Jan was the youngest of the five children of Wojciech and Ewelina Srzednicki. He was born in Penz in Russia. At the time of his birth, his mother was not employed – she gave up work as a teacher some time earlier in order to raise a family. The Srzednicki home in Penza was a centre of Polish national identity – they spoke and prayed only in Polish. Polish books were read and Polish songs were sung.
After finishing his medical studies in Moscow, Jan came to Poland, firstly to Warsaw, in order to serve his internship at the Hospital of the Infant Jesus. In 1911 he moved to Zakopane. In the following years, Jan Kołłątaj-Srzednicki served in the medical corps of the Polish Legions and Polish Army. In the Legions, he served as chief doctor of the 4th Regiment and head of sanitation of the 3rd Brigade of the Legions. In 1930-1939, he served as Commander of the Centre of Sanitary Education and as an Inspector of Health Services in the Polish Army.
At the outbreak of World War II, he ended up in Hungary, where committed himself to work with the Civil Committee run by Henryk Sławik, aiding Polish Refugees in Hungary. He also worked with the local Chapter of Polish Doctors of the Red Cross. In 1942, Hungary became a destination for fugitives from Poland, among them Polish Jews. They came seeking help and hope for survival. As best he could, Gen Jan Kołłątaj-Srzednicki dealt with the legalisation of Polish Jews, issuing documents them with documents bearing Polish surnames, what protected them from arrest thanks and enabled them to safely remain in Hungary. Employees of the Committee, under the direction of Henryk Sławik (with the huge support of Dr. Józef Antall, the Hungarian government's plenipotentiary for war refugees), issued over five thousand false documents to Polish Jews. Aid to Jews from Poland was also supported by the Committee of Hungarian Jews and the Committee of Polish Jews in Budapest. An large orphanage was also sheltering 123 Jewish pupils at a school in Balatonboglár.
The death of General Kołłątaja-Srzednicki was also an act of the heroism. He died in the Committee’s office, during a Gestapo crackdown, while destroying documentation which confirmed counterfeit documents issued to Jews – thereby removing the possibility of the Gestapo finding these Jews or the people working for the Committee.
After the War, one of those rescued by the General, Henry Reiss, began searching for people who could authenticate the heroic deeds of Kołłątaja-Srzednicki. Among those to respond to the appeal were Henryk Weiss, Edward Stimmler, Henryk Zvi Zimmermann and the Haber family. Due to their efforts, Henryk Sławik, Dr. Józef Antall and Gen Kołłątaja-Srzednicki were honoured with the title of Righteous Among the Nations.
