Lublin: Memory Restored for Pochwatka Family

23 March 2026 Poland Radar 0 Comments

The Pochwatka family received official recognition for sheltering Jews in WWII, and their remains were identified. Pochwatka family legacy restored.

The Pochwatka family received a long-awaited honor at the Institute of National Remembrance in Lublin. Consequently, on 23 March officials handed an identification note to the descendants, acknowledging the family’s sacrifice.

Table of Contents

Pochwatka family: heroism and murder

Józef Pochwatka ran a small farm in Kolczyn and worked as a forester on the Kleniewski estate. In addition, his family hid eleven Jewish people during the German occupation. Moreover they concealed people in the attic and in two nearby dugouts, risking everything. However a denunciation ended their protection. Therefore the household faced a brutal reprisal on 5 January 1943.

How the tragedy unfolded

German gendarmes from Opole Lubelskie joined blue police officers from Józefów nad Wisłą for a punitive expedition. Consequently the raiders arrived at the farm and the hiding people fled to the forest. However attackers beat Józef Pochwatka and then killed him and other family members. In addition they murdered his pregnant daughter Janina Czapla. The raiders burned the family home and farm buildings, plus property belonging to Janina and her husband. The perpetrators left the bodies at the site. The next day a neighbour buried the victims in a potato pit near the farm.

Discovery, identification and public recognition

On 4 July 2024 the Institute of National Remembrance led fieldwork in Kolczyn, Józefów nad Wisłą municipality. Consequently the institute’s team discovered human remains at the burial site. The team identified the remains as those of Józef, Bronisława and Pelagia Pochwatka, plus Janina Czapla and her unborn child. Moreover the identification provided long-awaited confirmation for the family. Therefore grandchildren Ryszard Pochwatka and Ewa Tobiasz accepted the formal note from the Lublin branch of the institute. In addition the ceremony aimed to restore memory of both Holocaust victims and Poles who sheltered the persecuted.

💡 GOOD TO KNOW: The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) documents crimes and helps identify victims, and it often works with descendants to return dignity to families. For expats researching local history, note that Polish bureaucracy uses a PESEL (national ID number), ZUS (social insurance institution) and NFZ (public health fund). Moreover you may encounter local archives and parish records. Therefore contact institutions in advance and ask about translation help and access rules. Also remember that local commemoration matters to communities, so approach relatives and officials with respect.

This recognition matters beyond a family. Consequently it highlights how local people risked their lives to resist persecution. Moreover it reminds outsiders how complex Polish wartime history can be, and why careful, fact-based remembrance matters. In addition the case shows how modern forensic work and archival research can restore names to victims. Therefore the event in Lublin stands as both a historical correction and a moral acknowledgment.

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