Jan Dobraczyński (

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, 20 April 1910 – 5 March 1994, Warsaw) was a Polish writer, novelist, politician and Catholic publicist.Encyklopedia PWN (2017)
Dobraczyński, Jan.

Internetowa encyklopedia PWN ''Internetowa encyklopedia PWN'' (Polish for ''Internet PWN Encyclopedia'') is a free online Polish-language encyclopedia published by Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe ...

In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

between the two world wars, he was a supporter of the National Party and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

movements. During the 1939 Nazi–Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, he was a soldier of the Polish Army and member of

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Dobraczyński participated in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

of 1944. After the war he supported the Polish communists. He was a member of parliament

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

s, as activist of the

PAX Association The PAX Association () was a pro-communist Catholic organization created in 1947 in the People's Republic of Poland at the onset of the Stalinist period. The association published the ''Słowo Powszechne'' daily for almost fifty years between 19 ...

and of the

Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth Patriotyczny Ruch Odrodzenia Narodowego (PRON, en, Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth or National Renaissance Patriotic Movement) was a Polish popular front that ruled the Polish People's Republic. It was created in the aftermath of the ma ...

from 1982 to 1985. He held the rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the Polish military. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-26631-0001, Tilly Bergner und Jan Dobraczynski

The Holocaust rescue

During World War II, as the head of the Division for Abandoned Children at the Warsaw municipal welfare department, Jan Dobraczynski helped Żegota activists with procuring forged documents and placed several hundred Jewish children in Catholic convents.Nahum Bogner
The Convent Children: The Rescue of Jewish Children in Polish Convents During the Holocaust
page 11. He was imprisoned in Bergen-Belsen following the

.Yad Vashem (2017)
Jan Dobraczyński
at The Righteous Among The Nations,

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

. In 1985 Dobraczyński was awarded the Cross of

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

. In 1986 he published his memoir titled ''Tylko w jednym życiu'' (''Of One Life Only''). In 1993 he was bestowed the title of the

Polish Righteous Among the Nations The citizens of Poland have the world's highest count of individuals who have been recognized by Yad Vashem of Jerusalem as the Polish Righteous Among the Nations, for saving Jews from extermination during the Holocaust in World War II. There a ...

in Jerusalem.

Bibliography

* Jan Dobraczyński, ''Tylko w jednym życiu'' (''Of One Life Only'', memoir). Wspomnienia, 1986 * Aleksander Rogalski, ''Dobraczyński'', 1986 (fr) * Aleksander Rogalski, ''Jan Dobraczyński'', 1981 (en) * Jerzy Ziomek, Jana Dobraczyńskiego Księgi (bez) Wyjścia, in ''Wizerunki polskich pisarzy katolickich'', 1963. * Zygmunt Lichniak, Szkic do portretu Jana Dobraczyńskiego, 1962 * Jan Dobraczynski, "Najezdzcy" - Les Envahisseurs translated by Jean Nittman 1960

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobraczynski, Jan 1910 births 1994 deaths Writers from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate Polish Roman Catholics National Party (Poland) politicians PAX Association members Members of the Polish Sejm 1952–1956 Members of the Polish Sejm 1985–1989 Polish male writers Polish nationalists Polish People's Army generals Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Home Army members Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors Warsaw Uprising insurgents Polish Righteous Among the Nations Catholic Righteous Among the Nations Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland Recipients of the Virtuti Militari (1943–1989) Żegota members

The Holocaust rescue

Bibliography

See also

Footnotes