Katowice pays tribute to Polish and Hungarian war-time heroes

Sławik was a Polish politician and diplomat who created the Citizens’ Committee for Help to Polish Refugees in Hungary and became a delegate of the Polish Government-in-exile. He worked closely with Jozsef Antall Senior (the father of the future Hungarian Prime Minister).

After Polish refugees of Jewish descent were separated from their colleagues after racial decrees issued by the Hungarian government, Sławik provided them with false documents confirming their Polish roots and Roman Catholic faith.

Jewish children were not, however, deprived of their identity, with clandestine classes in Hebrew and the Old Testament organized for them.

Following the Nazi takeover of Hungary, Sławik went underground and arranged for Polish Jews to leave Hungary. He was arrested by the Germans in March 1944. Although brutally tortured he did not betray Antall and his Hungarian friends.

He was hanged in the Mauthausen concentration camp, Austria. Both Sławik and Antall were posthumously given the title of the Righteous Among the Nations by Israel for saving Jews.

The deputy mayor of Katowice, Waldemar Bojarun, said during a ceremony on Thursday that the extraordinary friendship between the two men, which had a tragic end, saved thousands of human lives and is a source of pride for the city. Henryk Sławik lived there for most of his life, until the outbreak of World War II.

Peter Pflinger, deputy mayor of Miskolc, northeastern Hungary, a twin city of Katowice, said: “We are grateful to our Polish friends, particularly the residents of Katowice, for cultivating Polish-Hungarian friendship.”

The ceremony coincided with the Hungarian Day observed in Katowice. Its programme also included a lecture entitled “Poland and Hungary in 1956 – a common cause” and a concert at the city’s Music Academy. (mk/pk)