Josef Rudnick (25 May 1917 – 14 July 2009) was a German businessman and politician of the

Christian Democratic Union of Germany The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...

Biography

Rudnick was born in Sichts (today Żychce,

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 ...

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 ...

) in the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n Province of

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...

and grew up in

Deutsch Krone Deutsch ( , ) or Deutsche ( , ) may refer to: * or : the German language or in particular Standard German, spoken in central European countries and other places *Old High German language refers to Deutsch as a way to define the primary characteris ...

. He was active in catholic Youth organizations and founded a local group of young Catholics in 1935–36, which caused persecution by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

authorities including a house search and an interrogation 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 ...

. Ulrich Breulmann: ''Josef Rudnick (92) ist gestorben''
/ref> After

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 ...

Rudnick was expelled from his hometown, which became Polish and worked at the administration of

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt (district), Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems (river), Ems, about north of Münster ...

in 1945–49. In 1950 Rudnick founded a clothing company, which became one of the leading German shirt-producers with about 1500 employees.N.N.: ''Josef Rudnick ist tot''
He also engaged in the political reconstruction and was a founding member of the local CDU of the

Kreis Steinfurt Steinfurt () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bentheim, Emsland, district-free Osnabrück and the Osnabrück district, Warendorf, district-free Münster, Coesfeld, Borke ...

and their Youth organisation

Junge Union The Junge Union Deutschlands (English: Young Union of Germany) or JU is the joint youth organisation of the CDU/CSU coalition in Germany. Membership is limited to individuals between 14 and 35 years of age. The Junge Union claims to be the large ...

. Already throughout the 1960s and 70's Rudnick started to approach textile factories in Eastern Europe such as Wolczanka S.A. in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. He was an active supporter of the Catholic Church in Poland and benefited the construction of the Church of the

Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy The Congregation of the Sisters of Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic), Our Lady of Mercy (''Congregatio Sororum Beatae Mariae Misericordiae'' (Latin, lat)), (''Zgromadzenie Sióstr Matki Bożej Miłosierdzia'' (Polish language, pol)) - was foun ...

in Łódź. Rudnick organised several transports of humanitarian aid throughout the

Martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...

. Josef Rudnick died on 14 July 2009, four weeks after his wife.

Awards

Rudnick was honored with *

Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* Verdienstorden des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen * Ludwig-Erhard-Medaille für Verdienste um die Soziale Marktwirtschaft *

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland () is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as ...

* Honorary citizen of

* Papal merit medal (2002)Rudnick ist ein Mann mit grossem Herzen
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudnick, Josef 1917 births 2009 deaths People from Chojnice County People from West Prussia Businesspeople from North Rhine-Westphalia Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians Members of the Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Wałcz