Julian Grobelny | |
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 Grobelny before World War II | |
| Born | 16 February 1893 |
| Died | 5 December 1944(1944-12-05) (aged 51) |
| Occupation | Union activist |
| Known for | Holocaust rescue |
| Righteous Among the Nations |
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| By country |
Julian Grobelny (16 February 1893 – 5 December 1944[1]) was an activist in thePolish Socialist Party (PPS) from 1915, in the lead-up to Poland's return to independence. During the interwar period he was a social activist. After the German-Sovietinvasion of Poland in 1939, andthe ensuing Holocaust, he became President ofŻegota (Council for Aid to Jews) active in theGeneral Government territory ofoccupied Poland. The clandestine organization was named after a fictional characterKonrad Żegota born on the exact day of its inception in 1942. Grobelny served as president of Żegota until the end of hostilities.[2]
Born inBrzeziny, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) east ofŁódź, Grobelny took part in theSilesian Uprisings and worked as an activist among the workers of Łódź in theSecond Polish Republic beforethe war broke out. As soon as theNazis entered the city however, the Grobelnys found themselves listed as enemies of the Third Reich; went into hiding, and relocated to Warsaw.[3]
Despite suffering fromtuberculosis, Grobelny – together with his wife Halina (born 1900) – was personally involved in the rescue of a large number of Polish Jews during theGerman occupation of Poland. The couple was famous for their preoccupation with saving particularly Jewish children fromthe Holocaust by entering theWarsaw Ghetto and walking out with them as their own.[3][4] They harbored over a dozen JewishPPS activists in their home, and worked in close co-operation withIrena Sendler, head of the children’s section of Żegota. Julian (pseudonym "Trojan") and Halina turned their modest house inCegłów nearMińsk Mazowiecki into a temporary shelter for Jews until they could be moved into a more permanent place. They offered protection to whoever needed it most, especially those who fled from theGhetto in Warsaw. The Grobelnys devoted most of their time and energy to rescue work, but also helped Jewish adults by supplying them with “Aryan” papers, money and medicines.[4]
In March 1944 theGestapo arrested Grobelny without knowing about his clandestine work. He survived, thanks to help from physician friends, Dr. Z. Franio, Dr. M. Ropek, Dr. J. Majkowski and Dr. J. Rutkiewicz who were aiding him in prison.[4] Soon before the war's end Grobelny became mayor ofMińsk Mazowiecki. He died there of tuberculosis on 5 December 1944.[1] Grobelny is buried at a cemetery in Mińsk Mazowiecki. The names of Julian and Halina Grobelny figure prominently in books about humanitarian aid to the Jews ofWarsaw and elsewhere during the occupation. On 8 March 1987Yad Vashem recognized Halina and Julian Grobelny asRighteous Among the Nations.[5]
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