Ostoja Pamięci · About me
Founder, researcher and author of Ostoja Pamięci. Since 2017 I have been documenting – privately and voluntarily – the graves of Polish victims of the Second World War in Germany.
I come from Dziergowice in Upper Silesia and live in Schwäbisch Hall. It all began with a single place: the cemetery of the former maternity and childcare home for foreign workers' children in Gantenwald – and the question of who is buried there. I started this search on 15 September 2017.
The first visits, photographs and documents gradually grew into systematic work: archival research, letters to municipalities and cemetery administrations, visits on site. In November 2018 the first website went online, a year later the extended portal with its database. Today it includes 8,012 people in 570 towns and municipalities (as of October 2026).
I am not a professional historian. I developed the method of this work myself – step by step, with documents, in archives and in cemeteries. At its centre there is always a person: their name, their fate, the place of their death and burial.
My work has been recognised by state bodies and by institutions concerned with history and education. It has not changed my actual task: to record the present state of the graves and to help families find their relatives. The project remains private and voluntary; I carry out the research, documentation and development independently. I see these distinctions as recognition for everyone who has helped locally – in Poland and in Germany.
(Złoty Krzyż Zasługi)
State decoration awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland for documenting and protecting Polish places of remembrance.
(Ambasador Polskiej Historii)
Distinction of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) for people who share Polish history outside Poland.
(Opiekun Miejsc Pamięci Narodowej)
Presented on 17 September 2026 at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Munich.
(Patronat honorowy Ministerstwa Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego)
For the whole Ostoja Pamięci project.
(Upoważnienia Ambasady RP w Berlinie i Konsulatu Generalnego RP w Monachium; list polecający Konsulatu Generalnego RP w Kolonii)
They ask German authorities, archives and registry offices to help me with my research – nothing more, and I need nothing more. I remain a private person; official matters are handled by the Polish consulates.
(Rycerz Oświaty Polonijnej)
Distinction for educational, historical and community work among Poles living abroad.
I am grateful for this support.
The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Munich refers to Ostoja Pamięci on its website.
Remembrance needs knowledge that can be passed on. That is why I write not only for the database, but also for people who want to search themselves – and for children.
“On the trail of remembrance” – for everyone looking for Polish graves and traces of their relatives in Germany: working with sources, searching on site, contact with the authorities. With reviews by Dr Karolina Trzeskowska-Kubasik and Prof. Andrzej Szymański. The printed edition is distributed free of charge by the Consulate General in Munich.
The guide (in Polish)“Guardians of remembrance” – a comic series for children aged 8 to 10. The first part is called “Tajemnica starej fotografii” (“The secret of the old photograph”).
The comic (in Polish)Among others at the Polish school in Remseck and at the conference of the Fundacja Piastowska in Gniezno, “W poszukiwaniu dobra wspólnego Polaków” (“In search of the common good of Poles”).
My work has been reported on by, among others, Südwest Presse (Schwäbisch Hall and Gaildorf), Polskie Radio and TV Polonia.
“Words and promises fade away; good deeds become a testimony.”
You are welcome to write in English. Whether you are a family member, a researcher or an institution – every message helps to preserve a piece of history.
