Antoni Stefan Koper and Sophie Koper papers

Antoni Stefan Koper (1906-1990) was born on 6 September 1906 in Warsaw, Poland. He received a degree from the University of Warsaw and he worked for the Polish Press (Prasa Polska). While attending the University of Warsaw he met Sophie Margulies, whom he would marry after the war. Antoni fought with the Polish Army after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. After Warsaw was occupied he joined the Polish Resistance where he helped publish underground newspapers, smuggle goods into the Warsaw ghetto, and forge identity documents. In February 1943 he helped Sophie Margulies escape the Warsaw ghetto. Antoni and his mother Marta hid Sophie and several other Jews in their apartment. He was also a member of the Polish Home Army and participated in the Warsaw Uprising begun in August 1944. He was captured in October 1944 and imprisoned in Oflag II D at Gross Born. He escaped the prison and joined the Polish Armoured Division under the British Army. Antoni and Sophie married after the war and lived in Quakenbrück, Germany where he remained with the Polish Army until 1947 and then worked for the Polish Press Corps. Their son Peter was also born in 1947. Antoni and Sophie immigrated to London in 1947, and the United States in 1952. They settled in Monterey, California where Antoni taught Polish at the Defense Language Institute. They moved to Washington, D.C. in 1958 and Antoni worked as senior editor of a Polish language magazine published by the United States Information Agency. He died in June 1990 and was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in July 1990.

Sophie Koper (1916-2011) was born Fanny Margulies in Moscow, Russia to Benjamin and Tatiana Margulies. She had an older sister, Raisa. Her family was Polish and not religious. Sophie’s father left for Odessa for a job and never returned to his family. Sophie and her mother and sister moved to Krasnodar where Tatiana’s parents lived. Around 1920 the family moved to Warsaw where her mother worked as a nurse. After graduation from Gymnasium Sophie attended the University of Warsaw to study journalism. She met her future husband Antoni Stefan Koper while attending the school. In 1938 Sophie worked as a secretary while still attending school. In 1940 Sophie, her mother, sister, and brother-in-law were forced to move into the Warsaw ghetto. She avoided deportation, but her family were all deported and murdered. She was in contact with Antoni, active in the Polish Resistance, and he helped her escape the Warsaw ghetto in February 1943. He and his mother hid Sophie among others in their apartment. Antoni helped Sophie obtain forged papers, and she assumed the identity of Zofia Jabłońska. She was a nurse for the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising, and worked as a nurse in a hospital for the duration of the war. Sophie and Antoni married after the war and lived in Quakenbrück, Germany where he remained with the Polish Army until 1947 and then worked for the Polish Press Corps. Their son Peter was also born in 1947. Sophie and Antoni immigrated to London in 1947, and the United States in 1952. They settled in Monterey, California and later moved to Washington, D.C. in 1958.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Peter Koper

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Peter Koper

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Peter Koper

The collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by Peter Koper in 2019. The collections previously numbered 2019.268.1, 2019.271.1, and 2019.272.1 have been incorporated into this collection.