Monday, October 25, 2021

The Germans killed my 4 brothers, father couldn't stop them - Jadwiga Cieślak

 

Nazi Germany war crimes Poland family genocide history remembrance

Jadwiga Cieślak née Dubczyk (born 1928), had five brothers and two sisters. They lived in Modrzewina near Grójec. Her older brother Zdzisław joined the People’s Guard to fight against the Germans. After some time he wanted to leave the organization, but this could be punished with death. He decided to leave his home village. On 28 February 1943, he was about to leave the house at 4 a.m., but he stopped to say goodbye to his parents. Then he realized that the house was surrounded by the Germans. The Germans entered the house and took all the men outside. They ordered Zdzisław’s three brothers to stand by the fence, and they shot Zdzisław in the middle of the yard, while his father was standing right next to him. They spent two hours searching the house and causing all sorts of damage. They were about to leave, when they discovered the fifth brother, who was hiding, and made him join the three others. Their father asked the Germans to spare at least one of them, as someone had to help him with work on the farm. Eventually, the Germans transported one brother to the prison in Grójec, and took the remaining three brothers outside the village and shot them dead. One of them, Zygmunt, was only wounded in the collar bone and had a chance to survive. His sister-in-law was trying to help him, but another group pf Germans appeared and mercilessly finished him off. Following this tragedy, Jadwiga’s mother spoke to the village leader, and it turned out that he knew about the planned attack on the Dubczyk family…



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