Jan Siwiński - Instytut Pileckiego
Jan Siwiński was commemorated by Pilecki Institute on 4 June 2020 in Sterdyń.
He lived with his wife Emilia, his stepdaughter Regina, her husband Franciszek Augustyniak and their son Jan near a brickyard on the Paulinów estate. During the German occupation, his family helped the Jews hiding nearby and was subsequently included on a specially drawn-up list. For this reason, on the night of 23 February 1943, German soldiers and an unknown civilian claiming to be a Jew came to Jan’s house. It turned out that that man, who had benefited from the aid of the Siwikińskis and many other local residents, was the author of the list, and the Germans were scrupulously murdering everyone whose names were included on it. When they arrived at the home, the soldiers ordered Jan to surrender all his underground newspapers and weapons, and to show them where the Jews and escaped Red Army soldiers were hiding. They also interrogated Jan’s son-in-law, Franciszek Augustyniak. When the men did not confess and refused to cooperate, they were taken out in front of the house and shot. The Germans locked the ten-year-old Jan in a cupboard and forbade Regina from following her husband and stepfather outside.