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    St Sigismund parish church, Słomczyn, Poland
    source: own collection
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Roman Catholic
St Sigismund parish
05-507 Słomczyn
85 Wiślana Str.
Konstancin deanery
Warsaw archdiocese, Poland

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    St Sigismund parish church, Słomczyn, Poland
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    St Sigismund parish church, Słomczyn, Poland
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    XIX c., feretory
    St Sigismund parish church, Słomczyn, Poland
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    XIX c., feretory
    St Sigismund parish church, Słomczyn, Poland
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Martyrology of the clergy — Poland

XX century (1914 – 1989)

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  • WESSOLEK Hugh Augustus, source: thema.erzbistum-koeln.de, own collection; CLICK TO ZOOM AND DISPLAY INFOWESSOLEK Hugh Augustus
    source: thema.erzbistum-koeln.de
    own collection

surname

WESSOLEK

forename(s)

Hugh Augustus (pl. Hugon August)

forename(s)
versions/aliases

Hugh (pl. Hugo)

function

diocesan priest

creed

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

diocese / province

Warmia diocesemore on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2018.09.02]

date and place
of death

23.03.1945

on Intsterburg - Ural railway linetoday: Russia

alt. dates and places
of death

17.02.1945

Insterburgtoday: Chernyakhovsk, Królewiec oblast, Russia
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.02.15]

labour camp Ural MounainsGULAG slave labour camp network
today: name and site unknown, Russia

details of death

At the end of World War II, started by German and Russian invasion of Poland in 09.1939, arrested by the Russians on 17.02.1945 during Russian East Prussian offensive.

Brought to Korsze, overtaken by the victorious Russians on 28.01.1945.

From Korsze where major Prussian railway crossing point was situated on 22.02.1945 Russians transported out 6 Catholic priests — in the same cattle car of the rail train, with c. 100 prisoners in each car — through Insterburg, Smolensk, deep inside Russia, into Ural mountains.

When on 25.03.1945 the transport reached its destination 36 prisoners out of 100 in the train car were dead — from exhaustion, lack of food and water.

Among them were four priests who did not survive: Fr William Schnarkowski, Fr Herbert Schulz, Fr Gerhard Thidigk and Fr Hugh Wessolek who prob. perished on the way to Smoleńsk. One, Fr Felix Zimmerman, perished in Russian concentration camp. Prob. another Catholic priest, Fr Martin Jabłoński perished in the same transport, though not in the same car.

cause of death

extermination

perpetrators

Russians

date and place
of birth

01.10.1905

Olsztyntoday: Olsztyn city pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.01.28]

presbyter (holy orders)
ordination

31.03.1940

positions held

1942 – 1945

administrator — Ryn Reszelskitoday: Kolno gm., Olsztyn pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.04.12]
⋄ Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary RC parish ⋄ Reszeltoday: Reszel gm., Kętrzyn pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.01.28]
RC deanery

1942 – 1945

vicar — Kolnotoday: Kolno gm., Olsztyn pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2021.12.19]
⋄ Epiphany of the Lord RC parish ⋄ Reszeltoday: Reszel gm., Kętrzyn pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.01.28]
RC deanery

1941 – 1942

vicar — Lamkowotoday: Barczewo gm., Olsztyn pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.04.12]
⋄ St Nicholas the Bishop and Confessor RC parish ⋄ Barczewotoday: Barczewo gm., Olsztyn pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.04.12]
RC deanery

1940 – 1941

vicar — Klebark Wielkitoday: Purda gm., Olsztyn pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.01.28]
⋄ Exaltation of the Holy Cross RC parish ⋄ Barczewotoday: Barczewo gm., Olsztyn pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.04.12]
RC deanery

till 1940

student — Braniewotoday: Braniewo urban gm., Braniewo pov., Warmia–Masuria voiv., Poland
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.02.14]
⋄ philosophy and theology, Theological Seminary

accession — Pallottines SAC — prob. not admitted

others related
in death

JABLOŃSKIClick to display biography Martin, SCHNARKOWSKIClick to display biography William, SCHULZClick to display biography Herbert, THIDIGKClick to display biography Gerard, ZIMMERMANNClick to display biography Felix, BOCKClick to display biography Gilbert, ZIEGLERClick to display biography Richard

murder sites
camp 
(+ prisoner no)

Ural: In Ural mountains there were a numer of Russian concentration camsp and forced labour camps (part of Gulag penal system), eg. SevUralLag, TagilLag, VosUralLag, etc., and POW camps. (more on: www.gulagmuseum.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2014.11.28]
)

Gulag: The acronym Gulag comes from the Rus. Главное управление исправительно–трудовых лагерей и колоний (Eng. Main Board of Correctional Labor Camps). The network of Russian concentration camps for slave labor was formally established by the decision of the highest Russian authorities on 27.06.1929. Control was taken over by the OGPU, the predecessor of the genocidal NKVD (from 1934) and the MGB (from 1946). Individual gulags (camps) were often established in remote, sparsely populated areas, where industrial or transport facilities important for the Russian state were built. They were modeled on the first „great construction of communism”, the White Sea–Baltic Canal (1931‑1932), and Naftali Frenkel, of Jewish origin, is considered the creator of the system of using forced slave labor within the Gulag. Up to 12 mln prisoners were held there at one time, i.e. c. 5% of Russia's population. In his book „The Gulag Archipelago”, Alexander Solzhenitsyn estimated that c. 60 mln people were killed in the Gulag until 1956. Formally dissolved on 20.01.1960. (more on: pl.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2014.05.09]
, en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2014.05.09]
)

Insterburg: Russian transit camp, set up after capture on 21‑22.01.1945 of Insterburg by the Russians, for German population of East Prussia — on the site of the DL Insterburg camp, i.e. the German prisoner of war camp Germ. Durchgangslager der Luftwaffe (Eng. Air Force Transit Camp), managed by the German Luftwaffe Air Force, where the Germans held, among others, French and British — one of concentration centers of defeated Germans marked for slave work in Russia. In Insterburg (pl. Wystruć, now: Chernyakhovsk) and in nearby Yurbork c. 60,000 people were held: men, women, girls and old. All were transported — in rail transfers lasting 4‑7 weeks, without hot food, proper sanitation — to Russians slave labour camps. Many perished before reaching destination… (more on: bazhum.muzhp.plClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2018.09.02]
)

Deportation of Germans to Russia in 1945: On 06.02.1945 Russian State Defence Committee issued an order to intern all Germans, mainly men, able to work from the German territories captured by Russian army and transport them into Russia — to slave labour camps in Donbas region in Ukraine, to industrial centers in Ural mountains, to Russian occupied Belarus, etc. — in order to rebuild destroyed by the war Russia. It was planned to use c. 500,000 Germans, 17‑50 years old, although in practice much older were also arrested. From Upper Silesia only c. 90,000 Germans and Poles were deported 20% of which returned after many years. Among the victims were members of Polish clandestine Home Army AK (part of Polish Clandestine State) fighting with Germans. Tens of thousands were deported from Warmia and Mazurian regions. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2018.11.18]
)

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 World War II 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]
, www.vatican.vaClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2023.05.28]
)

sources

personal:
gross-kleeberg.deClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2013.05.19]
, files.bildarchiv-ostpreussen.deClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2018.11.18]

original images:
thema.erzbistum-koeln.deClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2018.02.15]

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