While doing family history research, I frequently quiz my mother about her memories. She has fond memories of learning about her father’s home country of Poland. Verifying the truth of the stories she shares is one of the interesting and challenging parts of doing genealogy. For instance, she told me, “There were letters that came back and forth from Poland. Occasionally the relatives in Poland would send mushrooms to my Dad.” This was verified when I connected with a descendant of one of my grandfather’s siblings who remembered the letters. One particular story from my mother was more alarming: “What I remember is that Dad’s brother got shot or killed stealing his own corn for food. They were under siege to the point they couldn’t take their own food. That is all I know, not sure what brother it was. I am not sure who she was talking to, and I heard the story. I was a kid at the time.” I was curious to see if this story could be verified and after learning about my grandfather’s brother, he became one of my favorite relatives because of his bravery during a terrible time in history. *****
My grandfather, two brothers and a sister were encouraged to take the risk to travel to the U.S. by their family for economic opportunities. Letters to and from Poland connected him to his family but eventually the connection was lost. By doing family history, I learned that two sisters and three brothers remained in Poland. I learned that his brother Franciszek DID die trying to “steal his own corn” – a hero to his family. His story is one of my favorite family stories and I continue to learn more about him. *****
On the family tree of Tomasz Raczkiewicz, a relative in Poland, I read an account of Franciszek’s death.provided by the testimony of his grandmother, Janina Bender, “The people who had been settled in Savoie, called Czarnuchy or Romanians, were given their fields and Poles were not allowed to harvest them. He was in danger of dying for harvesting his crops. Franek and his wife left for Łaszczów. After some time he returned to silently take something from the field. He went for apples, potatoes, maybe grain and loaded them onto a wagon. He was caught and arrested. There was an investigation, and he was asked who was with him, but Franek did not give up anyone, for which he ended up at the Rotunda. Frank's sister used to visit him in Zamość. They read him the death sentence. He bit his fingers out of fear. He was shot.” I asked another newfound relative, Andrzej Dubiel, about this account, and he told me, “My mom often said something about "czarnuchach". They were called "czarnuchy" because of their uniforms, but they weren't German soldiers, they came in order to take farms here.” *****
Franciszek died in 1943 at the age of 45. I do not know the exact date or where he is buried. At the Rotunda, there is a plaque which reads, “Here Nazi criminals burnt the bodies of the victims they had murdered, prisoners of the Rotunda. May they rest in peace.” The cemetery outside of the Rotunda contains the remains of thousands of people. “Eight thousand people died in the Gestapo Rotunda camp in Zamość. Nobody was judged for those crimes.” The gate to the camp reads in German, “The temporary camp for the prisoners of Security Police.” 150 people were shot on July 20 and 21, 1944, in the last execution. It is unknown exactly when Franciszek died. *****
Franciszek’s mother died the following year in 1944 at the age of 73. His brother, Anthony (my grandfather) was a machinist at the time of both deaths, living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was two years older than his brother Francis. I wonder how and when he found out about his brother’s death. *****
I have attempted to understand what was going on in this time period in order to understand Franciszek’s experience of being forced to steal his own crops to survive and being shot in the Rotunda in Zamość for it. I asked Andrzej about famil history during WWII. “My father was born 1926 . . . he was a teenager and he didn't fight during the war. In the past I haven't been interested in the history of my family so I didn't ask him about it. Now I can't do it.” He also said, “My father didn't talk about it. My mother sometimes mentioned that her aunt's house was burnt by Germans and they had to run off and had to hide. It was in Sumin, a village near Sabaudia, located about 10 kilometers north of Sabaudia on the way to Zamość.” *****
Between November 1942 and March 1943, the Germans forcibly removed Jewish people from the area around Tomaszów Lubelski. They were taken to a camp in Zamość and from there it was determined if their next step was slave labor or a concentration camp. Children were separated from their families. Many were sent to the death camp located in Bełżec (8 km. south of Tomaszów) where they killed hundreds of thousands of people. All traces of the existence of Jewish people in the area were eliminated. I asked Andrzej what he knew about the Jewish community within the area. He told me,. “When I was younger I didn't realize that there lived so many Jewish here. The Germans destroyed almost all evidence of their lives. The synagogue was torn down, the cemetery was devastated and people forgot about them.” *****
After the end of World War II, there was a forced transfer of more than a million Polish people out from towns and villages where they lived. First, the Germans deported residents in the area and resettled other people to undermine local resistance. Then in 1944, an agreement was signed for the voluntary resettlement of Poles living in Soviet Ukraine to Poland. *****
Unfortunately, the story my mother had heard was true: a life ending at age 39 – shot in the Rotunda in Zamość, the tragic end to the life of Franciszek Raczkiewicz, after their land was given to new settlers and Franciszek was caught trying to steal his own corn to prevent the starvation of his family. *****
I wanted to learn more about Franciszek’s life than his unfortunate death. He was born in Tomaszów Lubelski on June 14, 1904. His parents were Jan, age 39, and Katarzyna (Kaszucka), age 34, who were living in the village of Sabaudia. Franciszek was the eighth of their nine children. In the presence of witnesses, Jan Skurcz, age 25, and Pawel Kiec, age 30, both peasants, living in the village of Sabaudia, the birth was registered. At the Holy baptism performed on June 16, his Godparents were the first witness, Jan Skurcz, and Teresa Lisikiewicz. He was given the name Franciszek in honor of Saint Franciszek Xavier. This missionary was known for kindness, and he had a reputation for good deeds. St. Franciszek Xavier advocated for friendship to bridge cultures, and he had connections with political figures from different countries as well as many typical people. That reputation for good deeds later blossomed in the life of Franciszek when he tried to rescue his family from starvation. *****
Franciszek married Stanisława Oleńczuk from Łaszczów and they had one son,
Aleksander Szczepan Raczkiewicz, who was born on August 3, 1939. He studied chemistry in Wrocław. He married Danuta (last name unknown) on an unknown date. I recently learned that they had two daughters named Lucyna and Sylvia, who live in Kraków. *****
Aleksander Szczepan worked in Nigeria, Africa on a work contract. Many chemical engineers are needed in the oil business but I don’t know if that is the type of work he did. It was common for people from Poland to go to other countries to earn money and then return to Poland. His wife and daughters remained in Poland, *****
Aleksander Szczepandied in Nigeria, Africa on February 1, 1993, of an unknown disease, caused by being bitten by an insect. His mother, Stanisława, died on January 23, 2001 in Sabaudia, and is buried in Łaszczówka. His wife Danuta is still alive. *****
Franciszek died too young. Does that mean he was a victim of his circumstances? What do the stories of his life suggest about how to live life? Doing family history research and interviewing newfound relatives can reveal characteristics of relatives from long ago. Sometimes that is in personal stories that are shared and sometimes it is through trying to understand the circumstances affecting their life. The nine children born to Jan Raczkiewicz and his wife Katarzyna nee Kaszucka in Sabaudia, Poland were taught many good values – to practice their religion, to support their family, to work hard to improve their circumstances, and to even take risks if needed. Life was challenging in many ways – but the effort that they put into work and their family and into responding to the challenges in their world, shaped them into people worth emulating. *****
It is human to want to avoid suffering and hard conditions in life. The saying “life is unfair” is a reminder that things happen and that life isn’t always easy. Expecting life to be “fair” can add extra suffering to our life because our expectations are not met. None of us are living in the situation that Franciszek was facing but we all recently experienced a world-wide pandemic. Besides any pre-existing personal issues related to health, work, family or other areas, everyone has had to additionally face challenges related to the pandemic. Those challenges might have been illness and lingering health concerns, social isolation, shortages of products, rising prices and many other issues. *****
Relatives currently living in Tomaszów Lubelski, also have a war going on next door, in Ukraine. Franciszek’s nephew Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz’s reaction to the threat of war includes his worry for his family. But regardingt this worry, Eugeniusz wrote, “Dzisiejsze słowa Psalmu " Bądź ze mną Panie w moim utrapieniu" powodują, że jesteśmy dobrej myśli.” (Today's words of the Psalm " Be with me, Lord in my affliction" make us of good cheer). Eugeniusz’ response demonstrates that he, like Franciszek, uses his values and beliefs to face hardship. Other examples of handling adversity include helping others, like Andrzej Dubiel did, when his family welcomed Ukrainian refugees in their home, or like retired physician Mieczysław Raczkiewicz and his wife, who provided them with rides from the border. *****
Franciszek’s bravery provides inspiration to meet challenges head on with the values and beliefs learned from family as a guide. What you contribute while you are here in how you react to challenges might echo through your family for generations to come. “All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today.” Pope Paul VI *****
Family tree testimony
“Family Tree of Tomasz Raczkiewicz.” Bezpå‚Atne Drzewo Rodowe, Genealogia, Historia Rodziny I Testy DNA, 25 Aug. 2010, https://www.myheritage.pl/site-730968281/raczkiewicz.
Polish History:
“Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tomasz%C3%B3w_Lubelski.
First Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski | World History Project, https://worldhistoryproject.org/1939/9/17/first-battle-of-tomaszow-lubelski/.
“Population Exchange between Poland and Soviet Ukraine.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Aug. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_exchange_between_Poland_and_Soviet_Ukraine.
“Rotunda Zamość.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Feb. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotunda_Zamo%C5%9B%C4%87.
Virtual shtetl website. History | Virtual Shtetl. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://sztetl.org.pl/en/towns/t/51-tomaszow-lubelski/99-history/138161-history-of-community
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, September 9). Ethnic cleansing of Zamojszczyzna by Nazi germany. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing_of_Zamojszczyzna_by_Nazi_Germany
Birth record:
“Jednostka - Szukaj W Archiwach.” Przejdź Do Szukaj w Archiwach, https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/jednostka/-/jednostka/10504981.
Personal correspondence:
Received by Paulette Longwell, From Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz, 6 Mar. 2022.
Received by Paulette Longwell, From Andrzej Dubiel, date unknown..
Pope Paul VI:
“Pope Paul VI Quotes.” Quotefancy, https://quotefancy.com/pope-paul-vi-quotes.
Tomorrow is the anniversary of my grandfather’s parents’ wedding. The translated record starts out, “ It happened in town Tomaszów(Tomaszó...
Anthony was a member of St. Hyacinth, Polish Falcon Society and Polish National Alliance Society. Card parties, weddings, concerts, danc...