Maria Prow, (nee Sulikowska) b. 1908 Sanok, Poland. Immigrated to Australia 1966.

As Maria Prow recuperates from a recent bout of ill health, she receives the most devoted nursing care from her husband George. For him, it is yet another way to repay the precious gift of life she gave him during the grim war years in Poland.

Maria Sulikowska was born in Sanok, Poland, but from 1941-1944 lived in the village of Otynia, formerly in Poland but now part of the Ukraine. During that time, she risked her own life by providing Jews with food and shelter. Her Catholic faith dictated that she should help people in need.

l) Maria and George Prow in 1950                       r) Maria Prow today

Izak Prowizor, as George was known then, together with his brother and another friend, spent six months hiding in 1942, first sleeping in barns and later taking refuge in a brick factory. Whenever they could, they returned to Maria's house for meals. The bunker in the brick factory was discovered by the Gestapo and the little group was deported to the Stanisalw ghetto. Izak escaped and made his way back to Maria, who hid him in a wardrobe. When this hiding place was discovered, he found another, always returning to Maria's for food. This pattern continued until the village of Otynia was liberated by the Russian forces.

After the war, Maria and Izak married and came to Australia. In 1985, Yad Vashem in Jerusalem honoured Maria as Righteous Among the Nations in a ceremony in Sydney conducted by Yissakhar Ben Yaacov, Ambassador of Israel.

Read the full story of Maria and Izak Prow in Prow, G. (1996) Unforgettable Heroine, Sydney, George Prow c/ Oral History Program, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney 2000 AUSTRALIA