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Józef Blesznowski 1909 - 1945 Edit

Born 7.9.1909 in Andrzejów
Died 28.1.1945 in Gusen

Biography

My father, Józef Błesznowski, was born in a small village by the name of Andrzejów near to Radom. He lived from 1909 to 1945. He worked in the Szychta soap factory in the Warsaw district of Praga. He was a loving father who took good care of his family. I remember that he and my mother were bound together by a deep and remarkable feeling for one another. My parents brought up myself and my older brother Edward in Praga.

Our family’s happiness was destroyed with the outbreak of war. When I was two years old, my father was drafted into the Polish army in September 1939. He was away from home for two months and when he returned in December, my mother died two weeks later. I remember that my father was very sensitive and caring. I remember our wonderful moments together when he told us stories, went for walks with us and helped my brother with his homework. I can’t remember my mother very clearly as I was only two years old when she died. All I have of her are a couple of photos from which I can see that I look a lot like her. My mother Marianna was a housewife and embroidered exquisite floral arrangements. To this day I have napkins and tablecloths decorated with colourful flowers and patterns. These artworks don’t show their age, their vibrant colours look like they were embroidered only yesterday. Renewed separation from our father came when I was six years old and my brother Edward was nine. This time our father did not return to us…

The documents which I received from the archive in Bad Arolsen show that he arrived in Mauthausen on 5 September 1944. He was murdered on 28 January 1945 in Gusen II as a concentration camp prisoner with the number 94679.

 

Jadwiga Lewandowska

 

Translation into English: Joanna White

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