Józef Rosołowski

Józef Rosołowski (* 1928 in Cracow ) is a Polish concentration camp survivor who took part in the Warsaw Uprising .

Life

Józef Rosołowski took part in the Warsaw Uprising at the age of 16 . When the uprising was put down, the German occupiers arrested him. He was deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp together with 400 other insurgents . For a year Józef Rosołowski had to do forced labor under the most difficult conditions . The then 16-year-old fell ill while digging the tunnel in the Melk concentration camp , a subcamp of Mauthausen, and spent the last months of his imprisonment in his barracks . He was only able to survive because his fellow inmates kept him hidden during roll calls and so neither his illness nor his presence were noticed.

When he was liberated , Józef Rosołowski only weighed about 35 kg. He was too weak to leave his barracks and was rescued again by his comrades. Without them, Józef Rosołowski would have been forgotten in his barracks. He learned that he was the only survivor in his family. His parents were killed during the Warsaw Uprising and his brother lost his life in the Gusen I concentration camp .

After returning to Poland, Józef Rosołowski studied at the University of Planning and Statistics in Warsaw. He was silent about his past for a long time and only began to come to terms with his experiences after his retirement. He now began to report on his experiences as a contemporary witness. Józef Rosołowski gives a lecture at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow once or twice a week .

Web links

• “Contemporary witnesses: See you next year in Krakow” on bbw-aktiv.de
• Józef Rosołowski: Były jeniec obozu koncentracyjnego
• Spotkanie z panem Józefem Rosołowskim - byłym jeńcem najcięższego obozu III Rzeszy-Mauthausen