Strąg Czesława (Kisielewicz); Mother: Kisielewicz Rozalia

Kisielewicz, Rozalia Strąg, Czesława Chmielewska, Helena Rozalia Kartyganer was born in Kańczuga, Poland, in 1935. Her parents escaped Kańczuga at the beginning of the war and arrived in Brzezany. Persecution of the Jews began there in 1942. Rozalia’s mother was soon captured by the Germans and never seen again. Her father remained with 7-year-old Rozalia and began looking for solutions. Primarily, he wanted to find someone to hide his little girl. Czesława Kisielewicz (married name, Strąg), a 19-year-old Polish girl who happened to live and work with a family next door, was able to help. She had witnessed the capture of Rozalia’s mother and observed the frightened and reserved girl from then on. Gradually, an emotional connection was forged between the two girls, and Rozalia’s father felt able to approach Czesława to see if she would take it upon herself to protect his daughter. After presenting the child to her mother, Rozalia Kisielewicz, and consulting with her, Czesława agreed. The Kisielewicz family consisted of six people, two parents and four adult children living out of town. Czesława was the second oldest. She begged her father, who was initially reluctant, to agree to shelter the little Jewish girl. He eventually gave in but did not contribute, whereas Czesława’s mother, Rozalia, helped her daughter throughout the process. The first order of business was making little Rozalia convincingly Polish. Czesława had her priest baptize the child and issue a birth certificate under the name of a girl she knew of the same age who had been sent to Siberia with her family by the Soviets. Rozaila’s father knew and agreed to all this, knowing that it was done for his daughter’s safety. He was kept aware of her progress, and along with his approval he sent contact information for relatives in the United States, in case he should not survive the war. Indeed, in 1944 he was captured by the Germans and, like his wife, murdered. Czesława tried to move out of her parents’ house and find work to support herself and the child but was unable to do so. She was desperate for a solution and sought the advice of her family doctor, whom she knew and trusted. His suggestion was that Rozalia be sent to the Franciscan orphanage opening at that time in nearby Podhajce. The orphanage was led by Mother Superior Helena Chmielewska. She was made aware of the little girl’s real origins and did not hesitate to receive her. Rozalia was not the only Jewish girl in the establishment: an infant with distinctly Semitic features had been given up for adoption not long before, and Chmielewska was happy to raise her as well. Both Jewish children survived the war at the monastery orphanage. Chmielewska cared for them with love and dedication. Czesława continued to visit her ward and receive updates on her situation. After the war, when the area was liberated and fate took everyone involved in very different directions, the connection remained. Rozalia Kartyganer eventually joined her relatives in the United States, where she grew up and became a pediatrician, living by the name of Maria Damaszek. Czesława visited her several times, and Rozalia/Maria corresponded with Helena Chmielewska for the many years that she lived. On March 19, 2014, Yad Vashem recognized Czesława Strąg, Rozalia Kisielewicz, and Helena Chmielewska as Righteous Among the Nations.