Bruno (Brunon) Boguszewski (1907–1987)
Fr. Bruno (Brunon) Józef Boguszewski (born 14 March 1907 in Strzelce Wielkie, died 23 October 1987) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, decorated with the medal “Righteous Among the Nations”[1]. He was a priest of the Kraków archdiocese and during the war served as a vicar in various parishes of Kraków, and after the war for many years ministered as administrator and parish priest of the parish of Więcławice Stare[2]. During the occupation he served in St. Nicholas’ parish in Kraków, and later in St. Joseph’s parish, from where – as registrar (rejent) of St. Lazarus’ Church – he rescued persecuted Jews by issuing false documents[3]. He died in October 1987 in Kraków and was buried in the Rakowicki Cemetery[4].
Childhood
Brunon Boguszewski was born on 14 March 1907 in Strzelce Wielkie (Brzesko County) into a middle-class farming family. His father was Paweł Boguszewski and his mother Anna née Józefczyk[5]. The family lived in Wygoda (a hamlet of Niedzieliska), and the parents were later buried in the local cemetery (their grave is located in the cemetery in Niedzieliska)[6]. Fr. Boguszewski had at least three siblings: two brothers (Bogumił and Bogdan) and a sister, Romana[7]. He grew up in the Polish religious tradition and from a young age was educated with the priesthood in mind.
From 1918 to 1926 he attended the Henryk Sienkiewicz Gymnasium in Kraków[8]. After passing his final exams, he continued his studies at the Kraków Theological Seminary, where he was spiritually formed under the care of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha. After seven years of study, on 1 February 1931 he was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in Kraków[9]. During this period the young Boguszewski demonstrated diligence and dedication. At school he was an exemplary student, and later a zealous seminarian of the Kraków seminary. After completing seminary, he was assigned to his first pastoral duties.
Mature Years
From 1931 to 1934 he was vicar of the parish in Żywiec, and from 1934 to 1935 in Zakopane[10]. In 1935–1937 he served as deputy Secretary General of the Catholic Association of Youth (KSM), and from 1937 to 1945 he was the Secretary General of KSM[11]. During this period he remained under the influence of the Catholic youth movement and often organized youth meetings, which gave him a reputation as an engaged priest and spiritual leader among young Catholics.
During World War II he continued his priestly duties in Kraków. From 1939 to 1942 he was vicar of St. Nicholas’ parish, and then from 1942 to 1944 he worked in St. Joseph’s parish in Dębniki[12]. At St. Nicholas’ Church he was also responsible for the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the hospital church of St. Lazarus)[13]. It was precisely in this position that he served as registrar (rejent; birth recorder) in St. Nicholas’ parish in Kraków. In the summer of 1944 he took office as administrator of the Church of St. James the Apostle in Więcławice Stare (Kraków diocese). He held this position until 1966, and from April 1966 he served there as parish priest[14]. He was regarded as an exemplary pastor, well liked by parishioners, and he conscientiously fulfilled his priestly duties despite the difficult period of occupation and the communist regime after the war.
Context of Rescuing Jews
During the Nazi occupation, rescuing Jews carried the highest risk – providing help was punishable by death both for those who offered help and for the Jews themselves[15]. Polish Catholic clergy were the only Christian clergy systematically surveilled and persecuted by the Germans[16]. Despite wartime terror, many priests, monks, and nuns decided to help persecuted Jews – they provided shelter, gave food, and above all issued false baptismal or birth certificates, enabling Jews to conceal their identity[17]. The Catholic Church in Kraków (as in Warsaw and other cities) played a significant role: churches became places of assistance, and many pastors quietly issued so-called “Aryan certificates.” For example, St. Lazarus’ Church in Kraków – a filial church of St. Nicholas – earned a reputation as a place helping Jews by falsifying identity documents[18]. In this regard Fr. Boguszewski acted among other clergy engaged in rescue activities.
Description of the Hero’s Rescue of Jews
Using his position as birth registrar at St. Lazarus’ Church, Fr. Boguszewski issued false birth certificates for Jewish children in danger – with the names and surnames of Christian children[19]. Thanks to this, Jewish children could be saved from persecution. One such case was the situation of Anna Carter, a Jewish fugitive from the Kraków ghetto. After fleeing the ghetto, she obtained from Fr. Boguszewski a baptismal certificate for her eight-year-old daughter, Alina[20]. Shortly afterwards Fr. Boguszewski issued a similar Aryan certificate for her four-year-old son, Zygmunt, and additionally gave Anna Carter five more certificates with names of Catholic children so she could distribute them among other endangered Jewish families[21].
Fr. Boguszewski also took part in hiding the young Alina Carter outside Kraków. He found safe shelter for the girl with his acquaintances in Chrzanów. Alina remained hidden there until the liberation of Kraków in January 1945 – among German patrols, no one betrayed her hiding place[22]. Unfortunately, Alina’s brother, Zygmunt, was not able to avoid death – he was murdered by the Germans after someone informed them of his hiding place[23]. After the war Alina Carter was reunited with her mother, who survived the Auschwitz camp. Mother and daughter later emigrated to the United States, from where they maintained contact with Fr. Boguszewski[24]. Fr. Boguszewski’s reputation as someone who rescued Jewish children spread widely – preserved accounts testify that he acted out of humanitarian and religious motives. He was fully aware of the danger: his predecessor in the registrar’s position, who had also provided Jews with false certificates, was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Auschwitz[25].
Later Life of the Hero
After the end of the war, Fr. Brunon Boguszewski remained in the service of the Church and continued working in the Kraków Archdiocese. From 10 November 1944 until 1966 he served as administrator of the parish of St. James the Apostle in Więcławice Stare (Koszyce deanery)[26], and then until 1 December 1975 he was its parish priest[27]. In 1975–1976 he worked as a resident priest in the Kraków parish of All Saints, and in 1976–1987 in the parish of Corpus Christi in Kraków[28]. In the years 1977–1980 and 1982–1984 he additionally served as a resident priest in Gaubitsch (Austria) in the local diocese[29]. Despite the changing socio-political environment and his pastoral responsibilities, he maintained contact with Holocaust survivors. The aforementioned Alina Carter emigrated to the USA with her mother after the war, but she sent letters of gratitude to Fr. Boguszewski and maintained correspondence with him until the end of his life[30]. After a long life, full of dedication to his parishioners and those he had saved, Fr. Boguszewski died on 23 October 1987 and was buried in Kraków’s Rakowicki Cemetery[31].
Context of the Awarding of the Title “Righteous Among the Nations”
The title “Righteous Among the Nations” is awarded by the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem to non-Jewish individuals who rescued Jews during the Holocaust at the risk of their own lives. The Institute has awarded this title since 1963. In the justification for granting this distinction to Fr. Boguszewski, his selfless conduct and humanitarian and religious motivations were emphasized. Yad Vashem honored Fr. Brunon Boguszewski with the “Righteous Among the Nations” medal on 28 May 1978[32][33]. In the Yad Vashem records it is noted that his rescue of Jewish children was entirely voluntary and motivated solely by moral necessity[34]. The medal received became for many witnesses and survivors a symbol of gratitude for his attitude and a confirmation of the truth about the help he provided to Jews during the occupation.
References
[1][2][4][9][10][11][12][14][26][27][28][29][31] Naddłubniańskie Pejzaże; https://www.michalowice.malopolska.pl/spzm/publikacje/nr57.pdf
[3][5][6][7][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][30][34] ks. Brunon Boguszewski zapomniany bohater; https://brzesko.ws/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?ItemID=7240&mid=10640
[8][13] Bruno Boguszewski; https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Boguszewski
[15][16][17][18][33] Wartime Rescue of Jews by the Polish Catholic Clergy. The Testimony of Survivors and Rescuers, Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL 2023.
[32] Rescue by Religious Organizations; https://www.holocaustrescue.org/rescue-by-religious-organizations
External links
Naddłubniańskie Pejzaże; https://www.michalowice.malopolska.pl/spzm/publikacje/nr57.pdf
ks. Brunon Boguszewski zapomniany bohater; https://brzesko.ws/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?ItemID=7240&mid=10640
Bruno Boguszewski; https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Boguszewski
Wartime Rescue of Jews by the Polish Catholic Clergy. The Testimony of Survivors and Rescuers, Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL 2023.
Rescue by Religious Organizations; https://www.holocaustrescue.org/rescue-by-religious-organizations
Illustration sources:
https://brzesko.ws/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?ItemID=7240&mid=10640