Jennifer Ochoa has lived a half-block from an unassuming wooden home in Elmhurst since she was born. She says she knew the elderly Polish woman who once lived there — but only learned of her story about four years ago.

“My goodness. This little old lady, who was very nice and very humble, she was the real thing. She was our version of the real Wonder Woman. She is a super hero,” said Ochoa.

Walentyna Janta-Polczynska, who died in April at the age of 107, was one of the last surviving members of the Polish government in exile — which formed after Nazis invaded Poland in 1939.  Janta-Polczynska served as a secretary and translator to the Polish prime minister in exile in London.

She translated some of the first eyewitness reports of the horrors of the Warsaw ghetto — revealing to the world Nazi atrocities against the Jews. She also helped set up Dawn, a clandestine radio station that broadcast from London to German-occupied Poland.

“So, a lot of the Polish people could be aware of what was really happening,” said James McMenamin, of the Elmhurst History and Cemetery Preservation Society.

After the war--Janta-Polczynska emigrated to New York, where she met her husband Aleksander. They opened an antique bookstore and their home on 43rd Avenue in Elmhurst became a hub of Polish culture.

“There really aren’t a lot of landmarks in New York City that represent the history of World War II or the history of the Holocaust or the history of any ethnic group that fought in World War II as part of the allied cause,” said Kelly Carroll, the Director of Advocacy and Community Outreach for the Historic Districts Council.

Janta-Polczynska sold the house about five years ago. Community advocates say the new owner intends to tear it down to build an apartment house.

“All too often we see these historic homes, especially in neighborhoods like this being demolished for these ugly buildings. And it really need to stop,” said
Alfonso Quiroz, a community activist.

Now, preservationists are launching a campaign to bring attention to the house — and its history in hopes of gaining landmarks protection. The city’s landmarks preservation commission says it evaluated the home last month, after receiving a request, but that further study is needed.