Ropelewski Hipolit & Ropelewska Wiktoria (Kozieracka); Son: Robert

Ropelewski Hipolit Ropelewska Wiktoria Ropelewski Robert Natan Chaskielberg knew Hipolit Ropelewski, who lived in Młociny (Warsaw District), from their work together in a factory on the “Aryan” side of Warsaw. Hipolit Ropelewski struck Natan as being a decent person, a man of conscience, who would be responsive in a time of need. In 1942, as the situation in the Warsaw ghetto deteriorated, Natan looked for a way to save his infant daughter, Mirosława, who was not yet a year old. He turned to his friend, Hipolit, who agreed to help. In November 1942, the Ropelewskis took custody of the baby girl and raised her for three full years as a Christian. The cover story was that she was an orphan whose family had been killed in a bombing raid. Not all the neighbors believed this and some suspected that the girl was a Jew. However, her “Aryan”, non-Jewish features gave their story credibility. Little Mirosława was devotedly and lovingly cared for by Wiktoria, Hipolit’s wife, and by their adolescent son, Robert, who also grew attached to her. Her mother, Lea, and another Jewish family were also given refuge for a time by the Ropelewskis. Natan Chaskielberg perished in the Holocaust, but Lea survived and at the end of the war received her daughter safe and sound from her rescuers. On May 15, 2005, Yad Vashem recognized Hipolit and Wiktoria Ropelewski and their son, Robert Ropelewski, as Righteous Among the Nations. File: 10570