Władysław Dworaczek
Władysław Dworaczek was a Polish educator and community organiser, as well as a political prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps.
Biography
Dworaczek graduated from the elementary school in Kończyce, near the city of Zabrze, in 1932. He then entered a seminary for teachers in Pszczyna in 1938, finishing in 1948. Later he took courses in instruction of Polish language, in Katowice, where he subsequently pursued a master's degree course and graduated in 1951. He later received a master's degree in Polish philology from the University of Silesia in 1972.
Dworaczek began his teaching work on 1 August 1932 in the village of Gaschowitz, working until the start of World War II. During the Nazi occupation of Poland he was persecuted. From 1 May 1940 until 20 April 1941 he was a political prisoner in the 3 Nazi concentration camps: Dachau, Mauthausen and Gusen. After being discharged and unable to find employment in his field, he became a church organist in Halemba. In March 1945 he returned to Gaszowice, where he became the director of the elementary school until his retirement in 1972. He was also a member of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association, with the Scouting Cross No. 11, one of the few that survived the Second World War in Silesia.
Awards
- Order of Polonia Restituta Knight's Cross
- Golden Cross of Merit
- Auschwitz Cross
- Cross of Merit for the ZHP
- Commission of National Education Medal
- Golden Badge of Merit for the Development of Katowice District
- Silver Badge of Mutual Savings Bank
- Badge of Merit for Rybnik city Polish Scouting and Guiding Association
- The Scouting Cross No.11