Toni Rinde (nee Igel) was hidden by a Polish family from 1941 to 1945.
Born in Przemysl, Poland in 1940. Toni’s mother was a bookkeeper in her parents’ dry goods store, her father was an agricultural engineer. After the German invasion, Jews of Przemysl were forced into a ghetto. The situation of the Przemysl Jews was rapidly deteriorating. One day, Toni’s parents were approached by a woman they didn’t know who offered to take care of their baby. They agreed – at great risk – and Toni lived with Ms. Konoysna for 3 and a half years. She passed as Ms. Konoysna’s niece and was provided false papers and named, Marisha. In hiding she was raised as a Catholic. When roundups and deportations started in the ghetto, Toni’s father arranged an escape for his wife, brother, father, and himself. They hid in the woods and people’s attics and basements.
After the liberation, Toni was reunited with her parents and moved with them to Katowice, Poland where her father became the head of the Jewish community. Due to a threat from the local population, the family had to move. Eventually the family was able to immigrate to the United States where Toni met her husband John. Toni’s numerous relatives died in the Holocaust.