A few recollections of Sonderaktion Krakau 1939

How to cite: Miodoński, Jan. A few recollections of Sonderaktion Krakau 1939. Bałuk-Ulewiczowa, Teresa, trans. Medical Review – Auschwitz. June 2, 2021. Originally published as “Kilka wspomnień o Sonderaktion Krakaku 1939. Przegląd Lekarski – Oświęcim. 1963: 69-77.

Author

Jan Miodoński, 1902–1963, otorhinolaryngologist, professor of the Jagiellonian University, arrested under Sonderaktion Krakau and confined in Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp, November 1939–December 1940.

On 9 March 1962 I received a letter from the Kraków branch of the Polish Medical Association,1 signed by its chairman, Professor Józef Bogusz, and Dr Stanisław Kłodziński, with the following request:

The Kraków branch of the Polish Medical Association requests you to make a written record of your recollections of the confinement of the professors of the Jagiellonian University Faculty of Medicine in Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp.2 We are interested in the professors who are now deceased.

Am I to use the written records, or the memoirs which several of my colleagues wrote extempore, and rely on them to recall what happened 25 years ago? Or should I write a brief account of my own memories, those that are the most vivid, of those difficult days? I think the letter indicates the path I should take—it speaks of my recollections. So I shall rely only on my memory—no looking up in the records on the concentration camp, no discussions with colleagues still alive.

However, so as not to miss any of my colleagues, fellow physicians involved in these events, I looked up the alphabetical list of persons arrested on 6 November 1939 which has been published at the end of Professor Jan Gwiazdomorski’s3 recollections of his imprisonment in Sachsenhausen (see the full list at the end of this article).

So I went through the whole list and noted down the names of the following 24 physicians:

Brzezicki, Eugeniusz;4 Ciechanowski, Stanisław;5 Drozdowski, Jerzy;6 Hano, Józef;7 Kostanecki, Kazimierz;8 Kostrzewski, Józef;9 Kostyal-Gatty, Marek;10 Lewkowicz, Ksawery;11 Majewski, Kazimierz;12 Maziarski, Stanisław;13 Miodoński, Jan; Oszacki, Aleksander;14 Przybyłkiewicz, Zdzisław;15 Robel, Jan;16 Sieppel, Ludwik;17 Skowron, Stanisław;18 Stępowski, Bronisław;19 Supniewski, Janusz;20 Szumowski, Władysław;21 Tempka, Tadeusz;22 Tochowicz, Leon;23 Wachholz, Leon;24 Walter, Franciszek;25 and Zubrzycki, January.26

But what about Kazimierz Stołyhwo,27 who lectured in anthropology for medical students and moreover holds a very prominent place in my memories (if this article is to be based on my memories)? And what about Maksymilian Rutkowski,28 with whom I spent many days (or in fact days and nights) in the hospital, and these memories have blended in a most peculiar way with my memories of the concentration camp? But there would be too much to write about Rutkowski, so I shall have to do that on another occasion.

When I think of my time in the concentration camp, I recall coming down from the roof of the Laryngological Clinic, which was under construction at the time, and talking to Mr Ślęzak the building engineer on how the unfinished roof would be secured against damage. When we got down, we went straight to the Internal Clinic, where I had arranged to meet Leon Tochowicz and go with him to Müller’s lecture.29

We were a bit late for the lecture, which was due to be held in Room 66 in the Collegium Novum on 6 November 1939. Józio Hano was late, too. We only got as far as the first floor, when the SS men standing there shoved us into the bursar’s office. We hadn’t been properly “trained” yet, and couldn’t make out what it all meant. After a while, which seemed a very long time to us, a couple of SS men burst into the room and asked us who we were, so we “introduced ourselves.” From their gestures and the expression on their faces we gathered that we were the sort of stuff they were looking for, which they confirmed with a brief invitation, “Komm mit.”30

Right at that moment the bursar came into the room with a wad of documents in his hand. “Who’s that?” one of the SS men asked. “Not a professor, just an administrator,” I replied, with a gesture of indifference, trying to turn their attention away from a man I had always had a deep respect for. I liked him for his helpfulness in connection with the building project for the Clinic.

When we had been pushed out into the corridor, we saw that the SS men were putting the arrestees in a marching column, arranging them in their usual order of five a row. We were made to join one of these rows. Soon we got an answer to the question that had been bothering Józef Hano—how they were going to treat us.

When Stanisław Estreicher31 couldn’t manage to fall into his row smartly enough, he was shoved into place with a rifle butt. The old man straightened up as tight as a bowstring, made a brisk turn towards the SS, and shouted, “Ich protestiere!”32 His sharp protest coalesced with the echo of the slap on the face he got from an SS man. I can still hear that echo reverberating in the vaulted hall of Collegium Novum.

On the way to ulica Pomorska,33 I was next to Józef Kostrzewski, who was sitting near a crack in the tarpaulin covering the top of the lorry, so he had some sort of idea where they were taking us to. He kept repeating, “This is monstrous, it’s incomprehensible, but we won’t be begging for anything.”

When I recall Józef Kostrzewski in those tragic days, in my mind’s eye I see him in his “Franz Josef pose,” as he called it jocularly, officiating at his desk standing up on his feet.

Straight after the Germans occupied Kraków, Kostrzewski had a martyr’s duty to fulfil: he was the head of the Hospital,34 which meant he had to go round diverse German offices to procure food rations for the entire hospital and all of its clinics. At first the resources of dressings and other sanitary items were good, and there was no need to see the Germans for these things. But lo and behold, Fate forced this man, who had always hated to have anything to do with officials of whatever kind, to embark on such aggravating relations with the occupying authorities. When he returned to the hospital’s main office, he remained up on his feet behind his tall desk and, notwithstanding the fact that his legs were swollen, that’s how he conducted his business. And the reason why he didn’t take a seat was so as not to have to stand up (as required) every time some uniformed German came into the office.

Now Kostrzewski and all the rest of us were being driven away to an unknown destination. At one point he whispered that we had turned off the main road and he thought they were taking us to the prison. We consoled ourselves that maybe that was better than being deported to Germany.

But the day of our deportation did eventually come. We were ordered to jump down from a train that had come to a halt on a high ramp designed for freight transport. The younger ones jumped down quickly enough and gave a hand to the seniors, who were being hassled by the SS men to get a move on.

We travelled to Berlin in “deluxe” conditions, in “soft” second-class carriages, but there were no seat cushions. So we sat on the bench frames and central heating pipes. I was next to Tochowicz, and we talked about our families. We promised each other that whoever returned home first would look after the other’s family. Tochowicz was home first, and he kept his promise very considerately. Opposite us sat Tadeusz Dziuryński35 and Jan Stanisławski,36 I think. Dziurzyński was considered a pessimist as regards what would happen to us. But as future developments would show, he turned out to be very realistic and his hunch was right. There was something of a Zagłoba37 about him, but a gloomy Zagłoba. Now, during the journey, he was comforting us, telling us that the Germans were going to too much trouble over us if all they wanted to do was to shoot us all. That could indeed happen to us, should there be a Polish uprising or something of the sort, but not unless that kind of thing happened.

On the way we had to change trains. We learned that the line we were to take was damaged, so we would have to take a roundabout route. Some claimed Allied bombs were working already. I was put into a carriage with windows boarded up with wooden planks. It was lit up with an oil lamp. There were benches along the walls, and you could sit on the floor in the middle of the coach. Father Konstanty Michalski38 was sitting not far away, next to one of the boarded up windows and scrutinising the lay of the land through a crack in the wooden boards. At one point he whispered that we were about to leave Legnica.39

Leon Wachholz was trying to fathom the mystery of our fate: would they hold us in a factory? What would they make us do? And above all, how long would it go on for, would our families manage to survive, and when would that bunch of madmen who had taken over Germany be vanquished? Luckily, now they wanted to take over the whole world, which of course would spell their downfall pretty soon. Wachholz was quite clear an end would come, he had no doubts about it at all, only he found it hard to a give an exact date.

A guard came in and counted us once m ore. Then he turned to those sitting on the floor and told them that they were hostages and if anyone disappeared from the carriage they would all be shot. He pointed to six of them and left. He didn’t really scare us, we were with our own, Jagiellonians and Miners,40 so no one was going to put others at risk. There was also a fellow in our midst who was just a passer-by and happened to be caught and arrested along with us by sheer chance. We called him “The Trombonist.” He was considered to be a madman, but he wasn’t in our carriage. Someone observed that we had Eugeniusz Brzezicki, a specialist on madmen, travelling with us. Let Brzezicki keep watch and look after him. There were a few jokes about madmen, after all, life must go on. Brzezicki was being held prisoner by the SS. He knew that very well. Yet at the same time he felt as if he were back in his clinic. From what he said we could gather that he felt he was somehow responsible for his SS guards, as if they were rowdy, unruly patients of his. They were definitely his patients, but he couldn’t tell them that, because they were in a state of acute psychosis, and in addition they had guns... he had to find a way to unload the situation. That was Brzezicki’s attitude, both on the way to the concentration camp, and once there as well.

Oranienburg, and the clearance of the carriages and a march along a road through the forest to the camp. It was night, with glaring searchlights lighting up the road through the forest, SS men holding torches, shouting and swearing at us, and hurrying us on, and their dogs barking. The seniors passed their little bundles to the younger men to carry. Some of the elderly men were supported and escorted by juniors. We got to the end of the road safely. No one was shot, baited and bitten by the dogs, or killed in any other way. Things didn’t always go so well along this road.

We were one Sonderaktion group when we left, but on arrival in the camp we were split up and accommodated in two blocks, Nos. 45 and 46. We met Kazio Dobija,41 the CEO of the Kraków daily Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny. Kazio was a tiny man, and that’s probably why they treated him more considerately. He asked us to let him join our group. We had a think how to do it. I said to Birkenmajer,42 “Let’s confer a habilitation43 on him and make him ‘a docent for the periodical press’.” Birkenmajer could have him join the Jagiellonian Library. I said to Kazio, “Deliver your habilitation lecture.” Kazio sat down at the table and gave a lecture on killing lice in Skrochowitz44 concentration camp. There were a couple of German prisoners in the room, listening to his highly proficient presentation. They were in no doubt that he was a member of our group, but somehow had strayed on the way.

We were split up into two blocks, but met every day during roll calls and visited each other in the evenings after the roll call. Being separated meant that there were many experiences we didn’t all share, but only learned later of things that happened in the other block. But sometimes we had joint periods of Stehkommando.45 Another opportunity for meeting and having a chat was during night-time potato peeling.

We know too much about life in the concentration camps—some of us from personal experience, others from what their family and friends have told them—so I shall not waste time and space on another account of it here.

Nonetheless, things that were rather unusual in concentration camps happened to us during our imprisonment there. We sensed that things that were not typical for concentration camps were going around and in connection with us—alongside things that were quite “normal” for the concentration camps. It was untypical for an entire group to do a long spell of Stehkommando together. And it was absolutely extraordinary for the whole Sonderaktion group to take German lessons, just as if we were still at school. The old fellows sat round a table, each with a pencil and exercise book, while a young teacher taught us German. School is school, so Stanisław Kutrzeba46 stood up and read the same stanza of a poem over and over again, while the teacher told him to read it again, because he was getting the accent wrong. Then he was told to translate it into Polish for his classmates. Someone called out there was no need, but Jan Włodek47 reprimanded him, “Yes, there is, we have to translate it!” adding sotto voce, “what else would we be doing otherwise?”

At the end of the class we were told to learn the vocabulary and read over the next part of the text for next time. Tadzio Ważewski48 even kept a special notebook for vocabulary, after all, you have to show teacher you’re working hard. This truly idyllic, but alas short-lived spell gave us the opportunity to present a few score lectures. Straightaway Władysław Konopczyński49 drew up a curriculum. Every day for a fortnight or so there was a new note on the block barber’s locker with the titles and subjects of the lectures due on that day, and at which table and what time they were to be delivered. As was to be expected, the timetable wasn’t always kept. Sometimes instead of listening to a lecture, we all had “a P.T. lesson”—lifting up the tables on our heads, bunny hops, roll-overs etc.

The lectures given by Wachholz, Pigoń,50 Włodek, Piekara,51 Oszacki, Stołyhwo, Jachimecki,52 Szumowski and others were very popular.

Wachholz, Stołyhwo, Pigoń, and Skimina53 had the gift of being able to transport us to wonderful lands which we traversed well-high realistically. During one of Skimina’s lectures I was so tired I nearly ran out of breath when I reached the topmost stair of the stairway up the Acropolis, it was so high up on a hot day. The sun had to feature in our lectures, because in reality we were freezing cold.

Pigoń’s beautiful lectures on Polish literature were full of Polish wheat fields and flowery meadows. The rattle of scythes and sickles accompanied his words.


Solace. Artwork by Marian Kołodziej. Photo by Piotr Markowski. Click to enlarge.

Wachholz took us for a stroll along streets so familiar and dear to our hearts, leading us with such expertise and so palpably from street to street, house to house across historic Kraków. We stopped in front of the portals and entrance-ways to the edifices along Kanonicza and Jagiellońska, learning the stories of the times and the people who lived there. The history of Kraków, the history of its hospitals, famous physicians and mayors; the history of Poland’s theatres, especially the Cracovian ones, progressed like a pageant before our mind’s eye. Fascinating anecdotes from the lives of the greatest Thespians of the Polish and Viennese theatres supplied an inexhaustible store of subjects for Wachholz’s magnificent lectures and soirees. The biographies related by Wachholz prompted several of us to present autobiographical sketches. Sometimes these stories would turn into something like a general confession. Often tears would appear in the eyes of both the raconteur and his listeners.

Sometimes there were flashes of wit and humour in the lectures. Pigoń, who was always cheerful, rounded off one of his talks with the following remark, “It was worthwhile coming to Sachsenhausen, after all, otherwise we would never have learned so many interesting things, and in such an atmosphere, and we would never have met the Westphalians,” (that is, the Polish miners from Westphalia,54 we became close friends with them).

Aleksander Oszacki delivered a series of interesting lectures. He spoke on colloids, electrolytes, diabetes, and the pituitary gland. He was objective and always endeavoured to sound scientific, so one of his lectures made a singular impression on us when he concluded it sotto voce during Stehkommando with some unusually emotional remarks on the presumable relationship between a group of molecules and human consciousness. “Life is a strange dream,” he said and ended his talk, staring at the frosty window. I didn’t know at the time I would hear him utter those very same words once again. I visited him a few days before he died; he was fully conscious and calm. We talked for a while and finally came to the subject of the concentration camp. And then he said, “I have never been so sure, now that I am on the verge of death, that life is a dream.” I looked into his eyes, and the expression in them was the same as when he was speaking of the consciousness of molecules and staring at the frosty window.

Kazimierz Stołyhwo was one of the most lively and extraordinary characters. He spoke about his numerous voyages and expeditions to distant lands, interlacing these accounts on observations on purely anthropological issues that he found particularly fascinating with ... culinary matters, of which he turned out to be an outstanding connoisseur.

We developed a custom that whenever we felt exceptionally cold or hungry we asked him to take us on a sunny trip for a delicious dinner, washed down with plenty of booze. So we sailed off, for example to Buenos Aires. While you were still at sea it got so sweltering hot that you could hardly stand the heat wearing evening dress, and your stiff collar crumpled up. The drinks were excellent, and here there’d be a list of aperitifs, wines, and Polish vodkas. “But what was served with them?” said a gourmand. Next we learned what the dinner of 8 dishes was like and the gaffes made while raising the toasts. When the story was over there were acknowledgements, that the dinner was superb, or in fact sumptuous. At such times Tochowicz summed it all up with a short quip, “I tell you, if I return home, I’ll buy 600 kg (1,320 lbs.) of potatoes, and then I’ll be sure to be safe and secured. Supniewski was more ambitious: he dreamed of a barrel of pickled pork. And he wasn’t worried about his cholesterol.

Stołyhwo was the only one of us in Sachsenhausen on a voluntary basis. When we were still in the Montelupich jail, an official came from the Ostinstitut55 with an offer of an appointment for Stołyhwo in that institution. Its director knew Stołyhwo and had a very good opinion of his work. Whether he really needed Stołyhwo at the time, or just wanted to help a man he knew and appreciated—I can’t tell. Stołyhwo told the messenger that he would be very pleased to take advantage of the offer, but only provided all of his colleagues were released along with him. And that’s where their conversation came to an abrupt end.

Ksawery Lewkowicz was out of the ordinary from the very outset. He was always weakly, a squeaky wheel, but he managed to survive Sachsenhausen. Sometimes he would have several attacks of bradycardia (down to 25 heartbeats a minute) in a day. At such times he had to lie down at once. After a while he’d get up and just calmly say, “It’s gone.”

Władysław Szumowski was in very good shape at first. I remember him from the time he was dean of his faculty. He did not like to rise from his desk because he kept his feet on a low footstool covered with a warm plaid to stop the cold coming from the floor. Now he would ramble briskly over the roll call square, saying that the cold air of St. Petersburg was harsher because it was damp. He gave lectures and indulged in discussions on how to make a record of what we were going through. Soon he fell victim to diarrhoea and wasted away dreadfully, in addition he developed jaundice which quickly grew worse and worse. We thought it was the end for Szumowski; however, he was put on a diet of “tea”56 and charcoal produced primarily by Kazimierz Dobrowolski57 and began to get better, and by the time he was released the jaundice had practically gone.

Soon we observed that some faces, usually terrified ones, attracted the hands of the SS, and there were others that evoked some kind of respect. Stołyhwo was one of the latter. He had his patriarchal beard shaved off, but still looked like a patriarch. Sometimes in his private conversations with SS men he would reprimand them for a variety of “vices.” He knew their soft spot, so he would commend them on their anthropological traits and said how amazed he was that such a decent body could house a soul with such defects. Sometimes the SS man would try to make excuses.

Another whose behaviour was pretty casual was Brzezicki, who treated SS men as if they were patients of his. He always managed to “establish diplomatic relations” with them, thanks to which he had friends in the Revier (that is the hospital) and managed to arrange a doctor’s appointment for a number of us, or even hospitalisation for some (albeit we were never sure if the ärztliche Behandlung would not turn into ärztliche Misshandlung58). For others he managed to procure a medication. When we asked how he did it, he would tell us that they were all sick people, and all one needed to know was how to talk to them. Not all of Brzezicki’s dialogues with the SS were successful, yet he never got a black eye as a result of them.

There was definitely a correlation between mental activity and one’s health. Ignacy Chrzanowski59 and Kazimierz Majewski were soon brought down by hunger. For Chrzanowski, ultimate disaster came soon. With Majewski, matters eventually took a turn for the better. Despite his emaciation due to diarrhoea, which soon made him lose his bearings, he managed to hold out and recover from the serious abscess he developed on his hand. Notwithstanding his recurrent lapses into a state of absolute exhaustion which put both himself and others at risk (we don’t know what his temperature was at such times), when he recovered consciousness his conduct was always impeccable. How happy I was when I saw Majewski after my return home: he was his old self again, fully recovered, bubbling over with curiosity and in a good mood.

Kazimierz Kostanecki’s health collapsed very soon. After a few days in the camp, we noticed that his legs were swollen, and the swellings were getting bigger and bigger at a staggering rate. Soon his legs were so bloated that putting on or taking off his fairly close-fitting trousers became a problem. Our “room attendant” brought some bandages, but they did not help much. The skin on his shanks split open and exudate oozed out of the fissures. From the very outset Kostanecki isolated himself off mentally. He did not join in conversations, and we could not get him to take part in the lectures or discussions.

“Let me descend into the past,” he asked. He preferred to sit still on the bench, leaning on the edge of the table. None of the seniors, let alone the juniors, dared to interrupt his splendid isolation. He sat there in his shabby clothes, but in our mind’s eye we could still see that face surrounded by ermine, as in the portrait by Pochwalski.60 His glassy eyes stared into space. As I watched him I tried to guess whether he was taking a stroll with Weissenhof61 in his favourite park, or perhaps having a conversation with his tutor Gegenbaur62 on German science, or maybe he could see the plane on board of which his nearest and dearest were killed (a few years before the war Kostanecki’s wife and one of his sons died in an air crash). His face was emaciated and flushed, and there were clear signs of erysipelas on his lower legs. I alerted the “room attendant” and the block senior that it was an infectious disease. The Germans were always concerned whenever they heard that term.

Finally the block senior came with the news that Kostanecki had been admitted to the hospital. He could no longer keep up on his feet, so we put him in the litter we used for carrying bread, Dobiesław Doborzyński,63 Feliks Zalewski,64 and I carried him to the hospital. I was allowed to stay with Kostanecki until the Lagerältester (camp senior prisoner) collected him. The Lagerältester was a communist and a lawyer by profession, with an excellent reputation among the prisoners. I shall never forget the sight of the hospital dispensary and admissions room. It was at the height of the diarrhoea epidemic. Human skeletons no longer able to keep up on their feet were being brought in. There were also dead bodies carried in and put on the floor. They were all being stripped of their soiled gear. A few of the strongest were sitting in dead silence on benches, while the weaker ones and the deceased were on the floor. Kazimierz Kostanecki sat on a bench with a back support. He was gazing at the floor, which was littered with emaciated bodies.

The Lagerältester came in. I went up to him and said that we had brought Rector65 Kostanecki for admission to the hospital, as instructed by the block senior. It was obvious he had been told about Kostanecki. He took a look at him and told me, sort of embarrassed, that what I was seeing right at that moment was not the culture of the German nation. I was about to tell him that regardless of that, this culture had turned out strong enough to prevail over the entire nation. But I didn’t want to risk saying anything that might have antagonised the Lagerältester, who was indeed a decent fellow.

During our conversation I was observing the Rector and the hall littered with the dying and the dead. And that’s the image left in my memory of Kazimierz Kostanecki’s “last dissecting room.” I went up to him and gave him a shoulder hug. He looked at me and nodded. He didn’t say a word. Next day we learned that he had died. He died in the concentration camp, just like many others.

Perhaps the one who died the most terrible death was Stanisław Estreicher. From the very beginning of his confinement in the concentration camp, he was suffering from urinary retention. There was absolutely no chance for regular catheterisation. To ease his suffering, he stopped taking in liquids. He would go out of the block, break off an icicle from the window, and put it to his tongue. One day after roll call Józef Gołąb,66 who was in Block 45 (I was in No. 36) told me that Stanisław Estreicher was dying. He had broken down that day, after going out (or more precisely, being carried out) to the roll call, in completely soaked trousers, and was finally admitted to the hospital. Only the day before he had told his younger colleagues as they dragged him out to the roll call, “Remember, perhaps none of us will return home from this concentration camp, but the honour of Polish scholarship and the dignity of the Jagiellonian University must return safe and sound.”

For a moment in my mind’s eye I saw Józef Kostrzewski standing behind his desk in faraway Kraków, with legs bloated like balloons, defending the honour of the Polish people.

List of persons arrested on 6 November 1939 in the Jagiellonian University’s

Collegium Novum Building in Kraków

(After the memoirs of Jan Gwiazdomorski, Wspomnienia z pobytu profesorów Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego w niemieckim obozie koncentracyjnym w Sachsenhausen, Kraków: Księgarnia Stefana Kamińskiego, 1945)

  1. Father Archutowski, Józef, M. Th. [Master of Theology], Ordinary Professor for the Old Testament.
  2. Banachiewicz, Tadeusz, M. Sc. (Astronomy), Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Warsaw, Ordinary Professor of Astronomy, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.67
  3. Batowski, Henryk, Dr, Reader in Czech and Slovak.
  4. Bednarski, Stefan, Dr, Reader in Russian.
  5. Bernard, Henryk, Dr, Reader in French.
  6. Bielecki, Adam, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Theoretical Physics.
  7. Bielski-Sariusz, Zygmunt, Dipl. Eng., Ordinary Professor of Petroleum Oil Drilling and Extraction.
  8. Biliński, Tadeusz, grammar school master.
  9. Birkenmajer, Aleksander, Dr, Titular Professor of the History of Science and Librarianship, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  10. Bolewski, Andrzej, Dipl. Eng. (Mining), Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Mineralogy and Petrography at the Mining Academy.
  11. Bolland, Arnold, Dr, Docent68 of Microchemical Analysis, former Rector of the Kraków Commercial Academy.
  12. Borkowski, Janusz, third-year law student.
  13. Bossowski, Franciszek, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Roman Law, Stephen Báthory University, Wilno.69
  14. Brożek, Mieczysław, M. A., Senior Assistant in the Chairs of Classical Philology.
  15. Brzezicki, Eugeniusz, Dr, Docent for Neurology and Psychiatry.
  16. Budryk, Witold, Dipl. Eng. (Mining), Dr, Ordinary Professor for Mining I, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Technology.
  17. Bulas, Kazimierz, Dr, Docent for Classical Archaeology, reader in Modern Greek, Corresponding Member of the Archäologisches Institut des Deutschen Reiches, Honorary Consul for the Kingdom of Greece.
  18. Father Bystrzonowski, Antoni, Dr Theol., Ph. D. (Philology), Ordinary Professor of Pastoral Theology, Domestic Prelate to His Holiness the Pope, Canon of the Chapter of Kraków.
  19. Chodzicki, Edward, Dipl. Eng., Ph.D. (Forestry), Extraordinary Professor of Forestry.
  20. Chromiński, Edmund, Dipl. Eng., Ordinary Professor of Mechanical Engineering II, Rector of the Mining Academy, 1926/27 and 1927/28.
  21. Chrzanowski, Ignacy, Doctor Honoris Causa of the Jagiellonian University and the University of Poznań, Honorary Professor of Polish Literature, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  22. Ciechanowski, Stanisław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Anatomopathology, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  23. Czarnocki, Stefan, Dipl. Eng. (Mining), Ordinary Professor of Applied Geology.
  24. Czopiwski-Feszczenko, Iwan, Dipl. Eng., Dr, Titular Professor of Thermal Processing and Special Steels, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Technology.70
  25. Czyżewski, Mikołaj, Dipl. Eng. (Metallurgy), Dr, Docent for Coke Processing and Thermal and Fuel Technology.
  26. Dadak, Józef, grammar school master.
  27. Dawidowski, Roman, Dipl. Eng. (Mining and Metallurgy), Dr, Ordinary Professor of Thermal and Fuel Technology.
  28. Dąbrowski, Jan, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Medieval History, Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Budapest, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Foreign Member of the Hungarian Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  29. Doborzyński, Dobiesław, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Physics.
  30. Dobrowolski, Kazimierz, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Sociology and Ethnology, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  31. Dobrowolski, Tadeusz, Dr, Docent for the History of Medieval Art, Museum Studies, and Art Conservation.
  32. Drozdowski, Jerzy, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Institute of Dentistry.
  33. Dziewoński, Karol, Dipl. Eng., Ordinary Professor of Organic Chemistry, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  34. Dziurzyński, Tadeusz, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Commercial and Bill of Exchange Law, Vice-Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Member of the Polish Codification Commission.
  35. Estreicher, Stanisław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of the History of Western European Law and Comparative Law, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Rector of the Jagiellonian University in 1919/1920 and 1920/1921.
  36. Estreicher, Tadeusz, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry.
  37. Frančič, Vilim, Dr, Reader in Serbo-Croatian, school inspector for the Kraków district.
  38. Fudakowski, Józef, Dr, Docent of Zoology.
  39. Garbowski, Tadeusz, Dr, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy.
  40. Gaweł, Antoni, Dr, Adjunct in the Chair of Mineralogy.
  41. Gatty-Kostyal, Marek, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Applied Pharmacy.
  42. Gąsiorowski, Stanisław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Classical Archaeology, Full Member of the Archäologisches Institut des Deutschen Reiches.
  43. Father Glemma, Tadeusz, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of the History of the Church in Poland, Dean of the Faculty of Theology.
  44. Gołąb, Józef, Dr, Assistant in the Chair of Geology.
  45. Gołąb, Stanisław, Dr, Docent of Mathematics at the Jagiellonian University, Docent and Adjunct at the Mining Academy.
  46. Górski, Franciszek, Dr, Docent of Botany and Plant Physiology.
  47. Grodziński, Zygmunt, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Comparative Anatomy.
  48. Gwiazdomorski, Jan, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Civil Law.
  49. Hajdukiewicz, Lech, student of philosophy.
  50. Hammer, Seweryn, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Classical Philology, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  51. Hano, Józef, Dr, Docent of Pharmacology.
  52. Harajda, Jan, LL. D. and M. Phil., Reader in Hungarian.
  53. Harassek, Stefan, Dr, Docent of the History of Polish Philosophy.
  54. Hendzel, Franciszek, Dipl. Eng., Senior Assistant in the Chair of Agricultural Engineering.
  55. Heydel, Adam, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Political Economy, Dean of the Faculty of Law.
  56. Hoborski, Antoni, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Mathematics at the Mining Academy.
  57. Hołda, Józef, Dr, Assistant in the Chair of Administration and Administrative Law.
  58. Hoyer, Henryk, Dr Med., Ph. D., Doctor Honoris Causa for Agriculture of the Jagiellonian University, Honorary Professor of Comparative Anatomy, Vice-President and Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member of the Czechoslovak Academy of the Agricultural Sciences, Rector of the Jagiellonian University in 1929/30.
  59. J., a fortuitous passer-by.
  60. Jachimecki, Zdzisław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of the History and Theory of Music, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  61. Jakóbiec, Juliusz, Dr, Adjunct in the Chair of General Animal Rearing.
  62. Janik, Stanisław, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Mineralogy.
  63. Jaskólski, Stanisław, Dr, Titular Professor of Applied Geology at the Mining Academy.
  64. Jeżewski, Mieczysław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Physics at the Mining Academy.
  65. Father Kaczmarczyk, Józef, Dr, Ordinary Professor of New Testament Bible Studies.
  66. Kamecki, Julian, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Chemistry.
  67. Kamieński, Bohdan, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry.
  68. Kamykowski, Ludwik, Dr, Docent of the History of Polish Literature.
  69. Kleczkowski, Adam, Dr, Ordinary Professor of German Philology, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Munich Schiller-Akademie.
  70. Kocwa, Aleksander, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry.
  71. Kołaczkowski, Stefan, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of the History of Polish Literature.
  72. Komornicki, Stefan, Dr, Docent of European Medieval and Modern History.
  73. Konopczyński, Władysław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Polish History, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member of the Swedish Kungliga Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien (the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities).
  74. Korbel, Stanisław, Reader in Cartography and Stenography.
  75. Kostanecki, Kazimierz Dr (Medicine and Surgery), Honorary Professor of Anatomy, Full Member and Former President of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Doctor Honoris Causa (for Law) of the University of Aberdeen, Doctor Honoris Causa (for Medicine) of the University of Geneva, Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Padua, Rector of the Jagiellonian University in 1913/14, 1914/15, and 1915/16.
  76. Kostrzewski, Józef, Dr, Titular Professor of Infectious Diseases.
  77. Kowalski, Tadeusz, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Oriental Philology, Full Member and General Secretary of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Prague Oriental Institute, Honorary Member of the Arab Academy of Damascus.
  78. Kozak, Jan, Dr, Ordinary Professor of General Chemistry.
  79. Krupkowski, Aleksander, Dipl. Eng. (Metallurgy), Dr, Ordinary Professor of Metallurgy and Non-Ferrous Metals, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Natural and Applied Sciences.71
  80. Father Kruszyński, Tadeusz, Dr, Docent of the History of Church Art and Liturgics.
  81. Father Krzemieniecki, Jan, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Canon Law.
  82. Krzyżanowski, Adam, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Political Economy and Treasury Management, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  83. Krzyżanowski, Witold, Dr, Professor of Economics at the Catholic University of Lublin and Docent of the Stephen Báthory University of Wilno.
  84. Kutrzeba, Stanisław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of the History of Polish Law, Full Member and President of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques in Paris, Foreign Member of the Czech Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Rector of the Jagiellonian University in 1932/33.
  85. Lande, Jerzy, Ordinary Professor of the Theory and Philosophy of Law.
  86. Lehr-Spławiński, Tadeusz, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Slavonic Philology, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sophia, Foreign Member of the Prague Slavonic Institute, Rector of the Jagiellonian University.
  87. Leja, Franciszek, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Mathematics, Full Member of the Academy of Technology.
  88. Lepszy, Kazimierz, Dr, Docent of Polish History.
  89. Leszczycki, Stanisław, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Geography.
  90. Leśnodorski, Bogusław, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of the History of Polish Law.
  91. Lewkowicz, Ksawery, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Paediatrics, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  92. Listowski, Anatol, Dr, Adjunct in the Chair of Plant Breeding and Experimental Design.
  93. Ludkiewicz, Adam, Dipl. Eng. (Mining and Metallurgy), Extraordinary Professor of the Metallurgy of Steels.
  94. Łoziński, Paweł, Dr, Titular Professor of Animal Histology and Comparative Anatomy.
  95. Łukasik, Stanisław, Dr, Reader in Romanian.
  96. Majcher, Józef, grammar school master from Chrzanów.
  97. Majewicz, Stanisław, grammar school master.
  98. Majewski, Kazimierz, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Ophthalmology.
  99. Malaga, Stanisław, Voluntary Assistant in the Chair of Educational Psychology.
  100. Małecki, Mieczysław, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of South Slavonic Philology.
  101. Marchlewski, Teodor, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of General Animal Rearing, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture.
  102. Maziarski, Stanisław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of the Histology of Normal Tissue, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Rector of the Jagiellonian University in 1934/35 and 1935/36.
  103. Metallmann, Joachim, Dr, Docent of Natural Philosophy.
  104. Meyer, Antoni, LL.D., Dipl. Eng. (Mining), Retired President of the Kraków Superior Mining Office, lectured in General and Mining Law at the Mining Academy.
  105. Father Michalski, Konstanty, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Christian Philosophy, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Chairman of the Corpus Philosophorum Medii Aevi Commission in the Union Académique Internationale, Rector of the Jagiellonian University in 1931/32.
  106. Father Michalski, Marian, Dr, Deputy Professor of the History of Dogma and Patristics.
  107. Mikucki, Sylwiusz, Dr, Docent of the Ancillary Disciplines of History, Director of the Office of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  108. Mikulski, Franciszek,72 Jagiellonian University administrative officer.
  109. Mikulski, Józef, Dr, Docent of Zoology.
  110. Milewski, Tadeusz, Dr, Docent of Slavonic and Indo-European Linguistics.
  111. Miodoński, Jan, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Otorhinolaryngology.
  112. Moszew, Jan, Dr, Docent of Organic Chemistry.
  113. Mysłakowski, Zygmunt, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Education Studies.
  114. Nitsch, Kazimierz, Dr, Ordinary Professor of the Polish Language, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Serbian Academy of Sciences.
  115. Father Nodzyński, Józef, catechist at a girls’ grammar school.
  116. Nowak, Jan, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Geology and Palaeontology, Doctor Honoris Causa of the Technische Hochschule Breslau, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Foreign Member of the Prague Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Cordoba Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  117. Ormicki, Wiktor, Dr, Docent of Economic Geography.
  118. Oszacki, Aleksander, Dr, Titular Professor of Internal Medicine.
  119. Ottmann, Włodzimierz, Secretary of the Jagiellonian University.
  120. Pazdro, Kazimierz, Dipl. Eng.
  121. Piech, Kazimierz, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Plant Anatomy and Cytology.
  122. Piekara, Arkadiusz, Dr, Docent of Experimental Physics.
  123. Piętka, Czesław, seminary student.
  124. Pigoń, Stanisław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of the History of Polish Literature, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Rector of the Stephen Báthory University of Wilno in 1926/27 and 1927/28.
  125. Piotrowicz, Ludwik, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Ancient History, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  126. Piwarski, Kazimierz, Dr, Docent of the Modern History of Poland.
  127. Prawocheński, Roman, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Animal Rearing.
  128. Przybyłkiewicz, Zdzisław, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Bacteriology.
  129. Ręgowicz, Ludwik, former Head of the Schools Department for the Voivodeship of Silesia, Head of a department in the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education.
  130. Robel, Jan, Dr, Adjunct in the Chair of Medical Chemistry.
  131. Rogoziński, Feliks, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Animal Physiology and Nutrition Science, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  132. Różański, Adam, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Agricultural Engineering, Full Member of the Academy of Technology.
  133. Father Salamucha, Jan, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Christian Philosophy.
  134. Sarna, Zygmunt, Dr, Titular Professor of the Law of Nations, Head of the School of Political Sciences.
  135. Schmidt, Stefan, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Agricultural Economics.
  136. Semkowicz, Władysław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of the Ancillary Disciplines of History, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  137. Siedlecki, Michał, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Zoology, Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Strasbourg, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Board Member of the International Office for the Protection of Nature, Brussels, Rector of the Stephen Báthory University of Wilno in 1919/20 and 1920/21.
  138. Sieppel, Ludwik, Dr, Assistant at the Institute of Dentistry.
  139. Skimina, Stanisław, Dr, Docent of Classical Philology, Reader in Latin.
  140. Skowron, Stanisław, Dr, Titular Professor of Experimental Zoology.
  141. Smoleński, Jerzy, Dr, Ordinary Professor of General Geography, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member of the Commission on Population Geography of the International Geographical Union.
  142. Stanisławski, Jan, Reader in English.
  143. Starachowicz, Zygmunt, LL.M.
  144. Starmach, Karol, Dr, Adjunct in the Chair of Ichthyology and Fishery.
  145. Staronka, Wilhelm, Dr, Ordinary Professor of General Chemistry at the Mining Academy.
  146. Starzewski, Maciej, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Political Law and the Law of Nations.
  147. Stella-Sawicki, Izydor, Dipl. Eng. (Road and Bridge Construction), Ordinary Professor of Engineering and Construction.
  148. Sternbach, Leon, Dr, Honorary Professor of Classical Philology, Doctor Honoris Causa of the Jagiellonian University, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Foreign Member of the Prague Academy of Arts and Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Vienna Institute of Archaeology.
  149. Stępień, Stanisław, grammar school master.
  150. Stępowski, Bronisław, Dr, Docent of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
  151. Stołyhwo, Kazimierz, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Anthropology, Corresponding Member of the Paris Ecole Anthropologique, Member of the Permanent Council of the International Congresses of Anthropology and Ethnology, Member of the Expert Committee on American Studies at the International Institute of Intellectual Co-operation of the League of Nations.
  152. Studniarski, Jan, Dipl. Eng. (Electrical Engineering), Dr, Ordinary Professor of Electrical Engineering, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Technology, Rector of the Mining Academy in 1922/23 and 1923/24.
  153. Supniewski, Janusz, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Pharmacology, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.
  154. Swaryczewski, Antoni, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Mineralogy.
  155. Szczotka, Stanisław, Dr, Assistant in the Chairs of History.
  156. Szumowski, Władysław, Dr Med., Ph. D., Ordinary Professor of the History and Philosophy of Medicine, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Corresponding Member of the International Academy of the History of Science in Paris.
  157. Szydłowski, Tadeusz, Dr, Ordinary Professor of the History of Art.
  158. Takliński, Władysław, Dipl. Eng. (Technology), Ordinary Professor of Theoretical Mechanics and Mechanics of Materials, Rector of the Mining Academy in 1933/34–1938/39.
  159. Tempka, Tadeusz, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Internal Diseases.
  160. Tochowicz, Leon, Dr, Docent of Internal Diseases.
  161. Turski, Stanisław, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Mathematics.
  162. Urbańczyk, Stanisław, M.A. Senior Assistant in the Chair of the Polish Language.
  163. Wachholz, Leon, Dr, Honorary Professor of Forensic Medicine, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, former Vice-President of the German Society for Forensic Medicine.
  164. Walter, Franciszek, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Dermatology and Venereology, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  165. Ważewski, Tadeusz, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Mathematics.
  166. Father Wicher, Władysław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Moral Theology.
  167. Wilk, Antoni, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Astronomy.
  168. Wilkosz, Witold, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Mathematics.
  169. Windakiewicz, Edward, Dr, Dipl. Eng. (Mining), Doctor Honoris Causa for Technology, Docent of Mineral Salt Mining.
  170. Winid, Walenty, Dr, Docent of Anthropogeography, Professor of the Kraków Commercial Academy.
  171. Włodek, Jan, Dipl. (Agriculture) from the Berlin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Agricultural Science and Plant Cultivation, Corresponding Member of the Czechoslovak Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
  172. Wojtusiak, Roman, Dr, Docent of Zoology.
  173. Wolski, Józef, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Ancient History.
  174. Wolter, Władysław, Dr, Ordinary Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Proceedings.
  175. Zabłocki, Jan, Dr, Docent of Botany.
  176. Zalewski, Feliks, Dipl. Eng. (Mining), Ordinary Professor of Mining II.
  177. Zawadzki, Longin, Dr, Senior Assistant in the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry.
  178. Zechenter, Adam, Dr, Vice-President (Retd.) of the Katowice Court of Appeals.
  179. Zerndt, Jan, Dr, grammar school master.
  180. Ziłiński, Jan [Zilynsky, Ivan], Dr, Extraordinary Professor of the Ruthenian Languages.
  181. Zoll, Fryderyk, Dr, Honorary Professor of Civil Law, Full Member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member of the Polish Tribunal for the Delimitation of Powers, Member of the Polish Codification Commission, Corresponding Member of the Akademie für deutsches Recht (Academy for German Law), Rector of the Jagiellonian University in 1912/13.
  182. Zubrzycki, January, Dr, Extraordinary Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
  183. Żabiński, Albin, Dr, Professor and Rector of the Commercial Academy.

***

Translated from original article: Miodoński, J. “Kilka wspomnień o Sonderaktion Krakaku 1939. Przegląd Lekarski – Oświęcim, 1963.


Notes
  1. Polskie Towarzystwo Lekarskie.
  2. Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp was established in 1935 about 30 km (19 miles) north of Berlin. On 6 November 1939 the German authorities occupying Poland arrested the senior academic staff of the Jagiellonian University and other institutions of higher education in Kraków—a total of 182 men, most of them senior academics—and sent them to Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp. For more on the arrests, known as Sonderaktion Krakau, see the Jagiellonian University’s monthly magazine Alma Mater 178 (2015), available online at under the link.
  3. Jan Gwiazdomorski (1899–1977); for more details on the Sonderaktion Krakau arrestees, see the list at the end of this article. The comments give the dates of birth and death of those mentioned in the article.
  4. Eugeniusz Brzezicki (1890–1974).
  5. Stanisław Ciechanowski (1869–1945). Arrested with the other professors, but released from prison on 9 November 1939 on account of his age.
  6. Jerzy Drozdowski (1894–1970).
  7. Józef Hano (1906–1997).
  8. Kazimierz Kostanecki (1863–1940). Died in Sachenshausen.
  9. Józef Karol Kostrzewski (1886–1959).
  10. Marek Gatty-Kostyal (1886–1965). In the article the components of this double-barrelled surname appear in an inverted order.
  11. Ksawery Lewkowicz (1869–1958).
  12. Kazimierz Majewski (1873–1959).
  13. Stanisław Maziarski (1873–1956).
  14. Aleksander Oszacki (1883–1945).
  15. Zdzisław Przybyłkiewicz (1908–1996).
  16. Jan Robel (1886–1962).
  17. Ludwik Sieppel (1904–1981).
  18. Stanisław Skowron (1900–1976).
  19. Bronisław Stępowski (1892–1963).
  20. Janusz Supniewski (1899–1964).
  21. Władysław Szumowski (1875–1954).
  22. Tadeusz Tempka (1885–1974).
  23. Leon Tochowicz (1897–1965).
  24. Leon Wachholz (1867–1942). Never recovered from his chronic condition on release, which eventually led to his death.
  25. Franciszek Walter (1885–1950).
  26. January Zubrzycki (1885–1969).
  27. Kazimierz Stołyhwo (1880–1966).
  28. Maksymilian Rutkowski (1867–1947). Surgeon, urologist, and pulmonologist, head of the Jagiellonian University Hospital’s Surgical Clinic and Chair of Surgery. During World War II Dr Rutkowski was head of the Kraków branch of the Polish Red Cross, and worked for the RGO charity organisation, as well as in St. Lazarus’ Hospital, and this is probably why he is mentioned in the article (he was not one of those arrested under Sonderaktion Krakau).
  29. SS-Sturmbannführer Bruno Müller (1905–1960), German war criminal, commanding officer of Einsatzkommando 2/I, which carried out the arrests. The academics were enticed into one of the lecture halls in the Jagiellonian University’s Collegium Novum Building and ambushed, on the pretext that Müller was to deliver a lecture. Once they were in the room, the building was surrounded by SS men and the academics were packed into lorries and driven off to prison, and later to Sachsenhausen. After the War Müller was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by a British court but amnestied in 1953 and worked for the rest of his life as an insurance agent. He was never tried for the arrest of the professors, despite many efforts by the Polish State to extradite him.
  30. German for “come along.”
  31. Stanisław Estreicher (1869–1939). Died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
  32. German for “I protest!”
  33. The Gestapo headquarters were located on this street.
  34. The Jagiellonian University hospital.
  35. Tadeusz Dziurzyński (1879–1962).
  36. Jan Stanisławski (1893–1973).
  37. Zagłoba—a comic character in Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy, reminiscent of (but more honest than) Shakespeare’s Falstaff.
  38. Konstanty Michalski (1879–1947).
  39. Legnica, a city (now in Poland), 330 km (206 miles) west of Kraków.
  40. I.e., staff members of the Jagiellonian University and the Mining Academy (now known as the AGH University of Science and Technology). There were also a few academics from the Commercial Academy (now known as the Cracow University of Economics) and other scholarly institutions from other cities among the arrestees.
  41. Kazimierz Dobija (1890–1969), editor and chief executive officer of the IKC newspaper; honorary president of the Wisła Sports Association and vice-president of their rival football club, the Cracovia Sports Club. Arrested by the Germans on 20 September 1939 and sent to a series of concentration camps, the last of which was Sachsenhausen, which he survived. See the source.
  42. Aleksander Birkenmajer (1890–1967).
  43. The habilitation is a post-doctoral degree some Central European universities require from academics who wish to make a career in scholarship.
  44. The Germans set up this camp on occupied Czech territory in August 1939, at a place called Skrochovice near Opava, close to the Polish border. Polish citizens, mostly from Silesia, were held in it. In December 1939 the Germans evacuated Skrochovice and sent the inmates to Sachsenhausen. See http://sh.jmjm.cz.
  45. Stehkommando, literally “standing up commando”. The Germans running Sachsenhausen kept the elderly scholars who were unable to do a manual job up on their feet all day, for a full “working shift”. This was in the early days of the war; in addition the families of the arrested academics launched a campaign for their release, disseminating news of the arrest, which led to international outrage. Later the Nazi Germans were not so “lenient” with university professors; the next time they rounded up Polish academics, in Lwów (now L’viv, Ukraine) on 4 July 1941, they shot them all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Lwów_professors.
  46. Stanisław Kutrzeba (1876–1946).
  47. Jan Włodek (1885–1940). A few days after his release he died of bilateral pneumonia contracted in the camp.
  48. Tadeusz Ważewski (1896–1972).
  49. Władysław Konopczyński (1880–1952).
  50. Stanisław Pigoń (1885–1968).
  51. Arkadiusz Piekara (1904–1989).
  52. Zdzisław Jachimecki (1882–1953).
  53. Stanisław Skimina (1886–1962).
  54. Before the Second World War a large community of Polish immigrants lived and worked (mostly as miners) in Westphalia, especially the Ruhr Valley. For more, see “The Ruhr Poles”.
  55. Formally the Institut für Deutsche Ostarbeit, a pseudo-scientific institution the Nazis set up for the pursuit of Ostforschung, i.e. East European studies.
  56. “Tea”—a herbal brew made of locally grown plants.
  57. Kazimierz Dobrowolski (1894-1987).
  58. Ärztliche Behandlung—medical treatment; ärztliche Misshandlung—medical mistreatment.
  59. Ignacy Chrzanowski (1866–1940). Died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
  60. Kazimierz Pochwalski (1855–1940), Polish portraitist, painted the portraits of several senior academics.
  61. Probably Jan Weyssenhoff (1890–1972), Polish physicist and footballer, spent part of his academic career in Kraków, as a professor of the Jagiellonian University.
  62. Karl Gegenbaur (1826–1903), German anatomist and professor of comparative anatomy at several German universities.
  63. Dobiesław Doborzyński (1904-1942), Polish physicist, senior academic in the Jagiellonian University; fought in the defence campaign against the German invasion; on his return home arrested during Sonderaktion Krakau, sent to Sachsenhausen and later to Dachau, released in April 1942. Arrested a second time and sent to Auschwitz, where he was executed by firing squad in May 1942.
  64. Feliks Zalewski (188-1966), mining engineer and professor of the Mining Academy.
  65. The head of a Polish university is called its rector. Kostanecki was Rector of the Jagiellonian University in 1913–1916.
  66. Józef Gołąb (1904–1968).
  67. Polska Akademia Umiejętności (PAU).
  68. Docent–formerly an academic appointment in a Polish university.
  69. Vilnius (Lithuania); this city was in Poland up to 1939.
  70. Akademia Nauk Technicznych, a Polish pre-war scholarly society.
  71. Akademia Nauk Ścisłych i Stosowanych, a Polish pre-war scholarly society.
  72. Owing to a printing error in the published version of the original article, the entry for “Mikucki” appears twice, while “Mikulski” is missing. Corrected on the basis of available data.

Notes by Teresa Bałuk-Ulewiczowa, Head Translator for the Medical Review Auschwitz project.

      

A publication funded in 2020–2021 within the DIALOG Program of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland.

See also

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