The 108 Martyrs of World War II, known also as the 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs (), were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

killed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Their liturgical

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

day is 12 June. The 108 were

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

on 13 June 1999 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland. The group comprises 3 bishops, 79 priests, 7 male

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

, 8 female religious, and 11 lay people. There are two parishes named for the 108 Martyrs of World War II in Powiercie in

Koło County __NOTOC__ Koło County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms in 1998. ...

, and in

Malbork Malbork (German: ''Marienburg'') is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is the seat of Malbork County and has a population of 36,709 people as of 2024. The town is located on the Nogat river, in the historical region of Pomerelia. Fo ...

, Poland.

List of martyrs

Bishops

# Antoni Julian Nowowiejski (1858–1941 KL Soldau), bishop # Leon Wetmański (1886–1941 KL Soldau), bishop # (1898–1945 KL Sachsenhausen), bishop

Priests

# Adam Bargielski, priest from Myszyniec (1903–1942 KZ Dachau) # Aleksy Sobaszek, priest (1895–1942 KL Dachau) # Alfons Maria Mazurek,

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

, priest (1891–1944, shot by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

) #

Alojzy Liguda Aloysius Liguda (January 23, 1898 – December 8, 1942), was a priest and is venerated as a blessed martyr of the Society of the Divine Word, Society Of The Divine Word Missionaries (SVD). Liguda was a chaplain, and teacher. He died at Dach ...

, Society of the Divine Word, priest (1898–1942 KL Dachau) # Anastazy Jakub Pankiewicz,

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar, priest (1882–1942 KL Dachau) # Anicet Kopliński, Capuchin friar, priest in Warsaw (1875–1941) # Antoni Beszta-Borowski, priest, dean of Bielsk Podlaski (1880–1943, shot near Bielsk Podlaski) # Antoni Leszczewicz, Marian Father, priest (1890–1943, burnt to death in Rosica, Belarus) # Antoni Rewera, priest, dean of the Cathedral Chapter in Sandomierz (1869–1942 KL Dachau) # Antoni Świadek, priest from

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

(1909–1945 KL Dachau) # Antoni Zawistowski, priest (1882–1942 KL Dachau) # Bolesław Strzelecki, priest (1896–1941 KL Auschwitz) #

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who was the fifth president of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski previously served as Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence ...

, priest (1889–22 March 1940 KL Stutthof) # Dominik Jędrzejewski, priest (1886–1942 KL Dachau) # Edward Detkens, priest (1885–1942 KL Dachau) # Edward Grzymała, priest (1906–1942 KL Dachau) # Emil Szramek, priest (1887–1942 KL Dachau) # Fidelis Chojnacki, Capuchin friar, priest (1906–1942, KL Dachau) # Florian Stępniak, Capuchin friar, priest (1912–1942 KL Dachau) # Franciszek Dachtera, priest (1910–23 August 1942 KL Dachau) #, Orionine Father, priest (1908–1942 KL Dachau); from Zduny, he was condemned to heavy work in the plantation of Dachau. While he was bending over tilling the soil, he adored the consecrated hosts kept in a small box in front of him. While he was going to the gas chamber, he encouraged his companions, saying "We offer our life for God, for the Church and for our Country". # Franciszek Rogaczewski, priest from Gdańsk (1892–1940, shot in Stutthof or in Piaśnica, Pomerania) # Franciszek Rosłaniec, priest (1889–1942 KL Dachau) # Henryk Hlebowicz, priest (1904–1941, shot at Borisov in Belarus) # Henryk Kaczorowski, priest from Włocławek (1888–1942) # Henryk Krzysztofik, religious priest (1908–1942 KL Dachau) # Hilary Paweł Januszewski, religious priest (1907–1945 KL Dachau) # Jan Antonin Bajewski, Conventual Franciscan friar, priest (1915–1941 KL Auschwitz); of Niepokalanow. These were the closest collaborators of St Maximilian Kolbe in the fight for God's cause and together suffered and helped each other spiritually in their offering their lives at Auschwitz # Jan Franciszek Czartoryski, Dominican friar, priest (1897–1944) # Jan Nepomucen Chrzan, priest (1885–1942 KL Dachau) # Jerzy Kaszyra, Marian Father, priest (1910–1943, burnt to death in Rosica, Belarus) #

Józef Achilles Puchała Józef is a Polish variant of the masculine given name Joseph. Art * Józef Chełmoński (1849-1914), Polish painter * Józef Gosławski (1908-1963), Polish sculptor Clergy * Józef Glemp (1929-2013), Polish cardinal * Józef Kowalski (1 ...

, Franciscan friar, priest (1911–1943, killed near Iwieniec, Belarus) # Józef Cebula, Missionary Oblate, priest (23 March 1902 – 9 May 1941 KL Mauthausen) # Józef Czempiel, priest (1883–1942 KL Mauthausen) # Józef Innocenty Guz, Franciscan friar, priest (1890–1940 KL Sachsenhausen) # Józef Jankowski,

Pallotine The Pallottines, officially named the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (), abbreviated SAC, is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for men in the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1835 by the Roman Catholic priest Vincent Pallotti, ...

, priest (1910 born in Czyczkowy near Brusy,

Kashubia Kashubia or Cassubia ( or ; ; or ) is an ethnocultural region in the historic Eastern Pomerania (Pomerelia) region of northern Poland. It is inhabited by the Kashubian people, and many in the region have historically spoken the Kashubian langua ...

(died 16 October 1941 in KL Auschwitz beaten by a kapo) # Józef Kowalski,

Salesian The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

, priest (1911–1942) Kowalski2

# Józef Kurzawa, priest (1910–1940) # Józef Kut, priest (1905–1942 KL Dachau) # Józef Pawłowski, priest (1890–9 January 1942 KL Dachau) # Józef Stanek, Pallottine, priest (1916–23 September 1944, murdered in Warsaw) # Józef Straszewski, priest (1885–1942 KL Dachau) # Karol Herman Stępień, Franciscan friar, priest (1910–1943, killed near Iwieniec, Belarus) # Kazimierz Gostyński, priest (1884–1942 KL Dachau) # Kazimierz Grelewski, priest (1907–1942 KL Dachau) # Kazimierz Sykulski, priest (1882–1942 KL Auschwitz) # Krystyn Gondek, Franciscan friar, priest (1909–1942 KL Dachau) # Leon Nowakowski, priest (1913–1939) # Ludwik Mzyk, Society of the Divine Word, priest (1905–1940) # Ludwik Pius Bartosik, Conventual Franciscan friar, priest (1909–1941 KL Auschwitz); of Niepokalanow. These were the closest collaborators of St Maximilian Kolbe in the fight for God's cause and together suffered and helped each other spiritually in their offering their lives at Auschwitz # Ludwik Roch Gietyngier, priest from Częstochowa (1904–1941 KL Dachau) # Maksymilian Binkiewicz, priest (1913–24 July 1942, beaten, died in KL Dachau) # Marian Gorecki, priest (1903–22 March 1940 KL Stutthof) # Marian Konopiński, Capuchin friar, priest (1907–1 January 1943 KL Dachau) # Marian Skrzypczak, priest (1909–1939 shot in Plonkowo) #

Michał Oziębłowski Michał () is a Polish and Sorbian form of Michael and may refer to: * Michał Bajor (born 1957), Polish actor and musician * Michał Chylinski (born 1986), Polish basketball player * Michał Drzymała (1857–1937), Polish rebel * Michał Hel ...

, priest (1900–1942 KL Dachau) #

Michał Piaszczyński Michael Piaszczynski (1 November 1885 – 18 December 1940) was a Polish people, Polish priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priest who was arrested by the Nazis and killed at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. As a martyr he was beatification, ...

, priest (1885–1940 KL Sachsenhausen) # Michał Woźniak, priest (1875–1942 KL Dachau) # Mieczysław Bohatkiewicz, priest (1904–4 March 1942, shot in Berezwecz) # Narcyz Putz, priest (1877–1942 KL Dachau) # Narcyz Turchan, priest (1879–1942 KL Dachau) # Piotr Edward Dankowski, priest (1908–3 April 1942 KL Auschwitz) # Roman Archutowski, priest (1882–1943 KL Majdanek) # Roman Sitko, priest (1880–1942 KL Auschwitz) # Stanisław Kubista, Society of the Divine Word, priest (1898–1940 KL Sachsenhausen) # Stanisław Kubski, priest (1876–1942, prisoner in KL Dachau, killed in Hartheim near Linz) # Stanisław Mysakowski, priest (1896–1942 KL Dachau) # Stanisław Pyrtek, priest (1913–4 March 1942, shot in Berezwecz) # Stefan Grelewski, priest (1899–1941 KL Dachau) # Wincenty Matuszewski, priest (1869–1940) # Władysław Błądziński, Michaelite, priest (1908–1944, KL Gross-Rosen) # Władysław Demski, priest (1884–28 May 1940, KL Sachsenhausen) # Władysław Maćkowiak, priest (1910–4 March 1942 shot in Berezwecz) # Władysław Mączkowski, priest (1911–20 August 1942 KL Dachau) # Władysław Miegoń, priest, commander lieutenant (1892–1942 KL Dachau) # Włodzimierz Laskowski, priest (1886–1940 KL Gusen) # Wojciech Nierychlewski, religious, priest (1903–1942, KL Auschwitz) # Zygmunt Pisarski, priest (1902–1943) # Zygmunt Sajna, priest (1897–1940, shot at Palmiry, near Warsaw)

Religious brothers

# Brunon Zembol, friar (1905–1942 KL Dachau) # Grzegorz Bolesław Frąckowiak, Society of the Divine Word friar (1911–1943, guillotined in Dresden) # Józef Zapłata, friar (1904–1945 KL Dachau) # Marcin Oprządek, friar (1884–1942 KL Dachau) # Piotr Bonifacy Żukowski, friar (1913–1942 KL Auschwitz) # Stanisław Tymoteusz Trojanowski, friar (1908–1942 KL Auschwitz) # Symforian Ducki, friar (1888–1942 KL Auschwitz)

Nuns and religious sisters

# Alicja Maria Jadwiga Kotowska, sister, based on eye-witness reports comforted and huddled with Jewish children before she and the children were executed (1899–1939, executed at Piaśnica, Pomerania) # Ewa Noiszewska, sister (1885–1942, executed at Góra Pietrelewicka near Slonim, Belarus) # Julia Rodzińska, Dominican sister (1899–20 February 1945, KL Stutthof); she died having contracted typhoid serving the Jewish women prisoners in a hut for which she had volunteered. # Katarzyna Celestyna Faron (1913–1944, KL Auschwitz); (1913–1944), had offered her life for the conversion of an Old Catholic bishop Władysław Faron (no relation). She was arrested by the Gestapo and condemned to Auschwitz camp. She put up heroically with all the abuses of the camp and died on Easter Sunday 1944. The bishop later returned to the Catholic Church. # Maria Antonina Kratochwil, SSND nun (1881–1942) died as a result of the torture she endured while imprisoned in Stanisławów. # Maria Klemensa Staszewska (1890–1943 KL Auschwitz) # Marta Wołowska (1879–1942, executed at Góra Pietrelewicka near Slonim, Belarus) # Mieczysława Kowalska, sister (1902–1941, Soldau concentration camp in

Działdowo Działdowo (; , ) is a town in northern Poland with 20,935 inhabitants as of December 2021, the capital of Działdowo County. As part of Masuria, it is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), Działdowo belonged previously to Cie ...

)

Roman Catholic laity

# Bronisław Kostkowski, alumnus (1915–1942 KL Dachau) # Czesław Jóźwiak (1919–1942, guillotined in a prison in Dresden) # Edward Kaźmierski (1919–1942, guillotined in a prison in Dresden) # Edward Klinik (1919–1942, guillotined in a prison in Dresden) # Franciszek Kęsy (1920–1942, guillotined in a prison in Dresden) # Franciszek Stryjas (1882–31 July 1944, Kalisz prison) # Jarogniew Wojciechowski (1922–1942, guillotined in a prison in Dresden) # Marianna Biernacka (1888–13 July 1943), executed instead of her pregnant daughter-in-law Anna, offered her life for her and her unborn grandchild. # Natalia Tułasiewicz (1906–31 March 1945, died in KL Ravensbrück) # Stanisław Starowieyski (1895–1941 in KL Dachau) # Tadeusz Dulny, alumnus (1914–1942 KL Dachau)

References

{{Persecution of Christians Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Polish beatified people Lists of Christian martyrs Victims of human rights abuses Polish civilians killed in World War II Nazi massacres of Poles in World War II 20th-century venerated Christians Catholic saints and blesseds of the Nazi era