Kielan Franciszek & Maria ; Daughter: Rybicka Krystyna (Kielan); Daughter: Jaworowska Zofia (Kielan)

File 4836 Kielan, Franciszek Kielan, Maria Rybicka-Kielan, Krystyna Jaworowska-Kielan, Zofia During the occupation, Franciszek and Maria Kielan lived in Warsaw with their daughters, Krystyna and Zofia. One day in 1942, Krystyna got to know Janina Prot, a new girl in her class, from Warsaw. In due course, as the two became friends, Janina told Krystyna that she was Jewish, and that she had left her parents, who were hiding in a nearby town, and had come to Warsaw on her own, believing that she had a greater chance of surviving there. Stirred by her friend’s plight, Krystyna and her sister, Zofia, decided to ask their parents to shelter Janina. Despite the danger, the parents agreed and took Janina into their home without expecting anything in return. Later, the Kielans arranged for Janina to stay with acquaintances in a village (Zduńska Dąbrowa), where she helped with the housework, but she was soon sent back to the Kielans, after the village authorities began suspecting her true identity. One day in 1942, Prot was joined by Romana Laks (later Kaplan) who also turned up on the Kielans’ doorstep after her hiding place on the Aryan side of the city became too dangerous. For several months, the Kielans and their two daughters sheltered both Janina and Romana until Romana found a place in a convent near Warsaw, where she remained until the area was liberated by the Red Army. After suffering terrible hardships during the Warsaw Uprising in the summer of 1944, Prot stayed with the Kielans until the area was liberated. After the war, the two survivors immigrated to the United States where they were followed, several years later, by Zofia and Krystyna Kielan. Survivors and saviors remained friendly for many years. On January 2, 1991, Yad Vashem recognized Maria and Franciszek Kielan and their daughter, Krystyna Rybicka-Kielan, as Righteous Among the Nations. On May 19, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized their daughter, Zofia Jaworowska-Kielan, asRighteous Among the Nations.