Reunited for the first time in more than 70 years, the Holocaust survivor and the Polish neighbour who risked her life by hiding the young Jewish girl from German soldiers on the family farm

There were tears of joy at JFK Airport today as a Holocaust survivor was reunited with the friend who smuggled food to her as she hid from the Nazis.

Mira Wexler, 78, hid on 85-year-old Helena Weglowski’s farm during the Second World War and they haven’t seen each other since 1945, when it ended.

Helena, from Ilawa, Poland, hugged and kissed Wexler and described the feeling of seeing her friend again as overwhelming.

Together again: There were tears of joy at JFK Airport today as a Holocaust survivor was reunited with the friend who smuggled food to her as she hid from the Nazis

Survival strategy: Mira Wexler (right) hid on the farm of Helena Weglowski (left) during the Second World War and they haven’t seen each other since 1945, when it ended

Tender moment: Helena, from Ilawa, Poland, hugged and kissed Mira and described the feeling of seeing her friend again as overwhelming

Emotional: Mira, who now lives in Rio de Janeiro, said 'it was very touching for me to be here'

EMOTIONAL reunion between Holocaust survivor and friend

She told the New York Post: ‘I’m extremely happy to see Mira again. I remember the time before the war when we would play together. The war destroyed everything — but now we can be together again and I’m extremely overwhelmed.’

Mira, who lives in Rio de Janeiro, told the paper: ‘It was very touching for me to be here and see Helena again. It’s something I couldn’t imagine until now — and it’s happening.’

The story of their friendship begins in 1942, when German soldiers forced Wexler and her family from their Polish village to a ghetto in Ludwipol, now part of Ukraine.

Helena, pictured here as a young woman in 1955, said she was overwhelmed to see her friend again

Close bond: Helena (right), with her brother Stanislaw (centre) in 1949

The Germans began liquidating the ghetto in 1942 so Mira’s family - her father, Jacob, having been killed - fled to Weglowski’s farm in Stara Huta.

Jacob owned a mill on the Weglowski farm and the two families were on friendly terms.

Helena and her brother, Stanislaw, spent two years ferrying food to Mira and her mother, Chana as they hid in the grounds.

Mira today acknowledged that Helena risked her life because she would have been killed if the Germans found out she was harbouring Jews.

The reunion was organised by The Jewish Foundation For The Righteous, whose Executive Vice President, Stanlee Stahl, remarked: ‘In the many years we have worked with survivors and their rescuers, I continue to be amazed by the heroism of the thousands of Christian rescuers who risked their lives to save Jews from certain death. 

'We owe a great deal of gratitude to these Righteous Gentiles, and through our work, hope to improve their lives and preserve their stories of heroism.'

Miraculously, Chana and Mira survived and moved to Brazil when Germany was defeated.