Tadeusz Gebethner

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Tadeusz Gebethner
Tadeusz Gebethner, c. before 1925.
Born(1897-11-18)18 November 1897
Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire
Died14 October 1944(1944-10-14) (aged 46)
Stalag XI-A, Nazi Germany
Buried
Stalag XI-A; symbolic grave in Powązki Cemetery
Allegiance
Years of service1918–1944
RankCavalry captain (
rotmistrz
)
Battles / wars
AwardsRighteous Among the Nations
Alma materWarsaw School of Economics

Tadeusz Jerzy Gebethner (18 November 1897 – 14 October 1944) was a Polish soldier, insurgent, bookseller, and

Stalag-XIA, where he died from the same injuries on 14 October 1944. For his wartime activities, he was recognised as one of the Polish Righteous Among the Nations
in 1981.

Biography

Early life

Tadeusz Jerzy Gebethner[1] was born on 18 November 1897 in Warsaw into the Gebethner family. His father, Jan Robert Gebethner [pl] was a bookseller, publisher, and co-owner of the Gebethner i Wolff [pl] company. His mother, Maria Gebethner née Herse, was a co-owner of the clothing store Boguslaw Herse Fashion House. He attended the real school of Emilian Konopczyński [pl] in Warsaw, passing his matura exams in 1916 and later studied in the Warsaw School of Economics.[2]

Since his youth, Gebethner was interested in football. He was one of the co-founders of the Polonia Warsaw football club in 1915; he became its first president and was an active player with the club until 1925.[2]

Gebethner paused his studies and sports career to join the 5th Zasław Ułan Regiment during the Polish–Soviet War and took part in fighting around Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine) in 1920. After the war, he took part in promoting Polish sports in Upper Silesia during the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite.[2] For a short period, he was a chairman of another sports club Polonia Bytom, although the title might have been just honorary.[3]

He resumed his studies and sport activities afterwards. In 1921, together with the Polonia Warsaw team, Gebethner won the title of vice-champion of Poland in the 1921 Polish Football Championship. Between 1915 and 1925, he played a total of 137 official matches for his parent club, serving as team captain for most of them.[2]

He ended his football career at the age of 28 and devoted himself to professional work in the family bookselling and publishing enterprise (Gebethner i Wolff). In the years 1928 to 1934, he served on the Main Board of the

Mira Zimińska-Sygietyńska, Jan Lechoń (a former classmate), and Władysław Reymont (a neighbour).[2]

World War II

After

Polish-Lithuanian border and was interned in the camp in Rokiškis. Gebethner escaped from the camp and moved to Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania), where he became involved in the Polish resistance (Union of Armed Struggle) and organised more escapes from the Rokiškis camp (following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, many of the Polish officers still there perished in the Katyn massacre). In 1941, he returned to Warsaw and joined the Home Army (Armia Krajowa).[2]

In the years 1942 to 1944, he helped to save a Jewish family of three (the Abrahamers), for whom he arranged shelter in his home and other support, including arranging for fake documents (Kennkarte), medical care, and bribing the Blue Police when the family was discovered. Eventually he was able to arrange their evacuation to Hungary. The Abrahamer family survived the war thanks to this.[2][4][5][6] He also convinced the Home Army not to execute Józef Retinger.[2]

During the Warsaw Uprising he served in the 3rd Armored Battalion (the Golski Battalion [pl]) of the Home Army. He was seriously injured in the fighting, losing an arm and a leg. After the capitulation of the Polish insurgents, he was interned in Stalag XI-A Altengrabow in the Magdeburg area. He died in a nearby hospital on 14 October 1944, at the age of 46, as a result of wounds received during the Uprising. He was buried there, but the cemetery was destroyed by the Red Army during post-war military base construction.[2][3] Later he received a symbolic grave in the Varsovian Powązki Cemetery.[7]

He was promoted to

rotmistrz (cavalry captain) either on 11 September[2] or posthumously.[3]

Remembrance

For his wartime activities, in 1981 he was recognised by Yad Vashem as one of the Polish Righteous Among the Nations.[2][4][5][6]

In 2022, his story was used in educational materials prepared by the British Holocaust Educational Trust for the Premier League youth.[8]

References

  1. ISBN 978-3-11-094797-7
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Chmielewski, Łukasz (July 2018). "Historia Tadeusza Gebethnera". sprawiedliwi.org.pl. Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Powstańcze Biogramy - Tadeusz Gebethner". Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego (in Polish). Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b The Righteous Among the Nations Database at Yad Vashem Remembrance Authority, The Righteous: Gebethner Tadeusz
  5. ^ a b "The Game of Their Lives: The Stories of Righteous Among Nations Who Devoted Their Lives to Sport: Tadeusz Gebethner Poland". Yad Vashem. The World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
  6. ^ a b Fellowship, The; Israel, Stand for (28 November 2022). "A Righteous Soccer Star". International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Warszawskie Zabytkowe Pomniki Nagrobne: Herse". Urząd m.st. Warszawy. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  8. ^ https://www.timesofisrael.com/toi-tale-about-soccer-hero-saving-german-jew-will-be-studied-by-premier-league-youth/
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