On Thursday, Ryszard Oleksiuk, a photography and genealogy enthusiast, donated 20 glass plate negatives dating from the early 20th century to the collection of The Remembrance Museum of the Land of Oświęcim. They also feature local residents who helped prisoners of KL Auschwitz.
Seven of the glass plates contain portraits of the donor’s relatives: his mother’s sister, Maria Wanda Ćwiklicka; his mother’s brother, Stefan Ćwiklicki; his grandfather, Jan Ćwiklicki; and his grandfather Jan’s brother, Rudolf Ćwiklicki. Thanks to Ryszard Oleksiuk’s passion for researching his family history, we were able to learn more during the meeting about the people captured in these photographs from around a century ago.
The photographer who took the photographs, most of which are portraits, remains unknown. According to the donor, some of the photographs may have been taken by his mother’s brother, Eugeniusz.
The negatives are particularly valuable for another reason. Maria Wanda and Jan Ćwiklicki are two of seven members of the Ćwiklicki family commemorated in the book edited by Henryk Świebocki, People of Good Will: A Memorial Book of Residents of the Land of Oświęcim Who Helped Prisoners of KL Auschwitz. The entry about the Ćwiklicki family states that they were: “residents of Babice near Oświęcim, a railway family who provided food to prisoners working in Babice and Broszkowice, helped facilitate their illegal correspondence, and sheltered escapees from the camp in their apartment (in a building known as the ‘Pump House’.)
Anyone wishing to donate historical photographs, documents, or other objects to The Remembrance Museum of the Land of Oświęcim, or to share a story connected with World War II and the Oświęcim region, is welcome to contact us: Phone: +48 33 447 40 84 Email: biuro@muzeumpamieci.pl In person: The Remembrance Museum of the Land of Oświęcim, 2A Maksymiliana Kolbego Street, Oświęcim
