Teodor and Eugenia (nee Mosakowska) Krzyczkowski ran a farm in the village of Krzyczki-Pieniążki, near Nasielska, together with their three children - Zygmunt, Barbara and Czesław. Following the death of Eugenia’s father in 1942, Teodor and his older son, Zygmunt, took over his farm near the village of Popowo Morowe. Eugenia, with the two younger children, remained in Krzyczki-Pieniążki.
It was actually she who made the decision to take two young girls into their home. In October 1942, the girls had knocked on her door asking for help. Thirteen year old Chana and twelve year old Chaja Ajzenfisz had managed to escape from the Warsaw ghetto where their parents, who most probably came from Legionowo, had perished. Their parents had hoped that, at the very least, their daughters would manage to be saved. Alone, they wandered about for months, covering around fifty kilometres on foot. Here and there, they were allowed to stay for a night. They were given food. However, no one would agree to allow them to stay under their roof for any longer period of time.
Chana and Chaja were warmly welcomed by Eugenię Krzyczkowską and the other members of the family agreed with that decision. So as to not arouse any suspicion. Chana lived with the Krzyczkowsk family and Chaja was with the neighbouring Zakrzewski family – Mrs Zakrzewska was Teodor’s sister. Thanks to the kindness of the sołtys (village administrator), Teodor Krzyczkowski registered the girls with the council as distant relatives, Hanna and Halina Waliśkiewicz. Both girls were treated as members of the family. In an interview for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Czesław Krzyczkowski, asked about the reason why his family had decided to save the Ajzenfisz sisters, said, ”Someone had to help them”. His parents also trusted their neighbours who knew who the little girls really were.
In 1944, when the front closed in on the village of Krzyczki, the Krzyczkowski and Zakrzewski families, together with the little girls, moved nearby to Ciechanów and lived with distant relatives, where they remained until January 1945. They then returned to Krzyczki. Chana and Chaja lived there until the end of May 1945 when the Krzyczkowski family took them to Nasielska, from where they went to a children’s home in Warsaw. In 1946, Chana left from Israel, whereas Chaja went to Brazil. In 1996, Chana Warszawska (nee Ajzenfisz) established telephone contact with Czesław Krzyczkowski. This relationship was maintained until her death.
