Cholewiński Stanisław

Cholewiński, Stanisław In April 1943, in the middle of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, Alexander Wargon, a 15-year-old boy who had escaped from the ghetto, turned up on Stanisław Cholewiński’s doorstep asking for help. Concerned for the boy’s safety, Cholewiński sent Alexander to stay with his father-in-law, who lived with his children in Anielinek, near Warsaw. About two months later, German policemen raided the flat where Alexander was hiding. Although they did not find Alexander, the Cholewińskis decided that it would be safer for him to return to their apartment in Warsaw, where Alexander’s sister, Irena, was also hiding. The plan foundered, however, when the Germans raided Cholewiński’s house, suspecting him of hiding Jews. Although Irena, who was absent during the raid, survived, it was obviously no longer possible for her brother to hide there too. Against all odds, both Wargon and Irena survived, thanks to the Cholewińskis who, out of sheer compassion, risked their own lives to save others, without expecting anything in return. On July 1, 1992, Yad Vashem recognized Stanisław Cholewiński as Righteous Among the Nations.