During the years of the German occupation, the Krepski family lived in Helenów near Nieśwież - Kazimierz, his wife Maria, sons Michał and Kazimierz and daughter Apolonia. They provided help to their friend, the tailor Szymon Kantorowicz.
In the summer of 1942, he had escaped from a fur coat factory, where had worked as a forced labourer for the Germans. He hid in the nearby forests. In September, he asked help from Kazimierz Krepski, who prepared a hiding place for him, under the floor of his own home.
Read this story of aid prepared by writer and journalist Teresa Torańska.
"He came at night. He knocked on the window. It was the autumn of 1942." They lived in Helenów near Nieśwież, where they had about twenty hectares, an orchard, beehives and sheep.
"We knew him. He lived in Uznów, not far away. He used to visit us before the war, always coming with his aunt for milk and eggs."
His name was Szymon Kantorowicz. He was in his early twenties, a tailor and a barber. My parents felt that as he had come asking for help, they had to assist him. His aunt's fate is unknown - she probably perished. They never asked Szymek about it.
Karzymierz dug out a hiding place for him. He removed floorboards and created a deep pit. In times of danger, the floorboards would be lifted, Szymek would enter and their large dog would lie across the floorboards.
"He didn’t move. You could kick him, but he wouldn’t get off the floorboard."
The children were in charge of watching who was coming. She had two older brothers. The Germans came often. They were stationed at the school and would buy lard, eggs and milk from them.
Szymek siedział w domu, szył ubrania, kożuchy, coś reperował, zawsze miał jakieś zajęcie. A w piątek po zachodzie słońca wyciągał Torę. Wtedy nie wolno było mu przeszkadzać.
"Szymek sat at home, sewing clothes and fur coats, always repairing something. He always had something to do. But, on Friday after sunset, he took out a Torah. At that time, he was not to be disturbed.
Po wojnie, wskutek zmiany granic, Helenów znalazł się na terytorium ZSRR. Krepscy zostali wysiedleni ze swojego domu. Jechali pociągiem towarowym z całym dobytkiem. Szymon podróżował razem z nimi, ukrywając się w sianie. Wysiadł w Warszawie.
After the war, due to the changes in the borders, Helenów found itself on Soviet territory. The Kreps family was displaced from their home. By freight train. they traveled with all their belongings, and Szymon traveled with them, hiding in the hay. He got off in Warsaw.
"He wanted to pay us for saving his life, but my father refused to accept any payment."
They settled in Świebodzin. A few years later, Szymek moved first to the Netherlands and then to Canada. He found the Kreps family after martial law was declared in Poland.
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Teresa Torańska's text comes from the album "Polacy ratujący Żydów w czasie Zagłady. Przywracanie Pamięci” ["Poles Saving Jews During the Holocaust - Restoring the Memory"] (2008), published by the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. It marked the occasion of Poles, being honoured with high decorations, by the Polish President, for having saved Jews.
Honouring the Krepski family for helping Jews during the Holocaust
On 14th August 2006, the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem honoured Kazimierz Krepski, his wife Maria (nee Kiernożecka), sons Michał and Kazimierza, and daughter Apolonia Zajączkowską, with the title of Righteous Among the Nations.
By order of the Polish President, on 13th November 2008, Apolonia Zajączkowska was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.