all his identity documents that had been destroyed during the war. Diana, pregnant again, faced a difficult decision: if she left Poland with Stanley, she would have to part from her dear siblings and parents. Given the iron curtain that was rapidly descending, she did not know when or if she would see them again.
Diana and Stanley’s new baby, Thomas Mark, was 10 months old when they left for New York. A daughter, Helen Sarah, was born in the United States soon after. She was named after her aunt Helena and grandmother Salomea, both killed by the Nazis.
In accompanying Stanley to the United States, and then Venezuela, Diana helped perhaps to save his life once again. Stanley, always the entrepreneur, grew a small zipper business in Caracas into a veritable zipper empire. He and Diana found circles of friends who shared similar cultural sensibilities. Diana continued to support Stanley in his business endeavors.
Diana, however, always yearned for her family in Poland, and for the Polish culture with which she grew up. She felt that the Jewish community never really welcomed her – as a Catholic woman, she was an outsider.
Stanley and Diana’s daughter, Helen, remembers her mother as most happy when she was engaged with music: playing piano and guitar, or singing.
Diana died of cancer in 1983. She has yet to be recognized as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.
Betrayal & Loss
Timeline
