Kazimierz Jackowski has passed away
Kazimierz Jackowski was born in Rozwadów (a former town with a rich history, today it is a settlement of Stalowa Wola). From the early post-war years until the 1960s, he was involved in scouting activities, ending up as an instructor of the Rozwadów troop. After years of professional activity and retirement in 1992, fascinated by the history of his “small homeland,” he passionately undertook efforts to save from oblivion the events of its history. Over the years he has systematically written down his memories, especially those of the occupation period, as well as the history of local places, important events and distinguished people. He has published many articles on such topics as the exhumation of hostages shot by the Germans in nearby Charzewice, the Rozwadowski town hall, which was burned down during the war, the activities of education and sports during the German occupation, the sharrows, and daily existence in the wartime reality.
For many years he actively cooperated with the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola, helped to describe photographs and identify photographed people, clarified doubts concerning undocumented facts from the distant past, gave interviews to the staff, which became many hours of stories about the history of Rozwadów. They were repeatedly used for educational purposes, archival documentation or as part of regional exhibitions. Mr Kazimierz enthusiastically supported all initiatives of the representatives of the young generation interested in commemorating historical facts and people – he shared his memories with the staff of the Rzeszów University of Technology, helped the youth film
students of the Secondary School Complex No. 2 in Stalowa Wola in recording material for a film about a German labour camp for Jews located near Rozwadów during the war. In 2000, he took part in the recording by an American crew of the film ‘A Private War’ (produced by Ryan Banks), telling the story of the wartime plot to deceive the Germans and rescue Poles by two local doctors – Eugeniusz S. Łazowski and Stanisław Matulewicz. Mr Kazimierz Jackowski’s assistance was of great importance as he had unique knowledge due to the close involvement of his elder sister Maria alias ‘Cisia’ in this underground activity. He also helped to establish the current whereabouts of one of the main protagonists, whom fate had thrown to various countries around the world after the war. In 2017-18 he was again to participate in commemorating the story of the heroic doctors who caused the apparent typhoid ‘epidemic’. Indeed, he recounted the wartime history of Rozwadów, German persecution and the fate of the local Jewish population, at the request of the production team of the film directed by Barbara Necek and Katarzyna Cieślar entitled ‘In Search of the Polish Schindler’.
His memories, private photographs and records of conversations were also one of the leading motifs of the open-air exhibition ‘Rozwadów – a sentimental journey on the 330th anniversary of the town’s foundation’ (2020). Following in the footsteps of the events of his life, viewers become observers of his personal experiences and the great history unfolding in the background. In 2017, he was nominated by the Museum for the Honorary Award ‘Witness to History’, awarded by the Institute of National Remembrance. The magazine ‘Nasz Czas’ nominated him for the award of the City of Stalowa Wola ‘Gałązka Sosny’ and the Award of the Starost of Stalowa Wola for activities in the field of culture (2018). In 2021. Kazimierz Jackowski, a friend of the Museum and a great guide to old Rozwadów, was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit. The state decoration was awarded to Mr Kazimierz as ‘a person of particular merit for the benefit of Stalowa Wola and its inhabitants’.
He was a man of deep patriotism, not only local. He belonged to that group of representatives of the generation of witnesses of historical events distant in time, who shared their memories with the young, and his help in documenting and commemorating them cannot be overestimated. Through his commitment, his constant willingness to cooperate, his very good memory and his accuracy in passing on information, he was an exceptional custodian of local history.
The funeral ceremony will take place on 4 July 2024 at 12:00 noon in the Funeral Home at the Stalowa Wola Communal Cemetery.
The deceased will be buried at the Communal Cemetery.
