us-005578-irn722912-irn516827
type: RecordSet
archival history: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
biographical history: Stefan Czyzewski was born on Aug. 12, 1922, in Leśna Gora, Poland. He worked on a farm in a small village in Poland. Stefan recalls reading the Bible aloud to villagers who had come to listen. The villagers knew World War II was coming, but they thought Poland would quickly defeat Germany. In Oct. 1939, shortly after the German invasion, Stefan joined the Obroncy Polski (Defenders of Poland), an underground organization. A month later, he was caught and sent to a camp in Siberia with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. The prisoners, poorly clothed and fed, were forced to cut down trees in freezing temperatures and deep snow. Stefan's aunt and uncle died. Stefan's talent for languages enabled him to become a translator, and he was allowed to go outside the camp. Befriending the Siberian natives, he was allowed to fish and was given food and clothing. Eventually, the Soviets sent the Poles back to fight the German Army. Stefan was trained as an underground fighter in British military camps in Prussia. In Nov. 1941, Stefan infiltrated Nazi-occupied Poland and joined the Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej (Union for Armed Struggle) in central Poland. In Sept. 1942, Stefan was given command of a 20-person action group squad that destroyed bridges and German supply trains and fought the Germans in central Poland. Stefan was part of an operation in eastern Poland and western Soviet Union against the Einsatzgruppen from May 1943 to Mar. 1944, helping to thin out their membership and destroy their command posts. Stefan was caught by the Germans in Mar. 1944 and interned at Sharyszewska transit camp in Warsaw, Poland, and later transported to Schorka labor camp in Silesia, Germany. In Apr. 1944, Stefan escaped and joined the Narodowe Sily Zbrojne (National Armed Forces) which was operating around Blachownia, Poland, and Lubliniec, Poland. Later that month, he was arrested near Lubliniec and sentenced to death. In May 1944, Stefan was temporarily confined to Gross-Rosen, a concentration camp i…
has beginning date: 1947-01-01
has end date: 1947-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has or had subject: 001704
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn516827
is or was included in: us-005578-irn722912
record resource extent: folder 1
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: The identification card "Auxiliary D.P. Employee's Certificat") was issued to Stefan Czyzewski, a Polish victim of the Holocaust, as an employed meesenger of DP Camp 256. The card was issued in January 1947 in Aschattenburg, Germany.
title: Stefan Czyzewski identification card