Wilamowice and its inhabitants during World War II, in the light of the account of the local parish priest, Fr. Franciszek Jeż

Abstract

The subject of the analysis was the written history of the local parish: Liber memorabilium Ecclesiae parochialis Willamowiciensis ab anno 1862, successively supplemented by successive parish priests from Wilamowice. Events of the Second World War were also described there. It was a special period in the history of the town and its inhabitants. Due to the fact that the inhabitants of Wilamowice did not use the Polish language on a daily basis, the invader considered these people to be Germans, suggesting that they should be placed on the Volkslist. It aroused reluctance on the part of Polish fellow residents and was tinder for more and more antagonism between the two groups. A witness of these events, the local parish priest, Fr. Franciszek Jeż described in detail the growing mutual animosities and the role of the German administration in escalating the conflict. The narrator did not try to convince himself of his neutrality. He clearly placed himself on the side of the Polish inhabitants, not hiding his indignation at the national attitudes of the Wilamowiceans. He accused them of betraying Polish interests turned into material benefits. In fact, the genesis of the problem was more complicated, nevertheless, many of his observations should be described as accurate and wellthought-out. The end of World War II did not eliminate the conflict. It entered a new phase of compensating for real and imagined wrongs by the Polish authorities. The totality of these complicated accounts was presented in an interesting way by Fr. Franciszek Jeż.