A CARD FROM THE CALENDAR - JÓZEF SOBIESIAK
From the start of the Second World War, Józef Sobiesiak fought as a soldier in the Polish Army. In the Summer of 1941, he moved to Volhynia. When Germans began their occupation of this region, Sobiesiak (pseudonym “Maks”) organised a partisan unit called the “Frunze Brigade” to which he admitted fugitives from the Kowel, Maniewicze, Poworsk, Rafałówka, and Trojanówka ghettos. He was particularly sensitive to the plight of the Jews, so the unit admitted not only able-bodied men, but also people requiring special care: the elderly, the women, the children. He established three family camps for them close to the fighting units’ areas of operation. These camps tended to some 500 Jewish citizens. “He was a loyal friend, inspiring admiration and respect” – one of the Jews saved by Sobiesiak would recall years later. Many of the saved emigrated after the war, going to Israel, USA, and Canada, hoping for a new life.
