function

diocesan priest

creed

Latin (Roman Catholic) Church RCmore on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2014.09.21]

diocese / province

Vilnius archdiocesemore on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2013.05.19]
Vilnius diocesemore on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2013.05.19]
Military Ordinariate of Polandmore on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2014.12.20]

academic distinctions

Sacred Theology MA

honorary titles

honorary canon „de numero”more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2014.11.14] (Vilnius cathedralmore on
pl.wikipedia.org
[access: 2014.11.14])

date and place
of death

23.04.1951

Verkhneuralsktoday: Verkhneuralsk reg., Chelyabinsk oblast, Russia
more on
en.wikipedia.org
[access: 2022.01.06]

details of death

cause of death

extermination

perpetrators

Russians

sites and events

Verkhneuralsk (prison)Click to display the description, GulagClick to display the description, Vladimir (on Klaźma river)Click to display the description, IL ŠaltupisClick to display the description, Vilnius (Lukiškės)Click to display the description, 03.03.1942 arrests (Vilnius)Click to display the description, Help to the JewsClick to display the description, Ribbentrop‐MolotovClick to display the description, Pius XI's encyclicalsClick to display the description, Polish‐Russian war of 1919‐1921Click to display the description, Polish‐Ukrainian war of 1918‐1919Click to display the description

date and place
of birth

05.04.1871

Kończynyzaścianek (yeomen's settlement)
form.: prob. Koncuny
today: non‐existent, Širvintos dist., Vilnius Cou., Lithuania

presbyter (holy orders)
ordination

1897

positions held

others related
in death

ANDRIUŠKAClick to display biography Benedykt, ŠEŠKEVIČIUSClick to display biography Vincent

sites and events
descriptions

Verkhneuralsk (prison): Hard‐labour prison in Verkhneuralsk (Chelyabinsk oblast). Founded in 1914 during Tsarist regime. From 1925 a „politisolator” — prison for political prisoners — initially for prisoner from Solovetsky Islands. Run first by murderous OGPU and then by NKVD, and forming part of Russian system of slave labour Gulag. In 1948 rebranded as special prison. Political prisoners were held there till 1955. (more on: ru.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2018.09.02])

Gulag: The acronym Gulag comes from the Rus. Главное управление исправительно‐трудовых лагерей и колоний (Eng. Main Board of Correctional Labor Camps). The network of Russian concentration camps for slave labor was formally established by the decision of the highest Russian authorities on 27.06.1929. Control was taken over by the OGPU, the predecessor of the genocidal NKVD (from 1934) and the MGB (from 1946). Individual gulags (camps) were often established in remote, sparsely populated areas, where industrial or transport facilities important for the Russian state were built. They were modeled on the first „great construction of communism”, the White Sea‐Baltic Canal (1931‐1932), and Naftali Frenkel, of Jewish origin, is considered the creator of the system of using forced slave labor within the Gulag. He went down in history as the author of the principle „We have to squeeze everything out of the prisoner in the first three months — then nothing is there for us”. He was to be the creator, according to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, of the so‐called „Boiler system”, i.e. the dependence of food rations on working out a certain percentage of the norm. The term ZEK — prisoner — i.e. Rus. заключенный‐каналоармец (Eng. canal soldier) — was coined in the ITL BelBaltLag managed by him, and was adopted to mean a prisoner in Russian slave labor camps. Up to 12 mln prisoners were held in Gulag camps at one time, i.e. c. 5% of Russia's population. In his book „The Gulag Archipelago”, Solzhenitsyn estimated that c. 60 mln people were killed in the Gulag until 1956. Formally dissolved on 20.01.1960. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2024.04.08])

Vladimir (on Klaźma river): On of the harshest Russian prisons for political prisoners where dozens of catholic priest were held.

IL Šaltupis: Germ. „Internierungslager” (Eng. „Internment camp”) — in 01.1942, at the Šaltupis estate in Lithuania, the Germans established an internment camp, in practice Germ. „Zwangsarbeitslager” (Eng. „slave labour camp”) for the Polish clergy. The formal founding order was issued by a Lithuanian collaborator, the police chief of the city of Vilnius. The camp was managed by the German Secret Political Police Gestapo, but the commandant was another Lithuanian collaborator, known for his brutality and sadism towards prisoners. On 17.10.1942, professors of the Theological Faculty of the University of Stefan Batory (operating clandestinely after the University was closed by the Lithuanians in 1939) and the Theological Seminary in Vilnius were brought in. Apart from them, Vilnius monks and friars were kept in the camp: the Discalced Carmelites OCD, Jesuits SI, Vincentians CM, Brothers Hospitallers OH and one Franciscan OFM. Together c. 50 people. The internees slaved on a farm. In 04.1943 some of the prisoners were released. Most of them however were held until the defeat of Germany and the start of the Russian occupation in 07.1944. A few perished in the camp.

Vilnius (Lukiškės): Vilnius prison used both by Russians and Germans. Thousands of Poles were kept there. From 2,000 to 16,000 prisoners were jailed at any time there. In 06.1941, after German invasion, Russians murdered most of the prisoners. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2021.07.04])

03.03.1942 arrests (Vilnius): On 03.03.1942 in Vilnius Germans arrested 28 professors and 81 seminarians of Vilnius Theological Seminary, prob. denounced by the Lithuanians. A few weeks later, on 26.03.1942, the Germans and the Lithuanians who collaborated with them arrested 9 religious fathers, 5 brothers, 2 novices and 1 boy helping in the kitchen, from the Jesuit College of Vilnius. All were locked in Lukiškės prison in Vilnius. Professors were on 18.03.1942 transported to Wyłkowyszki and interned there. In 10.1942 were subsequently sent to concentration camp (i.e. Szałtupie, IL Panevėžiukas). The seminarians were transported out on 04.05.1942 to Germany for slave labour (most of them escaped during the transport). Theological seminary was closed. Few weeks after Vilnius seminary arrests, on 26.03.1942 Germans arrested Vilnius religious friars and clerics (Jesuits and Missionary Fathers of St Vincent a Pauli, among others) who got exposed to the same prison treatment. (more on: www.tygodnik.ltClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2013.05.19])

Help to the Jews: During World War II on the Polish occupied territories Germans forbid to give any support to the Jews under penalty of death. Hundreds of Polish priests and religious helped the Jews despite this official sanction. Many of them were caught and murdered.

Ribbentrop‐Molotov: Genocidal Russian‐German alliance pact between Russian leader Joseph Stalin and German leader Adolf Hitler signed on 23.08.1939 in Moscow by respective foreign ministers, Mr. Vyacheslav Molotov for Russia and Joachim von Ribbentrop for Germany. The pact sanctioned and was the direct cause of joint Russian and German invasion of Poland and the outbreak of the World War II in 09.1939. In a political sense, the pact was an attempt to restore the status quo ante before 1914, with one exception, namely the „commercial” exchange of the so‐called „Kingdom of Poland”, which in 1914 was part of the Russian Empire, fore Eastern Galicia (today's western Ukraine), in 1914 belonging to the Austro‐Hungarian Empire. Galicia, including Lviv, was to be taken over by the Russians, the „Kingdom of Poland” — under the name of the General Governorate — Germany. The resultant „war was one of the greatest calamities and dramas of humanity in history, for two atheistic and anti‐Christian ideologies — national and international socialism — rejected God and His fifth Decalogue commandment: Thou shall not kill!” (Abp Stanislav Gądecki, 01.09.2019). The decisions taken — backed up by the betrayal of the formal allies of Poland, France and Germany, which on 12.09.1939, at a joint conference in Abbeville, decided not to provide aid to attacked Poland and not to take military action against Germany (a clear breach of treaty obligations with Poland) — were on 28.09.1939 slightly altered and made more precise when a treaty on „German‐Russian boundaries and friendship” was agreed by the same murderous signatories. One of its findings was establishment of spheres of influence in Central and Eastern Europe and in consequence IV partition of Poland. In one of its secret annexes agreed, that: „the Signatories will not tolerate on its respective territories any Polish propaganda that affects the territory of the other Side. On their respective territories they will suppress all such propaganda and inform each other of the measures taken to accomplish it”. The agreements resulted in a series of meeting between two genocidal organization representing both sides — German Gestapo and Russian NKVD when coordination of efforts to exterminate Polish intelligentsia and Polish leading classes (in Germany called «Intelligenzaktion», in Russia took the form of Katyń massacres) where discussed. Resulted in deaths of hundreds of thousands of Polish intelligentsia, including thousands of priests presented here, and tens of millions of ordinary people,. The results of this Russian‐German pact lasted till 1989 and are still in evidence even today. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2015.09.30])

Pius XI's encyclicals: Facing the creation of two totalitarian systems in Europe, which seemed to compete with each other, though there were more similarities than contradictions between them, Pope Pius XI issued in 03.1937 (within 5 days) two encyclicals. In the „Mit brennender Sorge” (Eng. „With Burning Concern”) published on 14.03.1938, condemned the national socialism prevailing in Germany. The Pope wrote: „Whoever, following the old Germanic‐pre‐Christian beliefs, puts various impersonal fate in the place of a personal God, denies the wisdom of God and Providence […], whoever exalts earthly values: race or nation, or state, or state system, representatives of state power or other fundamental values of human society, […] and makes them the highest standard of all values, including religious ones, and idolizes them, this one […] is far from true faith in God and from a worldview corresponding to such faith”. On 19.03.1937, published „Divini Redemptoris” (Eng. „Divine Redeemer”), in which criticized Russian communism, dialectical materialism and the class struggle theory. The Pope wrote: „Communism deprives man of freedom, and therefore the spiritual basis of all life norms. It deprives the human person of all his dignity and any moral support with which he could resist the onslaught of blind passions […] This is the new gospel that Bolshevik and godless communism preaches as a message of salvation and redemption of humanity”… Pius XI demanded that the established human law be subjected to the natural law of God , recommended the implementation of the ideal of a Christian state and society, and called on Catholics to resist. Two years later, National Socialist Germany and Communist Russia came together and started World War II. (more on: www.vatican.vaClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2023.05.28], www.vatican.vaClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2023.05.28])

Polish‐Russian war of 1919‐1921: War for independence of Poland and its borders. Poland regained independence in 1918 but had to fight for its borders with former imperial powers, in particular Russia. Russia planned to incite Bolshevik‐like revolutions in the Western Europe and thus invaded Poland. Russian invaders were defeated in 08.1920 in a battle called Warsaw battle („Vistula river miracle”, one of the 10 most important battles in history, according to some historians). Thanks to this victory Poland recaptured part of the lands lost during partitions of Poland in XVIII century, and Europe was saved from the genocidal Communism. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2014.12.20])

Polish‐Ukrainian war of 1918‐1919: One of the wars for borders of the newly reborn Poland. At the end of 1918 on the former Austro‐Hungarian empire’s territory, based on the Ukrainian military units of the former Austro‐Hungarian army, Ukrainians waged war against Poland. In particular attempted to create foundation of an independent state and attacked Lviv. Thanks to heroic stance of Lviv inhabitants, in particular young generation of Poles — called since then Lviv eaglets — the city was recaptured by Poles and for a number of months successfully defended against furious Ukrainian attacks. In 1919 Poland — its newly created army — pushed Ukrainian forces far to the east and south, regaining control over its territory. (more on: en.wikipedia.orgClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2017.05.20])

sources

personal:
www.katolicy.euClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2021.12.19], krzysztofpozarski.files.wordpress.comClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2019.04.16]
bibliographical:
„Vilnius archdiocese clergy martyrology 1939‐1945”, Fr Thaddeus Krahel, Białystok, 2017
„Lexicon of Polish clergy repressed in USSR in 1939‐1988”, Roman Dzwonkowski, SAC, ed. Science Society KUL, 2003, Lublin
original images:
ipn.gov.plClick to attempt to display webpage
[access: 2019.02.02]