This Woman's Bravery In World War II Wasn't Known For Almost 50 Years

This Woman's Bravery In World War II Wasn't Known For Almost 50 Years

By Alexandra Miller

By Alexandra Miller
May 18, 2018

May 18, 2018

Anna Stupnicka-Bando risked her life as a teen to save another girl during World War II. Her heroism wasn't learned until nearly half a century later.

SHOW TRANSCRIPT

The punishment for helping a Jew during World War II was not only death for the person helping but also death for that person's entire family. Yet Janina Stupnicka and her daughter Anna decided the risk was worth it. They saved countless Jewish people through forged documents and hid a teenage girl in their home during the war.

TRENDING IN World NEWS

A woman walks past the Greek Orthodox church after a priest was shot Saturday Oct. 31, 2020 while he was closing his church

Laurent Cipriani / AP

Greek Orthodox Priest Shot In Lyon As New Violence Rattles France

members of rescue services search for survivors in the debris of collapsed buildings in Izmir, Turkey.

Ali Aksoyer / AP

At Least 30 Killed, 800 Injured As Quake, Tsunami Hit Turkey, Greece

Religious group burns French flag

K.M. Chaudary / AP

Muslims In Several Countries Protest Cartoons After Violence In France

Pope Puts Restrictions In Place At The Vatican

French police officers stand near Notre Dame church in Nice, southern France, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020.

Eric Gaillard/Pool via AP

Deadly Church Attack in Southern France Deemed 'Islamist Terrorism'

A landslide leaves a trail of rocks and mud as it swamps a village in Phuoc Loc district, Quang Nam province, Vietnam

Lai Minh Dong / AP

Rescuers Look For Landslide Survivors After Typhoon Molave

French policemen stand next to Notre Dame church after a knife attack, in Nice, France, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020.

Alexis Gilli / AP

3 Killed In France Knife Attack

Luke Hanrahan

UK Study To Infect Volunteers With COVID To Speed Vaccine Development

Broken tree branches caused by strong winds from typhoon Molave lie on a deserted street in Da Nang, Vietnam Wednesday

Vo Van Dung / AP

Typhoon Molave Makes Landfall In Vietnam

People move fishing boats to save place ahead of Typhoon Molave in Danang, Vietnam

Tran Le Lam / VNA / AP

Over 1M Evacuated As Vietnam Prepares For Typhoon Molave

Hurricane Zeta approaches Cancun, Mexico

Victor Ruiz Garcia / AP

Zeta Makes Landfall On Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula

People try to remove car tires from a car shop on fire after shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict.

Latest Azerbaijan-Armenia Cease-Fire Falls Apart

Rescue workers and police officers examine the site of bomb explosion in an Islamic seminary in Peshawar, Pakistan

Muhammad Sajjad / AP

Bomb Kills At Least 8 People At Islamic Seminary In Pakistan

People board up doors and windows

Tomas Stargardter / AP

Zeta Strengthens Into A Hurricane

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Alexei Druzhinin / AP

Vladimir Putin Sees Nothing 'Criminal' In Hunter Biden's Ukraine Work

A fire burns at a factory following recent shelling during fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

AP / Aziz Karimov

Armenia And Azerbaijan Agree To New Ceasefire Agreement

Relatives of a man who died from non-COVID causes attend his funeral.

Marco Ugarte / AP

Mexico Says Death Toll Is Higher Than Official Count

People move through a terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Mike Stewart / AP

Delta Has Banned Almost 500 People For Not Wearing Masks

People stand in a London train station

Alastair Grant / AP

COVID-19 Cases Surge In Europe As Leaders Impose New Restrictions

Archbishop Wilton Gregory will be America's First Black Cardinal

Pope Announces America's First Black Cardinal: Wilton Gregory

Husam Abd al-Rauf's FBI most wanted photo

Afghanistan Says It Killed Key Al-Qaeda Leader

Istanbul's skyline

Emrah Gurel / AP

U.S. Issues Security Alert To Americans In Turkey

People hold banners as they demonstrate against police brutality, in Lagos, Nigeria.

Why Nigerians Are Taking To The Streets In Protests

A COVID-19 test administered in France

Michel Spingler / AP

Daily Coronavirus Cases Doubling in Europe

Protesters run away as police officers use teargas to disperse people demonstrating against police brutality in Nigeria.

Sunday Alamba / AP

Protesters Killed By Nigerian Authorities

Pro-democracy activists create a human chain to confront a police barricades during their march in Thailand.

Sakchai Lalit / AP

Thailand's Government Cancels Emergency Decree To Calm Protests

Gay and lesbian couples kiss after getting married

In Break From Tradition, Pope Endorses Same-Sex Civil Unions

Pope Francis attends a inter-religious ceremony for peace.

AP / Gregorio Borgia

Pope Francis Endorses Civil Unions For Same-Sex Couples

Protester holds sign that says "Freedom @ last." Others wave Nigerian flags

Sunday Alamba / AP

Witnesses Report Soldiers Firing At Nigerian Protesters

Ajithkumar Sukumaran prepares the COVID-19 vaccine to administer to a volunteer, at a clinic in London. U.K.

Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

UK To Infect Healthy People For Vaccine Study

New Zealand Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party, Jacinda Ardern, has a selfie taken with supporters

AP Photo/Mark Baker

Jacinda Ardern's Historic Election Victory Cements Her Global Stardom

Emirati officials pay first Israel visit after forging ties.

GPO Israel / AP

UAE Sends First Official Delegation To Israel

A teacher leads a lesson outdoors at the school Hipólito Yrigoyen in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Victor R. Caivano / AP

Argentina Reaches 1M Coronavirus Cases

U.S-Canada border in Buffalo, New York

Jeffrey T. Barnes / AP

U.S. Border Closures Will Continue Into November

Luis Arce celebrates Bolivian presidential win.

Juan Karita / AP

Bolivia Exit Polls Suggest Victory For Socialist Party

An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane sits at a boarding gate at LaGuardia Airport.

Frank Franklin II / AP

American Airlines Plans To Return 737 Max To Service

Ultra-Orthodox Jews pray covered in prayer shawls in divided sections which allow a maximum of twenty worshipers.

Oded Balilty / AP

Israel Eases Back From Second COVID Lockdown

Police clash with protesters at the Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020.

Petr David Josek / AP

Violent Anti-Mask Protests Break Out In Czech Republic

People walking through Beijing with masks

Andy Wong / AP

China Passes Biosecurity Law To Protect Virus Whistleblowers

Pro-democracy protesters gathered at Victory Monument in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday.

Sakchai Lalit / AP

Protests Continue In Bangkok For Fifth Consecutive Day

Pro-democracy protesters marched during a protest in Udom Suk, suburbs of Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday.

Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP

Bangkok Transit System Shut Down As City Sees Fourth Day Of Protests

New Zealand Prime Minister

Mark Baker / AP

New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern Wins 2nd Term In Election Rout

Mourners gather outside a French school after a teacher was decapitated

Michel Euler / Associated Press

France Reacts In Shock After Teacher Decapitated Outside School

Soldiers and firefighters search for survivors

Aziz Karimov / AP

Thirteen Civilians Killed, 50 Wounded In Armenia, Azerbaijan Conflict

Fukushima nuclear plant

Japan May Dump Wastewater From Fukushima Facility Into Ocean

Hans Kluge, regional director for WHO Europe

David Barrett / WHO

COVID-19 Cases Surging In Europe

People wait at a bus stop in London.

Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

London On High Coronavirus Alert Level

Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Jerome Delay / AP

FDA Approves First Ebola Treatment

Thai protesters hold up three-finger salute

Wason Wanichakorn / AP

Thailand Declares State Of Emergency Amid Protests

Kyrgyzstan's President Sooronbai Jeenbekov

Vladimir Voronin / AP

Kyrgyzstan's President Resigns Amid Protests

A group of children at Auschwitz in 1945

Germany Plans To Pay 240,000 Holocaust Survivors $662M

Italians wear face masks

Luca Bruno / AP

Europe Experiences COVID-19 Resurgence

A teen in Madrid, Spain

Paul White / AP

Record Breaking Heat Across The Globe In September

People dine at a restaurant as France's President Emmanuel Macron gives an address on television on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.

AP Photo/Bob Edme

France Sets Curfews In Paris, Other Major Cities To Stop COVID Surge

On the two year anniversary of his death Oct. 2, a mourner holds tribute posters outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Emrah Gurel / AP

Saudi Arabia Voted Off U.N. Human Rights Council

Luke Hanrahan

Liverpool COVID Restrictions Like 'Being in Land of Living Dead'

Rescue workers travel by boat on a swelling river to access a flooded area in Vietnam

NGUYEN VAN TY / AP

Flooding Kills Dozens In Vietnam, Cambodia

People wearing face masks in Amsterdam

Mike Corder / AP

Netherlands Reports First Death From COVID-19 Reinfection

Houses destroyed in Azerbaijan

Armenia, Azerbaijan Accuse Each Other Of Breaking Ceasefire

Jets fly over presidential office in Taipei in National Day celebrations on Oct. 10.

Chiang Ying-ying / AP

Reuters: Trump Administration Readies Taiwan Arm Sales, China Protests

2019: A child is vaccinated against Ebola in Beni, Congo DRC.

Associated Press

Experts: Vaccine Hesitancy Is A Global Threat

People are out socializing in Liverpool city centre on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020

Peter Byrne/PA via AP

As COVID-19 Surges In Europe, So Does Resistance To Restrictions

Homes leveled by fire in Phoenix, Oregon

Noah Berger / AP

U.N. Report: Natural Disasters Surged Over Past 20 Years

A building of a residential area burns after night shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict

ArmGov PAN Photo / Areg Balayan / AP

Fighting Between Armenia And Azerbaijan Continues

A damaged shop is seen after shelling by Armenian's artillery during fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh

Aziz Karimov / AP

Azerbaijan, Armenia Blame Each Other As Ceasefire Breaks

Indian shopkeeper waits for customers wearing a mask

Aijaz Rahi / AP

India Hits 7 Million COVID-19 Cases

Woman cleans an Airbnb

Airbnb Requires Hosts Meet New Cleaning Standards

Medical staff checks temperature in Australia

Andy Brownbill / AP

Australia: No COVID-19 Deaths for 2 Days

https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/IndonesiaLaborProtests/ca2237ec8ba04356ab532b2ca0c0b618/photo?Query=jakarta&mediaType=photo,video&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=31808&currentItemNo=36

Indonesian Police Detain Hundreds Of Protesters In The Capital

Scientists in a lab study monoclonal antibodies.

Eli Lilly To Supply COVID-19 Treatment To Low-Income Countries

Child carries World Food Program box in Zimbabwe

Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi / AP

Nobel Peace Prize Awarded To U.N.'s World Food Program

Kyrgyzstan's President Sooronbai Jeenbekov

Vladimir Voronin / AP

Kyrgyzstan's President Says He'll Step Down

Charges Against ISIS Beatles 'A Long Time Coming' Says Victim's Mother

Alexei Navalny, wife Yulia and son Zahar in photo from Germany posted on Instagram Tuesday.

Alexei Navalny / Instagram via AP

France, Germany, U.K. Target Russians In Navalny Poisoning

People walk at China Town in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

Koji Sasahara / AP

Japan To Lift Travel Ban To 12 Countries Including China

A Qantas airplane

Rob Griffith / AP

More And More Airlines Offering Scenic 'Flights To Nowhere'

Miami: Volunteer participates in the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Trial

Associated Press

Vaccine Hoarding by Richer Nations Threatens Global Recovery, Some Say

Woman walks by closed case in Paris on Tuesday.

Lewis Joly / AP

ICU Admissions For COVID-19 Spike In France; Infections Up in Germany

People walk along the Forbidden City during a weeklong National Day holiday in Beijing.

Andy Wong / AP

China Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Shows Promise

Pavel Golovkin / AP

Russia's Alexei Navalny Confirmed To Have Been Poisoned

Police officers stop a car at a checkpoint in Madrid on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

As COVID Surges Again In Europe, Experts Call For Balanced Response

Protesters gather in front of the government headquarters on the central square in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Vladimir Voronin / AP

Protesters Occupy Government Buildings In Kyrgyzstan After Election

South Korean marine boats patrol near Yeonpyeong island, South Korea

KIM DO-HOON / YONHAP / AP

U.N. Calls For Probe Into Killing Of South Korean Official

people enjoy a drink in a cafe terrace in Paris.

Lewis Joly / AP

Paris Put On Maximum Alert As Coronavirus 'Is Moving Too Fast'

A health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a woman at a testing facility for the coronavirus in a hospital in Pakistan.

Fareed Khan / AP

New World Health Organization Estimate Puts Coronavirus Cases At 760M

People enter a London metro station in England

Kirsty O'Connor / PA / AP

Computer Glitch Causes U.K. Coronavirus Cases To Jump

A Nobel prize being shown in Colombia

Fernando Vergara / AP

Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded For Hepatitis C Discovery

Police use a water cannon against demonstrators during a rally in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. Hundreds of thousands

Over 100,000 Turn Out For Belarus March In 9th Straight Week

Muslims practice social distancing while praying around the Kaaba

Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah / AP

Pilgrims Return To Mecca As Saudi Eases COVID-19 Restrictions

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended his government's handling of the virus with cases and deaths on the rise.

Victoria Jones / AP

U.K. PM Boris Johnson Defends His Handling of the Coronavirus

Aerial showing flooded valley, damaged bridge, flooded houses, mudslide, collapsed mountain, damages and debris

At Least 2 Dead In Historic French And Italian Floods

An Azerbaijan's army's multiple rocket launcher fires during fighting with Armenian forces

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry / AP

Heavy Fighting Carries On Between Armenia And Azerbaijan

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro and Britain's prime minister Boris Johnson

Johnson, Bolsonaro Offer Insights On How Trump May Deal With COVID-19

Ireland’s Supreme Court has ruled that bread sold by the fast food chain Subway contains so much sugar

Charles Krupa / AP

Ireland's Top Court Rules Subway's Bread Too Sugary For Tax Break

People are reflected on a blank electronic stock board.

Eugene Hoshiko / AP

Tokyo Stock Exchange Suffers Complete Outage

Actor and theater director Aris Laskos poses outside the Theater of Neos Kosmos in Athens.

AP / Thanassis Stavrakis

Europe's Unemployment Rate Rises For Fifth Straight Month