Andrzej Michalowski's address at the ceremony when he received the certificate of honor and medal for his parents Jan and Maria Michalowski, Yad Vasehm

Thank you for inviting me and my wife to your country to receive a medal and certificate in honor of my parents, Jan and Maria Michalowski. I believe that they are smiling at us in heaven, and joining me in expressing our gratitude. In 1943 our aunt Wladyslawa came with a little girl, Celinka. We were sure that she was her daughter and our niece. It was a little strange that our aunt kept teaching her how to hold hands in prayer and cross herself. I also remember the visits of a boy called Leszek.

In 1944, when the Red Army liberated Vilna, Celinka wasn't with us any longer. We never received an answer where she had gone.

In 1945 we moved to Gdansk, and knew nothing about the whereabouts of Leszek and Celina. Only in 1966 did our father learn that the family was in Israel. By that time our mother had died.

In 2003 I found a letter from a Mrs. Levin in Israel in some old documents. I wrote to that address, but the letter returned [Dora Perewoski Levin died in 1989]. In 2005 my cousin Marek informed me that Leszek and Celina live in Israel. And then Leszek came to my home. We cried as we remembered those hard times. I would like to thank Celina and Leszek for inviting us and for having our parents recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.