“Called by Name”. The Stawarski and Singer Families Have Been Commemorated - Instytut Pileckiego

An official commemoration of the Stawarski and Singer families has been held in Sieniawa, in the Sub-Carpathian region. During the Second World War, Wiktoria and Mateusz Stawarski perished at the hands of the German occupiers for hiding a Jewish family. This is yet another event implemented under the Institute’s flagship program, “Called by Name”.

The unveiling of a plaque commemorating the two families was conducted outside the elementary school at the market square in Sieniawa. The ceremony was preceded by a Holy Mass celebrated at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sieniawa.

The Speaker of the Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, addressed a letter to the participants. The stories of many people who, during the years of war, were guided in their conduct by courage and solidarity, still remain unknown. Their difficult decisions to save Jews in spite of the ruthless restrictions imposed by the German occupier testify to the indomitable strength of the human character. Among these quiet Heroes were Mateusz and Wiktoria Stawarski. They had the courage to stand fast against indifference and fear, and to accept that the life of a Jewish family was more important than their own safety. This story, just like countless others that speak of fidelity to the supreme principles of humanitarianism, remains a commitment for us and our contemporaries. The memory of these selfless, heroic deeds reminds us that we must always be prepared to act for the good of others – wrote the Speaker.

– Today, we summon, we “call by name”, not only Mateusz and Wiktoria Stawarski, but also the Singer family, stated Karol Madaj, Director (acting) of the Pilecki Institute, during the ceremony. – I am proud of the fact that the Pilecki Institute is present here and that we can commemorate the Stawarski family together. Their assistance was an act of heroism that required immense sacrifice. And, tragically, this was a sacrifice which they had to make, for they were murdered. Maybe a thousand or so Poles met the same tragic fate, perhaps a little more. But the numbers of those who helped doubtless ran into the thousands, although we do not know exactly, he added.

Karol Madaj also turned to the local youth with a request that they cultivate the memory of the Stawarskis and the Singers. – It is you who will carry forth the memory. When you pass by the plaque-adorned stone, keep this in mind. This is what we can do for them. We can remember the story and tell it to others.

He further stressed that the values which guided the “Called by Name” should inspire us to respect each other, to be sensitive to the suffering of others, and to not succumb to hatred. – We want to remember people like the Stawarskis, to set them as an example, he added.

Krystyna Wanda Grzęda (née Stawarski), the daughter of those commemorated, was the Guest of Honor at the event. – I did not expect such an estimable commemoration of my parents’ heroic deed. This stone, located on the grounds of the ghetto – the place of martyrdom of the Jewish community, is for me an unexpected gift of fate, one which will remind us not only of the tragedy of my family, but also of the harrowing fate of the Jewish and Polish peoples under the cruel occupation that unfolded on Polish soil, Krystyna Grzęda said during the ceremony.

The Fate of the Stawarski and Singer Families

Wiktoria Franciszka and Mateusz Bronisław Stawarski and their three children, Stanisław Bohdan, Jerzy and Krystyna Wanda, lived in Sieniawa. In 1942, the Singer family – a married couple also with three children – turned to the Stawarskis for help. Wiktoria knew them from before the war.

Mateusz Stawarski built a hideout in his own home by separating part of a room with a division wall. The entrance to it was in the attic, hidden under a trunk. The house in which the shelter was located stood right next to the ghetto border, in an area patrolled by gendarmes and Ukrainian policemen. To minimize risk, the Stawarskis moved to a rented house on the opposite side of the street, and only their eldest son, Stanisław, maintained communication with the hideout, delivering the food which Wiktoria prepared. Mateusz, fearing the risks inherent to helping Jews, slept at his mother’s house – a considerable distance away from the refuge. 

In the autumn of 1942, the German occupiers murdered between 600 and 1,500 people from the Sieniawa ghetto and surrounding villages. People would be caught in the city or neighboring settlements and murdered by officers of the occupation police forces. Keeping the Singers hidden turned into a weeks-long struggle against the palpable threat of exposure. Mateusz, fearing for his own family’s safety, tried to find the Singers a shelter outside the township. Eventually the Jews, probably with the Stawarskis’ approval, organized a new hiding place near the villages of Dobra and Wylewa, where they had previously moved some of their property.

After leaving their refuge at the home of the Stawarskis, Singer and two of his children disappeared under unexplained circumstances. A short while later, Singer’s wife turned up at the Stawarskis’ residence with one child; both were captured by German gendarmes and executed by firing squad. A rumor spread around the town that the woman had confessed that it was the Stawarskis who were hiding her family. 

The Death Knell

Around 23 December 1942, Karl Seidel, a German gendarme Sergeant Major serving in Sieniawa, arrested Mateusz Stawarski. Wiktoria, wanting to save him, went to the police station, but was herself detained.

On 26 December, Mateusz Bronisław Stawarski was executed by firing squad in the Głażyna forest for providing aid to Jews. According to accounts, the murder was carried out by Seidel and one of the Ukrainian policemen. After the war, Mateusz Stawarski was exhumed by his next of kin and buried at the cemetery in Sieniawa. His corpse was recognized by the rosary which had been given to him by his family while he was imprisoned. 

Wiktoria Stawarski was sentenced to death in June 1943 by a German court in Rzeszów for helping Jews. Having learned her fate, she wrote a will and a poignant farewell letter to her children. The punishment was duly carried out, whereupon, on 22 July 1943, Wiktoria Stawarski was buried in a mass grave near the wall of Pobitno cemetery in Rzeszów. The orphaned Stawarski children – Stanisław Bohdan, Jerzy and Krystyna Wanda – were looked after by their extended family.

“Dearest Bohdan and Jerzy, I turn to you with a special request that you take care of little Wanda, because she is the unhappiest; tell her a lot about mommy and daddy, for she will never have an idea what it feels like to have a mommy and daddy. Both of you, love this little sister of yours with all your might, and always love her with all your strength, for mommy and for daddy. Let her know her parents from stories at least”. – wrote Wiktoria Stawarski in a letter to her children.

The “Called by Name” Program

The remembrance of the Stawarski and Singer families is the 40th such ceremony carried out under the “Called by Name” program, which is implemented by the Pilecki Institute since 2019. This project, of key importance for the Institute’s mission, is dedicated to honoring citizens of the Second Polish Republic who were murdered for helping persons of Jewish ethnicity during the Second World War. It combines historical research, educational activities and commemorations in the public sphere. The culminating point of every commemoration is the unveiling of a memorial plaque affixed to a stone, which recalls the names of both the Rescuers and the Rescued (provided their identities have been established); this act restores their stories to their rightful place in the collective memory. Thanks to educational and popularizing activities undertaken by the Institute (among others at schools, community centers and libraries), the stories of those “Called by Name”, often forgotten for decades, are gradually being re-established in the consciousness of local communities.