A CARD FROM THE CALENDAR -
The occupied Warsaw lay at the very centre of the wartime events. 3 Widok Street was an address right in the middle of the city. It was there, in Anna Choynowska’s apartment, that a safe haven was provided for a Jewish boy only a few years old, Wiesław Bieniek. Anna Choynowska was an enterprising, educated person, a family friend of the little Wiesio’s parents. She ran the Warsaw restaurant “Pod Cyranką”, loved the little Wiesio as if he’d been her own child, and was deeply devoted to him. As the boy had been circumcised, she dressed him in girl clothes for safety, to minimise the risk of random checks (the Germans would often look for Jews, checking if boys and men were circumcised). Thanks to Anna Choynowska’s care and love, the boy survived until the liberation. Wiesław Bieniek maintained close relations with his saviour until her dying day.
