Chmielewska Michalina ; Daughter: Ogrodzińska Stanisława (Chmielewska)

Chmielewska, Michalina Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska, Stanisława After her husband was captured by the Russians in September 1939 and killed in the Katyn forest, Stanisława Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska, a member of the Polish aristocracy in Warsaw, went to live with her mother, Michalina Chmielewska. Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska, popularly known as Stenia, retained contact with her Jewish friends who were interned in the ghetto, and helped them to the best of her ability. When the deportations to Treblinka began, Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska helped Alicia Oldak, an old school friend of hers, escape from the ghetto. At great risk to her, her mother, and daughter, Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska sheltered Alicia in her home and provided her with “Aryan” papers. With great resourcefulness and courage, Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska smuggled out jewels hidden in the Oldak’s apartment, which helped Alicia’s husband, David Oldak, her cousin, Mina Tomkiewicz, and her young son, Marek, escape. Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska subsequently arranged a hiding place for them all, where they stayed throughout the war. At Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska’s initiative, and with the help of her Polish friends, Eliyahu and Margot Solowiejczyk and Alexandra Solowiejczyk were smuggled out of the ghetto to a pre-arranged hiding place. Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska became the address for Jews escaping from the Warsaw ghetto. During the ghetto’s liquidation in May 1943, Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska helped save the lives of Roman, Alicia’s bother, her cousin, Stanisław Tomkiewicz, Dr. Michał Tomkiewicz and the Forbert couple. Later, the survivors testified that Ogrodzińska and her mother Chmielewska were guided by religious and humanitarian motives. They related how Ogrodzińska, who was the living spirit behind the rescue operation, told them during the occupation: “There is no law on earth that states that I must stay alive while you have to die.” On February 26, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Stanisława Ogrodzińska-Chmielewska and her mother,Michalina Chmielewska, as Righteous Among the Nations.