Heschel Center KUL – Władysław Głowacki (1902

Władysław Głowacki (1902–1974)

Władysław Głowacki (born 1902) was a Polish Roman Catholic clergyman, known primarily for helping Jews during World War II. He served as prefect at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Leszno Street, working within the parish of St. Augustine in Nowolipki[1][2]. For his courageous actions during the occupation, he was posthumously awarded the medal and title of Righteous Among the Nations[3].

Childhood

Władysław Głowacki was born in 1902[4]. Unfortunately, no reliable sources describing his early life, family, or place of birth have survived. The available literature lacks information about his youth or education—the first mentions of Głowacki appear only in the context of his priestly activity during World War II[5]. There is no data regarding where he grew up or which schools he attended before entering the seminary. The absence of sources suggests that Głowacki’s childhood was not documented in archival records or memoirs that have reached researchers[6]. As a result, biographical entries confirm mainly information about his service during the occupation, making the childhood of this figure virtually inaccessible to contemporary historians[7]. It may be assumed that he received the humanistic and theological education typical of future priests, but there is no confirmation of this in public sources.

Adulthood

In the interwar period, Władysław Głowacki committed himself to religious life. He graduated from the Poznań School for Officer Cadets of Military Technical and Railway Units, and in 1929 he was ordained a priest and began pastoral work[8]. Before the war he held various pastoral and administrative roles in Warsaw (specific parishes are not well documented in available sources). After the outbreak of World War II he was appointed prefect of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 32/34 Leszno Street in Warsaw—this was a church operating within the Warsaw Ghetto[9]. In November 1940 he found himself, along with the church, within the boundaries of the Warsaw Ghetto[10]. This made him one of the few Polish priests who had regular contact with the Jewish population during the occupation. Fr. Głowacki also maintained ties with the resistance movement—between 1940 and 1942, while stationed on Leszno, he cooperated with clandestine organizations aiding Jews[11]. In August 1942 he was transferred to the parish in Służewiec in Warsaw, where he remained until the end of the war (during the occupation he continued to help Jews)[12].

After the war, Fr. Głowacki continued his priestly ministry in the Catholic Church. In the Polish People’s Republic, he became known as a supporter of Church independence and a clergyman sympathetic to contemporary freedom movements. In 1968 he was appointed bishop; during the communist era he resisted attempts to subordinate the Church to state authorities and supported the aspirations of the Solidarity movement[13]. In addition to his episcopal role, he engaged in social issues—he became the author of numerous public statements opposing restrictions on religious freedom in the PRL. His profile became so well known that he appeared in the Polish documentary film Sprawiedliwi (1996), dedicated to Poles who rescued Jews[14].

Context of Rescuing Jews

The German occupation of Poland involved an uncompromising threat of death for Poles who helped Jews. Despite bans under penalty of execution, a significant portion of Polish society and the Catholic clergy took risks to save neighbors of Jewish origin[15]. In occupied Warsaw, organized aid networks existed—among them the Council to Aid Jews, “Żegota,” in which priests and monks also participated[16]. The Catholic Church in Poland provided support to Jews in many ways during the war: clergy issued false baptismal certificates, which made it easier for Jews to conceal their identities[17]. At the same time, the prolonged occupation and the horrific extermination made such assistance logistically and politically complex. The German occupation authorities repeatedly imposed severe penalties for providing shelter or food to Jews (in the General Government the threat of death was absolute)[18]. In such conditions, the actions of anyone rescuing Jews carried particular weight. It is also known that many documents and testimonies concerning aid to Holocaust victims were collected only after the war, when many witnesses had already died, making it difficult to fully reconstruct these events. These circumstances show that activities such as those carried out by Fr. Głowacki had to be planned and conducted in strict secrecy.

Rescuing Jews by Fr. Głowacki

As early as October 1940, Fr. Władysław Głowacki used his ministry within the ghetto to help Jews. The most important form of his aid was issuing false Polish civil documents—providing baptism certificates, marriage attestations, and other identity papers based on Catholic parish records. At least several Jews received such documents, among them Amelia and Rudolf Areichowski, as well as Aleksander Bender and Maksymilian Seidenbeutel[19]. Thanks to these documents, they were able to cross to the “Aryan side” and avoid deportation. Fr. Głowacki agreed to issue more than 300 certificates, which were later used by other clergy or Jewish organizations[20].

Beyond issuing documents, Głowacki regularly provided food and material aid to the ghetto. He organized deliveries of food and medical supplies for its inhabitants, bringing assistance to Jews starving inside the ghetto. Accounts also state that he personally escorted some escapees—he guided them through the ghetto gate or handed them over to trusted contacts on the “Aryan side”[21]. In August 1942, after his transfer to Służewiec, Głowacki hid a Jewish woman, Helena Łabędź, in the rectory of the local church—he provided her with safe shelter until the liberation of Warsaw[22].

Głowacki repeatedly emphasized that he acted out of Christian motives. He often cited the words: “I am a priest, and if someone begs me for help, I must help him no matter what”[23]. The risk he took was enormous—other priests in his environment were arrested or murdered for offering similar help. Despite this, Fr. Głowacki consistently expanded the scope of support for Jews in the ghetto until the Great Liquidation Aktion. His efforts are confirmed both by later testimonies of survivors and by evidence collected in archives (including the Yad Vashem archive)[24].

Further Fate of the Hero After the War

After the war, Fr. Głowacki continued his pastoral work. In the postwar period he was a respected priest, and in the 1960s Archbishop Stefan Wyszyński appointed him bishop (in the Catholic press he is mentioned among the bishops of Poland at that time)[25]. As a Catholic hierarch, he was active in public appearances during which he opposed restrictions on religious freedom in the Polish People’s Republic and supported the democratic opposition, especially the Solidarity movement[26]. In 1996 he was mentioned in the documentary film Sprawiedliwi (The Righteous) as one of the Poles who helped Jews[27]. He likely died in December 1974 (the exact date of death is not confirmed in available sources). His name continues to appear in historical studies and publications commemorating clergymen involved in helping Jews[28].

Bestowal of the Title “Righteous Among the Nations”

After the war, accounts of Jewish survivors and findings by historians were submitted to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, an institution dedicated to commemorating Holocaust victims and honoring those who rescued Jews. In 1981 (according to most sources, the title was officially conferred in 1982), Fr. Władysław Głowacki was awarded the medal and the title of Righteous Among the Nations[29][30][31]. The granting of this distinction follows a meticulous procedure—based on testimonies of Jewish survivors and archival documents. Głowacki was among several dozen Polish clergymen honored with this highest foreign civilian award for aiding victims of the Holocaust[32]. After receiving the title, those he had rescued traveled to Warsaw or met with the priest’s family to express their gratitude. As a result, his actions were summarized and supported by testimonies from dozens of Jews who survived thanks to the documents he issued and the assistance he provided. The awarding of the title “Righteous” emphasized the historical significance of his dedication as a priest offering selfless help to fellow human beings of another faith and nationality[33].