Stocker, Deborah

Deborah Stocker was born February 11, 1943 in Warsaw. She went into hiding as an infant, and was raised in her early life in a Catholic orphanage, where she was baptized under the name Wanda Katarzyna Szymeczko.  Deborah’s parents were both from Warsaw and were living a good life in their early years:  the war saw them both forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, which they were lucky to escape during the time of the uprising – both were fortunate to have identity papers. Her father was arrested by the Gestapo during that time, but her pregnant mother stopped at an orphanage – Dom Malych Dzieci Baudouina – where she was given refuge and able to give birth to her daughter a few months later.  The nuns there cared for her and her newborn child, and for that they have been designated as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem.  Deborah’s mother was able to stay in the orphanage for the first six months of her daughter’s life, but after that she had to leave.  Her mother survived the war on a farm outside Warsaw, while her father survived a labour camp in Germany that he was sent to after his arrest.  Her extended family was impacted by events too, with most of her mother’s side deported to Siberia, and much of her father’s family was murdered in the Shoah.  Deborah’s mother came to retrieve her in 1945, and the young Deborah refused to go – she had no recollection of her.  The family did reunite of course and they relocated to eastern Poland before emigrating to Israel in 1950.  The family stayed there until 1959, when the decision was made to relocate to Canada.  Deborah had really connected with Israel during that decade, and she recalls that leaving was very difficult for her.  In Canada Deborah took up a career in teaching, and she met her future husband, and the two of them emigrated to the U.S. for a period of time. Deborah spent many years reassembling her life and family history and in 2007 she was able to return to Poland, where had a memorable meeting with Irina Sendler and was able to be present for the designation of the orphanage as Righteous among the Nations.  Deborah Stocker was interviewed by Crestwood students at Baycrest in December 2025.