Lubczyński Ignacy

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Help for Jews in the Home Army (AK) - the Story of Ignacy Lubczyński

During the years of German occupation, Ignacy Lubczyński (pseud. "Andrzej Krzemień”), a Lieutenant Colonel in the Polish Army, provided help to Jews.

He organised escapes from ghettos and concentration camps, provided false identity papers to Jews in hiding on the "Aryan side" and was also involved in the smuggling of weapons into the Warsaw Ghetto.

As a soldier in the Polish Underground State (Polskie Państwo Podziemne), he enlisted Jewish acquaintances into the ranks of the Home Army (AK), among them being married couple  Marian and Matylda Beller (after the war "Belerski") as well as Emanuel Singer.


"This high-ranking officer had none of the arrogance of a member of the exclusive officer class. He was a humble and truly good man", wrote Emanuel Singer, in a post-war testimony to the Yad Vashem Institute, Singer was a Holocaust Survivor who was saved with the help of Ignacy Lubczyński.

A Officer in the Polish Army - the Fate of Ignacy Lubczyński Before and During the Occupation

Ignacy Lubczyński was born in the vicinity of Lwów, the son of blacksmith, Kazimierz Lubczyński, and Eufrozyna Sokołowska. His sisters, Stefania and Józefa, attended a teacher training seminary in the nearby town of Sokal, while Ignacy went to a military cadet school.

However, the specifics of his military education are not known. It is recorded that, in 1921, Lubczyński was promoted to second lieutenant in the infantry and, in the following year, he was transferred to the reserve.

During interwar Poland, Ignacy Lubczyński, along with his wife Danuta Żabska and their daughters Krystyna and Janina, settled in a rural estate in the village of Horoszowa, located in the Tarnopol Province (now in Ukraine).

At the beginning of 1939, he was mobilised into the 48th Infantry Borderlanders Regiment , where he served as a captain and commanded a platoon. However, soon after his mobilisation, the regiment was disbanded. At the time, the unit was stationed in the Stanisławów garrison.

During the German invasion of the USSR in 1941, he is said to have led a group of young fighters, who attacked a prison in Stanisławów, which enabled the escape of Polish prisoners who had been detained by the NKVD (Soviet Secret Police).

Promoted to the rank of major, he was then appointed head of the Material Evacuation Department in the "Ewa" Airborne Drop Division in the Head Command of the Home Army (AK) in Warsaw.

False Identity Documents, Hiding Places, Weapons to the Ghetto - Ignacy Lubczyński's Aid to the Jews

Emanuel Singer (during the war "Henryk Boręcki", pseudonym "Rykszasz") wrote,

"Lieutenant Colonel Lubczyński was not the typical pre-war Polish officer, according to his Jewish subordinates in their memoirs.

"This high-ranking officer had none of the arrogance of a member of the exclusive officer class. He was a humble and truly good man. We know that he saved and helped many Jews. He also accepted other Jews into his underground group - Matylda Beller, Binka Windreich, Meir Beller and Emanuel Singer. All of them survived the war with their families. We personally handed over several [false] identity documents that we received from him."

One of Lubczyński's subordinates and friends from pre-war times, Second Lieutenant Marian Belerski (Beller), pseud. "Tada", "Tadeusz", in his memoirs, emphasised that Lubczyński helped many Jews, providing them with "Aryan papers”.

"One of Lubczyński's subordinates and friends from pre-war times, Second Lieutenant Marian Belerski (Beller), pseud. 'Tada,' 'Tadeusz,' emphasized in his memoirs that Lubczyński helped many Jews by providing them with 'Aryan papers.'"

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One of Lubczyński’s subordinates and friends from pre-war times, Second Lieutenant Marian Belerski (Beller), pseud. "Tada", "Tadeusz", in his memoirs, emphasised that Lubczyński helped many Jews by providing them with "Aryan papers".

Some – like Belerski, his wife Matylda, and his brother-in-law Emanuel Singer – were taken under his wing and enlisted in the structures of the Home Army (AK). Belerski was responsible for the evacuation of equipment and funds, registering all the airdrop supplies, and organising weapons storage in Warsaw. His wife Matylda served as a liaison messenger.

Belerski wrote,

"The persecuted Jews, [Lubczyński] treated them with respect and sincerity, and e was truly happy when he could save the from the extermination. He always comforted them, often saying 'This will end soon'.

"He, himself, went through the worst experiences during the war. But, he never broke down and always maintained his human dignity. I had the opportunity to observe him closely during the occupation, as he was my direct superior and commander.

"He saved a significant number of Jews and entire Jewish families. I, myself, intervened in these matters, and I was never met with refusal - neither in regard to issuing 'Aryan papers' and registration, nor in placing those unfortunate people in Polish homes. He also organised the smuggling of weapons into the Warsaw ghetto. I personally participated, under Lubczyński's orders, in the rescue of Dr. Herman Liebman and his family from the Szczercz camp, as well as the brother-in-law of Professor Gelber of the Jerusalem University [ed: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem]."

Ignacy Lubczyński's arrest by the Gestapo and his emigration

In his memoirs, Marian Belerski wrote, "In the autumn of 1943, Lubczyński was arrested in the apartment of his liaison officer 'Barbara' Halina Szynkiewicz, now married name Sawicka. She, too, was taken to al. Szucha. Both were subjected to extreme torture before being transported to concentration camps".

A Jewish girl, the daughter of Dr. Herman Liebman, was being hidden in the apartment. The raid was probably due to a neighbour's denunciation. Fortunately, a few days earlier, a different hiding place had been found for the girl. Following his arrest, Lubczyński was transported to the Gross-Rose, concentration camp. The Germans did not realise that they had captured a Home Army (AK) soldier.

Po wojnie Lubczyński przebywał na leczeniu w Szwecji. Następnie osiadł w Stanach Zjednoczonych, na zaproszenie tamtejszego rządu, który przyznał mu działkę rolną. Przez wiele lat uprawiał kwiaty. Zmarł po ciężkiej chorobie w 1964 roku. Do ostatnich chwil – jak relacjonowała jego żona – pomagali mu żydowscy lekarze.

He passed away in 1964 following a long illness. According to his wife, Jewish doctors helped him until his final moments.

On 29th September 1967, on the testimony of Emanuel Singer and Bernard Mandel, the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem posthumously honoured Ignacegy Lubczyński with the title of Righteous Among the Nations.

Other Stories of Rescue in the Area

Bibliography

  • Bartoszewski Władysław, Lewinówna Zofia, Ten jest z ojczyzny mojej
    This publication consists of 3 parts: monographic outline of the issue of aid given to the Jews; collection of German and Polish documents concerning the histories of Jews and the aid given to them; collection of the post-war reports created by Poles and Jews about the aid.