During the war, Janina Mazur (nee Fortuńska) lived at 60 Twarda Street in Warsaw, near the ghetto. When in 1940 the Germans announced that they would close the ghetto, Janina's parents offered shelter to the Jewish Bergier family, with whom they had been friends for years.
The Fortuńskis sheltered Abram Bergier, Łaja Bergier, Czesława Bergier, Zofia Bergier-Loretz with her three-year-old son, Bogdan, and Lucjan Bergier. "My mother gave Czesława my deceased sister’s birth certificate, they were the same age," recalled Janina Mazur. Abram Bergier was a shoemaker, so he sat all day in a corner by the window and made uppers. The Bergier family stayed with the Fortuńskis until 1941.
The Bergiers' problems began with the incident with the Fortuńskis’ neighbors. “A neighbor dropped by, and she had an argument with the Bergiers' daughter and after her departure, Mrs. Bergier said: 'She will hand us over'. Two weeks later the Gestapo came. Mr. Berger took out some money, and gave the money to them. They announced that they would come next week, he paid them a second time, they ordered him to be prepared for the next visit. Mr. Berger replied that there was no more, and the SSman punched him in the face. And when they showed up for the third time, the Bergiers were gone, ” added Janina Mazur. During the third visit the Germans discovered the escape of a hiding Jewish family, in consequence Janina's sister Lidia and father Józef were brutally beaten.
Łaja Bergier took refuge with Czesława Bergier, who had married a Pole and lived in Włochy, and Abram Bergier with a shoemaker friend in Żyrardów. Lucjan Bergier left for Radom and asked Janina to live with him. The Fortuńskis agreed to the departure of their daughter. Janina and Lucjan were in possession of forged ID cards and they found employment in a factory. Mrs. Bergierowa and the second daughter of the Bergiers with her son joined them. After the war, Janina and Lucjan got married. They had three daughters.
On 11 September 2002, the entire Fortuński family was honored with the title of the Righteous Among the Nations.
Read more: Holocaust in occupied Poland