1st anniversary of the naming of the school in Radziejowice after Władysław Rdzanowski

Maria Zawadzka, 16 November 2016
On October 25th, 2010 the Elementary School in Radziejowice near Mszczonów in the Mazowieckie province celebrated the first anniversary of the naming of this institution after Władysław Rdzanowski, honored by Yad Vashem with the title “Righteous Among the Nations” for saving Jews during the Second World War.

The Polish Righteous – Władysław Rdzanowski (1904-1992) and his wife Klara (deceased in 1981), were posthumously honored on September 28th, 1995. During the war they rescued Szaja Goldman from Mszczonów.

Władysław Rdzanowski was born on October 29th, 1904 in the village of Wylezin Stary (Łódzkie province). In 1926 he graduated from the State Teachers’ College in Łowicz. In 1936 he settled together with his family in Radziejowice and started working in the local school.

In 1939 Władysław Rdzanowski was called up and conscripted into the 18th Infantry Regiment. He participated in the so-called Defence War, was member of the resistance movement and soldier of the Home Army.

In September 1942 the thirteen-year-old Szaja Goldman escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto together with his father. After three months of wandering, they reached Radziejowice. Goldman asked the Rdzanowskis for shelter – he knew them before the Second World War. Szaja Goldman stayed at their house and his father decided to return to the ghetto.

Szaja was treated as a member of the family. Everyone called him Jurek. He did not stay in his hiding place for the whole time. On the contrary: he pastured cows together with the two sons of the Rdzanowskis and played with other children. At night, he returned to his hiding place, located in the outbuildings on the farm.

The Rdzanowskis were afraid to be denounced by a curious neighbor. Apart from that, Nazis were stationed in the nearby Krasiński palace. Because of the danger, the boy was sent to another village, where he had been hiding until the end of the occupation.

After the war, Szaja Goldman emigrated to Israel.

From 1943 to 1968 Władysław Rdzanowski was the director of the Elementary School in Radziejowice. He retired in 1968. He was decorated with the Golden Cross of Merit and the Golden Badge of ZNP (Związek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego – Polish Teachers’ Union).

More about Władysław Rdzanowski on the portal„Polish Righteous” and on the website of the Elementary School in Radziejowice.