During WWII, the Germans came through and occupied Poland for a period of many years. They issued ration books to the Poles for food. They refused to issue a ration book to Stefania, and she did not want to be stealing food from the mouths of her children and grandchildren by using their ration coupons to feed herself. One night she disappeared and no one saw her again. It is thought that someone may have found her and buried her, but because of the harsh winters in Poland, she surely died. No one can quite remember exactly when she disappeared, but as the German occupation of Poland ended in 1945, Stefania died before then. That is as close as we can get to a death date for her.