Marian Wiewiórkowski 1910 - 1941

Born 7.8.1910 in Opatówek
Died 6.4.1941 in Gusen

Biography

From 1937 my grandfather was the postmaster in Opatówek near Kalisz.

He was imprisoned in Opatówek and in Kalisz, then deported to the Dachau concentration camp and subsequently to the Gusen concentration camp. His brother Aleksander Wiewiórkowski and brother-in-law Zygmunt Gadzinowski were arrested and deported with him.

My grandfather believed in the strength of the Polish army, the alliances that Poland had entered into and an early end to the war.

When the Germans knocked on the door at daybreak, my grandmother asked my grandfather to save himself; he therefore briefly considered attempting to flee... They already had a little daughter, Beate, and a second child was due to be born soon. But my grandfather would not hear a word about escape. It was September 1939... My grandfather was detained for a short period in Szczypiorno and was then registered on 19 April in Dachau, where he was given prisoner number 6098.

When the first Nazi troops reached Opatówek on 4 September 1939, the Germans were already well prepared to take over the administration. For several months people of German origin had been receiving suitable training... They also drew up a list of the Poles who were to be arrested immediately because their attitude, knowledge, education or intellect endangered the Germanisation process in the eyes of the occupiers.

‘Some inhabitants of Opatówek who were of German nationality went to places including Łódź for anti-Polish training, and in September 1939 they were ready to take over the German administration in the occupied regions. A list of Poles who were ‘especially dangerous’ for the Third Reich was drawn up. Most of the entries in it were activists in social and cultural life and grammar school and university students, who were often described as ‘fanatical Poles’. The list included inhabitants of Opatówek.’ (Quoted in the ‘Library in Opatówek’.)

The list of people to be arrested is taken from the book W kręgu miasteczka Róży Wiatrów-Opatówek wczoraj i dzis (The area surrounding Róża Wiatrów-Opatówek yesterday and today) by J. Miluśka-Stasiak. The note concerning my grandfather is as follows: ‘Marian Wiewiórkowski – civil servant – although not politically active, he was a member of the then governing party. Because of his attendance at secret meetings of the Polish population he must be classified as politically suspicious and dangerous.’ Such meetings did indeed take place.

From Dachau, Marian Wiewiórkowski was transported to Gusen and there given the prisoner number 4769. My grandmother’s letters were addressed to Marian Wiewiórkowski, Block 15, Room A and Block 8, Room B. My grandfather only wrote a few letters from the Mauthausen concentration camp, and my grandmother kept them all to remember him by...

On 28 July 1940 my grandfather wrote from Mauthausen/Gusen: ‘My beloved Maria... I received your letter of 20 June. I’m happy that you’re with Olesia[1] and Beata... I would so love to see our youngest daughter.’

Letter of 22 September 1940 from Block 15: ‘I’m a little ill. I can’t write any letters and won’t write. Is your mother...’ The letter was cut off at the bottom. It was presumably censored and the prohibited information was cut away.

And his last letter from Gusen dated 30 March 1941: ‘Beloved wife and mother! I received your letter and money. I’m doing well. I’m sending you my best wishes for Easter. I give you my warmest regards. Your Marian.’

The letter that my grandmother sent him in April 1941 never reached him. My grandmother’s letter was returned to her. My grandmother wrote:

‘Dear Marian, I received your letter of 25 March... Don’t worry. We’re all doing well, except that we miss you. We’re all healthy. You can’t imagine how big our daughters are. Beatka speaks of nothing but you. She can already say the Lord’s Prayer and prays for your health, Olesia’s and her own. She also says that she loves her father very much. She is a little disobedient and needs her father. We’re sending you money; perhaps you need some more. Beatka asks us to write that she’s sending you a big kiss. We wish you a healthy Easter, warmest regards and kisses – your Marysia with the children and the whole family.’

My grandfather’s brother, Aleksander Wiewiórkowski, survived the camp. He had been a butcher before the war and was therefore assigned to work with food in the camp. From his accounts we know that our grandfather had been assigned to work, despite being sick. He found a piece of a paper bag. He hid it down his front... But his superior discovered this and imposed a heavy punishment. He was abused, beaten... He died as a result of these blows.

My mother never met her father. I only know him from my grandmother’s stories. I remember the words that my grandfather told my grandmother shortly before his arrest: ‘Marysia, If I’d known that we’d be so happy I’d have proposed to you sooner...’ Unfortunately this happiness only lasted two years – until the outbreak of war. My grandmother used to joke that they had managed to have two children in two years, so they had taken full advantage of this happy time.

My grandfather was a handsome, good-looking man. He loved life, walking in the mountains...

Dominika Pawlikowska

 

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