Memory And Identity

Prof. Franciszek Raszeja was a surgeon. Before the war he headed the Orthopaedic Clinic of the Poznan University. In December 1939, he became the head of the surgical ward in the Polish Red Cross hospital in Warsaw. He was also actively involved in teaching at the Secret University of Warsaw. He lived in the capital with his wife and two daughters. He helped Jews confined in the ghetto. Together with a Jewish doctor, prof. Ludwik Hirszfeld, he organised blood donation campaigns. He also provided medical consultations at the request of Dr Kazimierz Pollak. On 21 July 1942, he obtained a pass which allowed him to enter the ghetto in order to help one of his patients, Abe Gutmajer. He came to his flat, where he began to operate. Unfortunately, the Gestapo broke into this flat and shot everyone present, Gutmajer and his family, prof. Raszeja, Dr. Pollak and his nurse. The body of Franciszek Raszeja was buried in the Powązki cemetery and in the year 2000 Franciszek Raszeja was honoured with the title of Righteous Among the Nations.