Krzysztof Dunin-Wąsowicz’s 90th Birthday

Dunin-Wąsowicz comes from the Żoliborz district of Warsaw. He was born in 1923 to a family of intellectuals. His father was a journalist, his mother a teacher and columnist. Dunin-Wąsowicz graduated from the Żoliborz Junior High Schooland from the Rev. Józef Poniatowski Senior High School. He matriculated during the War, studying in secrecy. He then studied in the clandestine classes of Warsaw University, from which he graduated in 1946.

During the War, he was active in the underground – he fought in the ranks of the Home Army (AK). He was a member of the socialist Płomienie organisation, and he also assisted the Jewish population. He worked with both the Bund and the Council for Aiding Jews (Żegota).

His entire family was involved with helping Jews. During the occupation, the Dunin-Wąsowicz family home in Żoliborz served as a shelter for many of their Jewish friends. Krzysztof’s mother, Janina, provided help through the Main Care Council canteen she ran inŻoliborz. His father, Władysław, as Treasurer of the Clandestine Journalist Commission, provided money to Jews.

Amongst those who were helped were Aleksander Artymowicz (real name - Moryc Gelber), the Motyk (Teichorn) family from Drohobycz, as well as those who came, by chance, to the Council canteen (among them children who had escaped from the ghetto and who had wandered into Żoliborz).

Despite the risk of being blackmailed, Dunin-Wąsowicz family continued to be active within the underground. After be denounced, the family was taken to Pawiak prison, while Dunin-Wąsowicz and his brother Marek were transported to the camp in Stutthof.

After the War, he was active in the Union of Independent Socialist Youth (Związek Niezależnej Młodzieży Socjalistycznej) and in the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). He also participated in meetings of the free-thinking Klub Krzywego Koła (other participants included Władysław Bartoszewski).

In 1982, Yad Vashem honoured Krzysztof Dunin-Wąsowicz, as well as his mother Janina, with the title of Righteous Among the Nations. In 2007, the Polish President, Lech Kaczyński, presented him with the Commander’s Cross With Star of the Order of Polish Revival, for his participation in the saving of Jews during World War II.

The story of how the Dunin-Wąsowicz family helped Jews, as well as excerpts from an interview with the Professor, can be viewed HERE.