Dr. Wacław Olszak (29 May 1868 – 11 September 1939) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

physician, activist and politician. He came from the region of

Trans-Olza Trans-Olza ( pl, Zaolzie, ; cs, Záolží, ''Záolší''; german: Olsa-Gebiet; Cieszyn Silesian dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Zaolzi''), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (Polish language, Polish: ''Śląsk Zaolziański''), is a territory in the ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and was a mayor of the town of Karviná for seven years. Ten days after outbreak 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 ...

he was murdered by

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

Biography

Olszak was born in

Šenov Šenov (; pl, Szonów; german: Schönhof) is a town in Ostrava-City District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,400 inhabitants. It lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Geography Šenov lies in t ...

as a tenth child of a peasant. After primary school he attended the German gymnasium (high school) in Cieszyn, from which he graduated in 1889. He went to Vienna to study medicine at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

. He graduated in 1895. After returning to his region, Olszak started to work as a doctor in Karviná, becoming the first Polish doctor for coal miners in that town. He also worked as a doctor at the château in Fryštát for count Larisch-Mönnich, and as a family doctor for many local German engineers and administration workers. Olszak however, working mostly with poor coal miners and their families, helped to organize a social help for them. Olszak was a member and co-founder of various Polish organizations in Trans-Olza. He was a member of the general committee of ''Związek Polaków w Czechosłowacji'' (Association of Poles in Czechoslovakia) and ''Związek Śląskich Katolików w Czechosłowacji'' (Association of Silesian Catholics in Czechoslovakia). After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, as a member of the Association of Silesian Catholics, he took active part in the work of the National Council of the Duchy of Cieszyn, provisional Polish political body working for joining Cieszyn Silesia to independent Poland. Olszak was regularly elected to the city council of Karviná and in 1929 became a mayor, beating in the elections Czech candidate Oskar Kučera. On 6 July 1930 he hosted in the town the Czechoslovak president

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. It may refer to: * Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia * Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur * Tomáš Berdych ( ...

and welcomed him in

. President Masaryk later made a speech in both Polish and Czech languages. On 4 July 1936 Olszak contested in next mayoral elections but lost to Czech candidate Antonín Krůta. After the elections Olszak worked again as a general doctor for coal miners, he maintained this position after Poland annexed Trans-Olza in October 1938. On 1 September 1939

started and

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

entered also Trans-Olza region. Dr Olszak was arrested by Nazi authorities on 2 September. On 7 September he was called out to one of local coal mines to a reputed accident. Upon arrival he was seriously beaten by

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and local German coal mining administration. He was transferred to the hospital, where he died on 11 September. Bleeding to the brain was given as a cause of death in the official documents. His funeral was highly restricted by Nazi German authorities who were aware of Olszak's popularity. Although crowds of locals followed the funeral procession, only four people were allowed to enter the cemetery - wife, two sons and priest. He is buried at a cemetery in the Doly district of Karviná. Streets in Cieszyn and Karviná are named after him. His son Wacław became an internationally acclaimed engineer and construction theorist; his son Feliks became a metallurgical engineer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olszak, Waclaw 1868 births 1939 deaths People from Šenov Czechoslovak physicians Polish politicians Polish people from Trans-Olza Mayors of places in Czechoslovakia Polish Roman Catholics University of Vienna alumni Czechoslovak civilians killed in World War II Polish civilians killed in World War II Polish people executed by Nazi Germany People from the German Empire