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Franciszek Jakieła, his wife Agnieszka, daughters Julia and Anna as well as Rozalia Kotłowska and Barbara Kotłowska (Agnieszka’s daughters from the first marriage) lived in Jasionka located a few kilometres from Dukla. When in the summer of 1942, German authorities began to deport Jews from Dukla, many of them fled to the forest and to Polish families. Bronislawa Szopa, a teacher of Jewish roots coming from Gdańsk, the wife of Kazimierz Szopa, a teacher in Dukla, a native of Jasionka, was one of fugitives. Initially Bronisława was hiding in the forest. There Bronisława was met by Barbara Kotłowska a liaison person of the Home Army and brought to the house of her parents. It did not happen accidentally because the Szopa family was on friendly terms with Jakieła family. Bronisława lived in the attic behind the specially added wall. Jakieła family undertook additional risk because from 1939 they were hiding liturgical objects in the attic of their house to hide the liturgical objects and they kept church bells buried under the floor of the house. Julia Jakieła-Welcer reminisced in 2008 that the detailed search conducted by three Germans in the house, the attic and farm buildings had cost the whole family the most of nerves. Until today she has remembered very well the accompanying emotions and the joy of that she managed to avoid unmasking. Despite the precautions taken inhabitants of the village guessed that the Jakieła family was hiding the Jewess. Kazimierz Szopa several times visited his wife in the hideout. All lived to the end of the war.

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On 04 Sep. 2014 Agnieszka Jakiela and Franciszek Jakiela were awarded the medal “Righteous among the Nations”.

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