Among people honoured by the Yad Vashem Institute with the Righteous Among the Nations medal, the largest group consists of the Poles. One of them was rev. Mieczysław Zawadzki, for many years the parish priest of the Holy Trinity Parish in Będzin. As early as in the first days of September 1939, he saved the lives of many Jews and continued to help them in the subsequent years. Several years after the war, the saved ones contacted the priest and corresponded with him on a regular
basis until his death in 1975. This article presents the circumstances that led to rev. Mieczysław Zawadzki’s involvement in helping the Jews of Będzin, placing him among the Righteous Among Nations. Moreover, the text briefly describes his pastoral and social work in the light of the anti–church policy of the Polish People’s Republic authorities.
English
Język Polski