function

diocesan priest

creed

Latin (Roman Catholic) Churchmore on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2014.09.21]

diocese / province

Culm (Chełmno) diocesemore on
pl.wikipedia.org
[access: 2012.11.23]

date and place
of death

01.05.1945

Jabłonowo Pomorskietoday: Jabłonowo Pomorskie gm., Brodnica pow., Kuyavia–Pomerania voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2021.09.02]

details of death

cause of death

exhaustion

perpetrators

Germans

date and place
of birth

15.03.1883

Osietoday: Osie gm., Świecie pow., Kuyavia–Pomerania voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2021.09.02]

presbyter (holy orders)
ordination

23.02.1908 (Pelplintoday: Pelplin gm., Tczew pow., Pomerania voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2021.05.06])

positions held

murder sites
camp 
(+ prisoner no)

General Governorate: A separate administrative territorial region set up by the Germans in 1939 after defeat of Poland, which included German‑occupied part of Polish territory that was not directly incorporate into German state. Created as the result of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, in a political sense, was to recreate the German idea of 1915 (after the defeat of the Russians in the Battle of Gorlice in 05.1915 during World War I) of establishing a Polish enclave within Germany (also called the General Governorate at that time). It was run by the Germans till 1945 and final Russian offensive, and was a part of so–called Big Germany — Grossdeutschland. Till 31.07.1940 formally known as Germ. Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete (Eng. General Governorate for occupied Polish territories) — later as simply niem. Generalgouvernement (Eng. General Governorate). From 07.1941 expanded to include district Galicia. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2013.12.04])

KL Stutthof: In KL Stutthof (then in Eastern Prussian belonging to Germany, today: Sztutowo village) concentration camp, that Germans started to build on 02.09.1939, a day after German invasion of Poland and start of the II World War, Germans held c. 100‑127 thousands prisoners from 28 countries, including 47 thousands women and children. C. 65,000 victims were murdered and exterminated. In the period of 25.01–27.04.1945 in the face of approaching Russian army Germans evacuated the camp. When on 09.05.1945 Russians soldiers entered the camp only 100 prisoners were still there. In an initial period (1939‑40) Polish Catholic priests from Pomerania were held captive there before being transported to KL Dachau concentration camp. Some of them were murdered in KL Stutthof or vicinity (for instance in Stegna forest). Also later some Catholic priests were held in KL Stutthof. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2013.07.06])

Grudziądz: As part of „Intelligenzaktion” — physical extermination of Polish intelligentsia from Pomerania — Germans initially in 1939 jailed Poles is investigative prison in Grudziądz. After it became too small they set‑up a transit camp in a so‑called Borderlands Hostel building at Chopin Str. where they jailed from 4,000 to 5,000 Poles, including c. 150 local priests. Most of them were subsequently murdered in local forests (Księże Góry, Mniszek‑Grupa), some were taken to concentration camps. (more on: pl.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2013.01.13])

Intelligenzaktion: (Eng. „Action Intelligentsia”) — extermination program of Polish elites, mainly intelligentsia, executed by the Germans right from the start of the occupation in 09.1939 till around 05.1940, mainly on the lands directly incorporated into Germany but also in the so‑called General Governorate where it was called AB‑aktion. During the first phase right after start of German occupation of Poland implemented as Germ. Unternehmen „Tannenberg” (Eng. „Tannenberg operation”) — plan based on proscription lists of Poles worked out by (Germ. Sonderfahndungsbuch Polen), regarded by Germans as specially dangerous to the German Reich. List contained names of c. 61,000 Poles. Altogether during this genocide Germans methodically murdered c. 50,000 teachers, priests, landowners, social and political activists and retired military. Further 50,000 were sent to concentration camps where most of them perished. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2014.10.04])

Ribbentrop-Molotov: Genocidal Russian–German alliance pact between Russian leader Joseph Stalin and German leader Adolf Hitler signed on 23.08.1939 in Moscow by respective foreign ministers, Mr. Vyacheslav Molotov for Russia and Joachim von Ribbentrop for Germany. The pact sanctioned and was the direct cause of joint Russian and German invasion of Poland and the outbreak of the II World War in 09.1939. In a political sense, the pact was an attempt to restore the status quo ante before 1914, with one exception, namely the „commercial” exchange of the so–called „Kingdom of Poland”, which in 1914 was part of the Russian Empire, fore Eastern Galicia (today's western Ukraine), in 1914 belonging to the Austro–Hungarian Empire. Galicia, including Lviv, was to be taken over by the Russians, the „Kingdom of Poland” — under the name of the General Governorate — Germany. The resultant „war was one of the greatest calamities and dramas of humanity in history, for two atheistic and anti–Christian ideologies — national and international socialism — rejected God and His fifth Decalogue commandment: Thou shall not kill!” (Abp Stanislaus Gądecki, 01.09.2019). The decisions taken — backed up by the betrayal of the formal allies of Poland, France and Germany, which on 12.09.1939, at a joint conference in Abbeville, decided not to provide aid to attacked Poland and not to take military action against Germany (a clear breach of treaty obligations with Poland) — were on 28.09.1939 slightly altered and made more precise when a treaty on „German–Russian boundaries and friendship” was agreed by the same murderous signatories. One of its findings was establishment of spheres of influence in Central and Eastern Europe and in consequence IV partition of Poland. In one of its secret annexes agreed, that: „the Signatories will not tolerate on its respective territories any Polish propaganda that affects the territory of the other Side. On their respective territories they will suppress all such propaganda and inform each other of the measures taken to accomplish it”. The agreements resulted in a series of meeting between two genocidal organization representing both sides — German Gestapo and Russian NKVD when coordination of efforts to exterminate Polish intelligentsia and Polish leading classes (in Germany called Intelligenzaktion, in Russia took the form of Katyń massacres) where discussed. Resulted in deaths of hundreds of thousands of Polish intelligentsia, including thousands of priests presented here, and tens of millions of ordinary people,. The results of this Russian–German pact lasted till 1989 and are still in evidence even today. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2015.09.30])

Pius XI's encyclicals: Facing the creation of two totalitarian systems in Europe, which seemed to compete with each other, though there were more similarities than contradictions between them, Pope Pius XI issued in 03.1937 (within 5 days) two encyclicals. In the „Mit brennender Sorge” (Eng. „With Burning Concern”) published on 14.03.1938, condemned the national socialism prevailing in Germany. The Pope wrote: „Whoever, following the old Germanic–pre–Christian beliefs, puts various impersonal fate in the place of a personal God, denies the wisdom of God and Providence [...], whoever exalts earthly values: race or nation, or state, or state system, representatives of state power or other fundamental values of human society, […] and makes them the highest standard of all values, including religious ones, and idolizes them, this one […] is far from true faith in God and from a worldview corresponding to such faith”. On 19.03.1937, published „Divini Redemptoris” (Eng. „Divine Redeemer”), in which criticized Russian communism, dialectical materialism and the class struggle theory. The Pope wrote: „Communism deprives man of freedom, and therefore the spiritual basis of all life norms. It deprives the human person of all his dignity and any moral support with which he could resist the onslaught of blind passions [...] This is the new gospel that Bolshevik and godless communism preaches as a message of salvation and redemption of humanity”... Pius XI demanded that the established human law be subjected to the natural law of God , recommended the implementation of the ideal of a Christian state and society, and called on Catholics to resist. Two years later, National Socialist Germany and Communist Russia came together and started World War II. (more on: www.vatican.vaClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2023.05.28])

Pomeranian Philomaths: Secret societies of Polish youth, aiming at self–education, patriotic in form and content, functioning 1830‑1920, mainly in secondary schools — gymnasia — in Pomerania around Vistula river (Gdańsk Pomerania and Chełmno county), in Prussian–occupied Polish territories (one of the partitions of Poland). On 08.01.1901 Germans conducted a series of interrogations of students at Chełmno, Brodnica and Toruń gymnasiums. On 09‑12.09.1901 the first of court trials of Polish students from those gymnasiums and students of Theological Seminary in Pelplin was held in Toruń. 1 person was sentenced to 3 months in prison, 1 to 2 months, 3 to 6 weeks, 7 to 3 weeks, 2 to 2 weeks, 19 to a week, 2 to 1 day, 10 were reprimanded. 15 were cleared. More definitive penalties were relegations from the schools with so‑called wolf’s ticket, forbidding sentenced students to continue secondary and higher studies in Prussia (Germany). Among those penalized were a few future Catholic priests — those were able to continue their education for the Chełmno diocese bishop, Bp August Rosentreter, refused to relegate students from Theological Seminary. (more on: pl.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2018.11.18])

sources

personal:
www.niedziela.diecezja.torun.plClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2012.11.23], parafia-w-swietem.plClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2021.12.19], www.kpbc.ukw.edu.plClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2014.10.04]
bibliograhical:, „Martyrology of the Polish Roman Catholic clergy under nazi occupation in 1939‑1945”, Victor Jacewicz, John Woś, vol. I‑V, Warsaw Theological Academy, 1977‑1981