Jerzy Bielecki (prisoner)
Encyclopedia
Jerzy Bielecki was a Polish
social worker, best known as one of the rare inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp
who managed to survive the ordeal for several years and who escaped from the camp successfully in 1944. After the war he received the Righteous Among the Nations
award. He also co-founded and headed the postwar Christian Association of the Auschwitz Families.
in Kraków
, at the outbreak of World War II
he decided to join the Polish Army in the West. Caught at the border with Hungary
on 7 May 1940, he was arrested by the Gestapo
. A month later, on 14 June 1940 he was sent to the newly-created Auschwitz concentration camp
with the first transport of 728 Polish political prisoners (his camp number was 243). His decent knowledge of the German language
allowed him to work at a mill in Babice, where he came in contact with the Polish anti-Nazi resistance, the Home Army.
Assigned to an Arbeitskommando at Auschwitz, Bielecki met Cyla Cybulska, a Polish-Jewish inmate of Birkenau
(Auschwitz II) while serving at a grain warehouse. Despite the fact that men and women were not allowed to talk to each other, they managed to exchange a few words every day and they fell in love. Cyla's family had already been murdered. Bielecki promised that they both would survive the ordeal. With time, he secretly collected the necessary supplies for an escape. On 21 July 1944 they managed to cross the camp-gate together using a fake order-form prepared by Bielecki. He was dressed in an SS uniform stolen from the laundry room where she worked. They walked through the fields for ten days. Cybulska was initially hidden at Bielecki's uncle's house at Przemęczany
, and later by the Czernik family in a nearby village. Bielecki himself joined the Home Army. However, towards the end of the war they became separated as Cyla Cybulska was informed that he had been killed during Operation Tempest
, while he was told she left the country and died in Sweden. It was not until May 1983 that Cybulska accidentally discovered that he was alive and well. The couple met the following month for the first time since the war ended.
After the war, Bielecki co-founded and became the honorary chairman of the Christian Association of the Auschwitz Families. He was also inscribed on the list of the Righteous Among the Nations
(in 1985), and became an honorary citizen of Israel. He died in Nowy Targ
on 20 October 2011. His escape from the camp with Cybulska was described in a number of documentaries and books, including Bielecki's own autobiography, Kto ratuje jedno życie... (He who saves one life...); published in 1990.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
social worker, best known as one of the rare inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
who managed to survive the ordeal for several years and who escaped from the camp successfully in 1944. After the war he received the Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
award. He also co-founded and headed the postwar Christian Association of the Auschwitz Families.
Biography
Bielecki was born in 1921 in Słaboszów, Poland. A pupil at a gymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, at the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he decided to join the Polish Army in the West. Caught at the border with Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
on 7 May 1940, he was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. A month later, on 14 June 1940 he was sent to the newly-created Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
with the first transport of 728 Polish political prisoners (his camp number was 243). His decent knowledge of the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
allowed him to work at a mill in Babice, where he came in contact with the Polish anti-Nazi resistance, the Home Army.
Assigned to an Arbeitskommando at Auschwitz, Bielecki met Cyla Cybulska, a Polish-Jewish inmate of Birkenau
Birkenau
Birkenau may mean the following.Germany:* Birkenau , a municipality in the Odenwald located in the South of Hesse in GermanyPoland:* German name for the Polish village Brzezinka...
(Auschwitz II) while serving at a grain warehouse. Despite the fact that men and women were not allowed to talk to each other, they managed to exchange a few words every day and they fell in love. Cyla's family had already been murdered. Bielecki promised that they both would survive the ordeal. With time, he secretly collected the necessary supplies for an escape. On 21 July 1944 they managed to cross the camp-gate together using a fake order-form prepared by Bielecki. He was dressed in an SS uniform stolen from the laundry room where she worked. They walked through the fields for ten days. Cybulska was initially hidden at Bielecki's uncle's house at Przemęczany
Przemeczany
Przemęczany is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Radziemice, within Proszowice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north of Radziemice, north-west of Proszowice, and north-east of the regional capital Kraków.-References:...
, and later by the Czernik family in a nearby village. Bielecki himself joined the Home Army. However, towards the end of the war they became separated as Cyla Cybulska was informed that he had been killed during Operation Tempest
Operation Tempest
Operation Tempest was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II by the Polish Home Army , the dominant force in the Polish resistance....
, while he was told she left the country and died in Sweden. It was not until May 1983 that Cybulska accidentally discovered that he was alive and well. The couple met the following month for the first time since the war ended.
After the war, Bielecki co-founded and became the honorary chairman of the Christian Association of the Auschwitz Families. He was also inscribed on the list of the Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
(in 1985), and became an honorary citizen of Israel. He died in Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ is a town in southern Poland with 34,000 inhabitants , and the historical capital of the mountain region . The town is situated in the confluence of the rivers Biały and Czarny Dunajec, in a valley beneath the Gorce Mountains. It's in Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship...
on 20 October 2011. His escape from the camp with Cybulska was described in a number of documentaries and books, including Bielecki's own autobiography, Kto ratuje jedno życie... (He who saves one life...); published in 1990.