Anna Choynowska Passes Away at 94
Anna Choynowska (nee Byszewska) was born on 13th June 1921 in Warsaw. Together with her mother, Heleną, and brother, Władysław, she lived in a tenement at ul. Marszałkowskiej 97a. He father, Witold, died in 1931 as the result of pneumonia.
During the War, the Byszewski family cared for the Eisenberg couple, their daughter Beatą Sawicką (known as "Franią") and her son, as well as Mrs Eisenberg's sister. Another to find shelter with them was Dr Lipfeld. All had known each other from before the War. The decision to aid Jews was one taken at great risk, but the Byczewski family did not hesitate to help.
"We were afraid, but what could we do? We couldn't throw them out", Anna Choynowska explained in an interview with POLIN Museum. "There's no question as to why we did it, it was completely normal. The family came to us. How could we have thrown them out onto the street where they would have been shot?"
In 1986, in recognition of the help that they extended during the War, Anna Choynowska, Helena Byszewska, Jadwiga Gostkiewicz and Maria Szulińska were all honoured with title of Righteous Among the Nations of the World.
