Dress Worn by a Hidden Child

A blue and white child's dress worn by Sabina Kagan while living in hiding with the Roztropowicz family in Radziwillow, Poland, during World War II. Her rescuers used doll's clothing to make this dress.

Sabina was just an infant when SS mobile killing squads began rounding up Jews in the Polish village of Radziwillow in 1942. Her parents persuaded a local policeman to hide the family. The policeman, however, soon asked the Kagans to leave but agreed to hide baby Sabina. Her parents were captured and killed. Sabina was concealed in a dark basement, with minimal food and clothing. She was discovered and taken in by the Roztropowicz family in 1943. Like most hidden children, Sabina had few personal belongings. Her foster mother Natalia even made her some clothing from doll clothes. This blue and white dress with crochet inserts in the waist and sleeves is one of the few pieces of clothing Sabina had. It measures just 13 inches from neck to hemline.