A room full of guests at the Osiek Village Cultural Centre confirmed that Andrzej Kacorzyk’s decision to write a book full of family stories was the right one. The publisher is the Remembrance Museum.
Andrzej Kacorzyk is a person well known in the Oświęcim area and beyond. He is deputy director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and director of the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust. His professional activity is closely connected with history. As it turns out, in the pages of his much-published book “The Great Journey of Ordinary People” also tells of historical times and stories – this time, of those connected to his own family.
In the introduction, Andrzej reflects on how his father – Marian – had a great influence on his life. “Marian lived in a unique time. He grew up in a patriotic and patriarchal home in rural Poland between the wars. War broke out, and he hated guns, pistols and uniforms. However, he experienced the prime of his life as a soldier of the Home Army. He wanted to be guided by ideals, and the communist regime forced compromises. He lived to see and enjoyed the freedom of 1989, although his successes and achievements were during the years of real socialism. His social activity ended with the end of the People’s Republic of Poland.” – we read on the first pages of the book. Its unquestionable and great value, in addition stories of the Kacorzyk, Klęczar, Kozioł or Płonek families, is the abundance of photographs from family archives.
The meeting promoting the book attracted a large number of people to the hall of the Osiek cultural centre. Together with Andrzej Kacorzyk, it was conducted by Jadwiga Pinderska-Lech – who heads the PMA-B publishing department on a daily basis. Among the participants were Oświęcim District Head, Andrzej Skrzypiński and member of the Oświęcim District Board Teresa Jankowska. The Remembrance Museum of Land of Oświęcim Residents – publisher of “The Great Journey of Ordinary People” – was represented by director Dorota Mleczko and employees of the institution.
The book authored by Andrzej Kacorzyk could be purchased on the spot, and guests immediately enthusiastically lined up for a dedication from the author.
Chapter X and the last chapter of the publication contains Marian’s Alphabet and includes entries such as: pimp, Count von Duppenstein, Ika, lupulinka. Their elaborations testify to Marian Kacorzyk and his son’s great sense of humour.
The book “A Great Journey of Ordinary People” is available in the museum store on the first floor of the Remembrance Museum.
