Johann Wisiorek 1891 - 1945
Born 19.9.1891 in Kopciowice
Died 2.5.1945 in Ebensee
Biography
Johann Wisiorek was the father of Cecylia Wisiorek. Cecylia was killed in Auschwitz – she was sentenced for publishing a newspaper called Braciom na otuchę. Her father was sent to Ebensee because of her.
Magda, granddaughter (2017)
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Jan (Johann) Wisiorek
Jan Wisiorek was born on September 19, 1891, in Kopciowice, the son of Jan and Anna (née Jonkisch). He was a railwayman by profession; following his promotion to the position of Train Manager, he moved with his family from Chełm Wielki to 6 Katowicka Street in Mysłowice.
He was active in the underground and served as one of the couriers of the clandestine publication "Braciom na otuchę" (To Encourage Our Brothers), which was printed in a garden house on his allotment plot and co-edited by his daughter, Cecylia.
He was arrested on March 4, 1943, and four days later transferred from the Mysłowice prison to KL Auschwitz. In early January 1945, he was moved to the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he passed away on May 2, 1945, in the Ebensee subcamp. His prisoner number at KL Mauthausen was 119443.
Family
• Wife: Julia, née Kubica
• Children:
• Cecylia: born Jan 18, 1915; teacher; murdered at the Death Wall (Block 11) in KL Auschwitz on January 25, 1943.
• Jan Franciszek: born Aug 12, 1918; pilot of the Polish Air Forces, Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Great Britain; died in exile.
• Gertruda: died in 1986 in Katowice-Piotrowice.
Sources:
1. https://zadb.mauthausen-memorial.org
2. ofiary.auschwitz.org/victims?pattern=Wisiorek
3. straty.pl – Records of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN)
4. https://archiwum.archidiecezjakatowicka.pl
5. Lista Krzystka – Polish Air Forces in Great Britain 1940–1947
6. Archive of the Archdiocese of Katowice
7. Primary School No. 2 in Chełm Śląski: Memorial Tablet listing the names of the clandestine publication editors and couriers.
Franciszek Penczek (2026)
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Cecylia Wisiorek
Cecylia Wisiorek was born on January 18, 1915, in Groß Chelm (known as Chełm Wielki since 1922), to the family of Jan, a railway worker, and Julia (née Kubica). Initially, they lived in the Błędów district of Chełm, but after a few years, they moved to Katowicka Street in Mysłowice. Cecylia had two siblings: a younger sister, Gertruda, and a brother, Jan, who served as a pilot for the Polish Armed Forces in Great Britain during World War II.
After a year of study at the Silesian Technical and Scientific Works in Katowice, she transferred to the Female Teacher Training College in Kraków, residing at the boarding house of the Maria Institute. During her fourth and final year, she fell ill with pneumonia and had to suspend her education. Following several months of convalescence, she continued her studies at the Maria Konopnicka State Female Teacher Training College in Sosnowiec, graduating in 1936.
After a year of teaching at a common school in Słupna, she was employed in 1938 as a contract teacher at the primary school in the Larysz district of Mysłowice, where she also led a Scouting troop. In late 1939, together with a group of young teachers—graduates of the Mysłowice Teacher Training College—she became involved in underground resistance activities.
From 1940, Cecylia, alongside Florian Adamski, Wilhelm Met, and Franciszek Roj, edited and distributed the clandestine publication Braciom na otuchę (To Encourage Our Brothers), which was printed on her parents' allotment garden. The title was inspired by the inscription on the Grunwald Monument in Kraków.
In the summer of 1942, the entire group was arrested and imprisoned in the Mysłowice prison. On January 25, 1943, Cecylia, Florian, and Wilhelm were transported to Auschwitz, where on the same day, they were sentenced to death by a Nazi Special Court (Sondergericht). They were executed at the executed at the Death Wall (the 'Black Wall') in the courtyard of Block 11. Franciszek Roj shared their fate nine months later, on October 22, 1943.
Cecylia’s father, Jan Wisiorek, was in March 1943 arrested due to his daughter's resistance activities and died on May 2, 1945, in the Mauthausen/Ebensee concentration camp.
To honor their memory, Primary School No. 2 in Chełm Śląski is named after Florian Adamski and the editorial group of the clandestine publication Braciom na otuchę (To Encourage Our Brothers): Cecylia Wisiorek, Wilhelm Met, and Franciszek Roj, as well as its couriers, including Cecylia’s father, Jan Wisiorek.
Sources:
1. Nikiel, Wincencja. "Wspomnienia" [Memories]. In: Blok Śmierci. Wspomnienia więźniów Bloku nr 11 w KL Auschwitz, edited by Franciszek Piper. Oświęcim: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, 1983.
2. Franciszek Penczek. "Tajna gazetka" [The Clandestine Publication]. Ekspress Reporterów KAW, June 1984.
3. ofiary.auschwitz.org/victims?pattern=Wisiorek
4. straty.pl (IPN records).
5. archiwum.archidiecezjakatowicka.pl
6. Życie Mysłowic, issues 14-15-16, 1991/92.
Franciszek Penczek (2026)
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Flight Lieutenant Jan Franciszek Wisiorek (P-1303)
Jan Franciszek Wisiorek was born on 12 August 1918 in Chełm Wielki. Around 1925, his family—his father Jan, mother Julia (née Kubica), and his sisters, the elder Cecylia and the younger Gertruda—relocated to Mysłowice, where they resided at 6 Katowicka Street.
Upon reaching the age of six, he entered the Teachers' Training College primary school (the "practice school" attached to the State Men's Teachers' Training College) in Mysłowice, completing five grades. He then continued his education at the State Men's Gymnasium, where, on 28 May 1937, he passed his matriculation examinations in the classical stream.
In the summer of 1936, he completed a gliding course at Ustjanowa, earning a Category ‘B’ glider pilot’s certificate. Immediately following his graduation—from 1 July to 18 August 1937—he participated in a Preliminary Air Training (PWL) camp in Katowice.
On 20 September 1937, Wisiorek volunteered for military service. After completing initial basic training at the Artillery Cadet School in Włodzimierz Wołyński, he was accepted on 3 January 1938 into the Air Force Reserve Cadet School in Radom. There, he underwent training as a combat pilot on PWS-14/16, PWS-26, and RWD-8 aircraft.
He graduated from the school on 15 September 1938 with the rank of Kapral Podchorąży (Corporal Officer Cadet) and a "fairly good" assessment. He received a posting to the 2nd Air Regiment in Kraków, from which he was transferred to the reserves just one week later. Until he was called up for exercises with his parent regiment’s training flight (22 June – 1 August 1939), he worked as an apprentice at the Mysłowice Tax Office.
By the mobilisation order of 30 August 1939, he was assigned to the reserve squadron of the 2nd Air Regiment, from which he was directed on 12 September to aircraft transport duties. On 17 September, acting under the orders of Podporucznik (Second Lieutenant) Plenkiewicz, he flew across the Polish-Romanian border near Śniatyn in a group of five aircraft.
He reached Bucharest on 21 September, where, after obtaining a passport from the Polish consulate, he travelled via Eforie in a group commanded by Captain Jaworski, arriving in Balchik on 12 October. Three days later, aboard the vessel Ajos Nikolaos alongside some 700 Polish airmen, he sailed via Beirut. He then boarded the Ville de Strasbourg, arriving in Marseille on 29 October. The following day, they were transported by lorry to the French airbase at Istres, from where he was directed on 21 December to Lyon-Bron—the assembly point for the forming Polish Air Force in France. Shortly before this, on 1 November 1939, he had been promoted to the rank of Podporucznik (Second Lieutenant). In early 1940, at the Lyon Aviation Training Centre, he took command of a reserve flight.
In June, while on a short leave, he travelled with Podporucznik (Second Lieutenant) Henryk Knapik to Saint-Vallier for the wedding of Porucznik (First Lieutenant) Ryszard Figura and Helena Bula, the daughter of a Polish miner. The ceremony took place on 15 June in this mining settlement, located some 150 km from Lyon and home to a large Polish community. It was there that news reached them of the fall of Paris and the German offensive.
Having missed the evacuation from Lyon, and amidst growing chaos and panic, he and his comrades headed south using various, often improvised, means of transport. They aimed for Saint-Affrique airfield, some 450 km away, attempting to rejoin the evacuated Polish units. Unfortunately, they were too late—missing also the final evacuation transport from Port-Vendres on the Mediterranean, 250 km further.
With the aid of the Polish consulates in Toulouse and Barcelona, he managed to reach Lisbon via Madrid in late August. There, with the support of the British Air Attaché, he travelled by ship to Great Britain. He was registered at RAF Blackpool, a primary centre for the Polish Air Force in the UK, on 5 September 1940 under the service number P-1303.
He began his fighter training on British aircraft on 10 March 1941 with a refresher course at No. 1 Polish Flying Training School (1 PFTS) in Hucknall. There—in accordance with the Anglo-Polish military agreement of 5 August 1940—he was confirmed in the RAF rank of Pilot Officer (P/O), the equivalent of Podporucznik (Second Lieutenant).
From 7 April 1941, he continued combat training at No. 55 Operational Training Unit (OTU) at RAF Usworth. On 26 May 1941, he was posted to No. 253 "Hyderabad" Squadron (Hawker Hurricanes) based in the Orkneys (RAF Skeabrae), where he flew fighter and patrol sorties. A month later, on 12 July 1941, he began service with No. 308 (Polish) "City of Kraków" Squadron (Spitfire Mk II).
In August 1941, he was directed to the 11 Group Anti-Aircraft Cooperation Flight—a specialist unit supporting AA training—which became No. 287 Squadron RAF in November. His duties included towing targets for anti-aircraft artillery practice. On 1 September 1941, he was promoted to Porucznik (First Lieutenant) and the equivalent RAF rank of Flying Officer (F/O). Between August and October 1942, he was hospitalised.
On 15 October 1942, he joined No. 317 "City of Wilno" Fighter Squadron (Spitfire V). On 1 March 1943, he was promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant (F/Lt).
On 9 January 1944, he was sent for flying instructor training at No. 16 Polish Service Flying Training School (16 PSFTS) in Newton, but due to a surplus of candidates, he was transferred in April to No. 8 Air Gunners School in Evanton, Northern Scotland. There, he served as a pilot towing drogues and flying air exercises with trainee gunners.
From June 1944 until 21 August 1945, he served with No. 306 (Polish) "City of Toruń" Squadron (Mustang Mk III). From there, he was again directed to an instructor course at 16 PSFTS, where he continued training until 20 January 1946—the date Polish aircrew training in the UK was disbanded.
After several months awaiting a further posting at the Polish Air Force Depot, he was directed on 12 June 1946 to No. 4 Polish Personnel Holding Unit. In November 1946, he was transferred to No. 5 Polish Resettlement Corps. He was demobilised on 15 November 1948.
During his service, he flew over 100 combat sorties, spending 255 hours in the air. This included 101 operational missions (145 hours). His total training time was 761 hours, including 31 hours of night flying.
V-1 Flying Bomb Victories: 2 1/2 shared victory
For his gallantry, he was awarded the Cross of Valour (Krzyż Walecznych) with two bars (signifying three awards).
On 21 February 1948, he married Anne Peggy Wooding. He lived with his family in Washbrook near Ipswich, working as an Assistant District Manager for an insurance company. He became a British citizen on 6 April 1957.
His sons were: Paul J. (b. 1952); Stephen R. (b. 1953, d. 1953); and Andrew G. (b. 1954). After 1957, no further information regarding Jan Wisiorek is available in existing records.
During the war, his family in Poland suffered heavy losses. His elder sister Cecylia—a co-editor of the clandestine news-sheet (gazetka) Braciom na otuchę—was executed on 25 January 1945 at the Death Wall in KL Auschwitz. His father Jan—a distributor of the same publication—died on 2 May 1945 at KL Mauthausen/Ebensee.
Sources:
From the collection of Wojtek Matusiak.
W. Matusiak & W. Zmyślony: Święty Mikołaj w październiku (St. Nicholas in October). Available at: fhlp.org/konferencja/flipbook/idzie-nowe/
Records from the personal archive of W. Matusiak.
The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum (PISM), London.
Manuscript of the diary of H. Knapik (pp. 13–15), courtesy of W. Zmyślony.
The Hold – Suffolk Archives, Ipswich.
The National Archives (TNA) – Kew, London.
The Polish Catholic Mission, Ipswich.
The London Gazette, issue dated 18 June 1957.
Headquarters Military Secretary, Disclosures 5 (Polish), MP 527: P-1303_WISIOREK J_service record_polish_Redacted.pdf.
Franciszek Penczek (2026)
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Franciszek Penczek, the author of the biographies of Jan Wisiorek and his daughter Cecylia and his son Jan Franciszek Wisiorek, asks family members to contact them via the email address: gedenkbuch@mauthausen-memorial.org.
Location In room
