Konstanty Rokicki (16 June 1899 in

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 ...

– 18 July 1958 in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

) was a Polish consular officer, vice consul of the

Republic of 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 ...

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, and a

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

rescuer. Between 1941 and 1943 he was a member of the

Ładoś Group Ładoś Group, Bernese Group ( or ''grupa Ładosia'', ) is a name given to a group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists who during Second World War elaborated in Switzerland a system of illegal production of Latin American passports aimed at ...

also called the Bernese Group. Rokicki used his diplomatic position of

vice consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

to produce false

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n passports and had them smuggled to the

German-occupied Poland German-occupied Poland can refer to: * General Government * Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany * Occupation of Poland (1939–1945) * Prussian Partition The Prussian Partition (), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish� ...

and

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

where they saved lives of their

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

bearers. For his efforts Rokicki was named

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 2019.

Childhood and early career

Rokicki was born to Józef and Konstancja née Pawełkiewicz. Being a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, he got two awards for bravery, probably during Poland's war of independence, or the Polish-Soviet war, 1919–1920. In 1934, he was qualified as reserve officer for the 1st Regiment of Riflemen. On August 17, 1936, Rokicki married Maria, née Goldman (Goldmanis). The couple had a daughter, Wanda Rokicka (1938–2008), who would become a UN employee in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. In 1931, he joined the consular service of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. Between 1932 and 1933, he was a contractual employee of the Polish Consulate in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, at that time capital of the

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...

. In 1934–1936 he was vice-consul in

, and in the years 1936–1938 a contract employee of the Polish Legation in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. From 1939 to 1945, he was the vice-consul of the Republic of Poland in Bern. He was working also for the

Polish intelligence Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Holocaust rescue action and "passport affair"

It is estimated that between 1941 and 1943, Rokicki and his subordinate,

diplomat Juliusz Kühl produced several thousands of illegal

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

an passports which served as protection documents for

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

stranded in the

Nazi ghettos Beginning with the invasion of Poland during World War II, the Nazi Germany, Nazi regime set up ghettos across German-occupied Europe, German-occupied Eastern Europe in order to segregate and confine Jews, and sometimes Romani people, into small ...

in German-occupied

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 ...

and who were threatened with deportation from German-occupied

. Rokicki and Kühl personally bribed the Paraguayan

honorary consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

, Bernese notary Rudolf Hügli to obtain blank passes which Rokicki filled out with the names of the Polish Jews. The lists of beneficiaries and their photos were smuggled between Bern and occupied Poland thanks to the network of Jewish organizations, in particular

Agudat Yisrael Agudat Yisrael (; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party representing Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews in Poland, originating in the Agudath Israel movement ...

and RELICO, headed by Chaim Eiss and Abraham Silberschein respectively. The passports of

– unlike the passports of other

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

countries – had a special value, because this country – under the pressure of

and the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

– temporarily recognized (1944) their validity.

Later life and legacy

Consul Rokicki left the diplomatic service in 1945, after the establishment of the pro-Soviet

Provisional Government of National Unity The Provisional Government of National Unity (, TRJN) was a puppet government formed by the decree of the State National Council (, KRN) on 28 June 1945 as a result of reshuffling the Soviet-backed Provisional Government of the Republic of Pola ...

and settled permanently in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He died in

in July 1958, after several years of illness. Rokicki's name was never mentioned by historians, despite the fact that

mentioned him in its thank you letter to the Polish government alongside

Aleksander Ładoś Aleksander Wacław Ładoś lɛ'ksandɛr 'wadoɕ(27 December 1891 – 29 December 1963) was a Polish politician and diplomat, who 1940–45 headed the Legation of Poland to Switzerland. Ładoś was a member and de facto leader of the Ładoś ...

, Juliusz Kühl and Stefan Ryniewicz. The organization claimed in it that, without their activities, it would not be possible to save "many hundreds of people". Only in August 2017, Canadian journalist

Mark MacKinnon Mark MacKinnon (born 1974) is a Canadian journalist and senior international correspondent for ''The Globe and Mail''. A graduate of Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, he is a seven-time winner of the National Newspaper Award, Canada's top ...

and Polish journalists Zbigniew Parafianowicz and

Michał Potocki 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 Heller ...

wrote about the role of Rokicki in the rescue operation.

Yad Vashem controversy

In April 2019 the

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

granted the title of

to Konstanty Rokicki and offered "appreciation" to Aleksander Ładoś and Stefan Ryniewicz arguing that Rokicki headed the Ładoś Group. The document erroneously called Ładoś and Ryniewicz "consuls". The decision sparked outrage and frustration among the family members of the two other late Polish diplomats, and among survivors. Thirty one of them signed an open letter to Yad Vashem. Rokicki's cousin refused to accept the medal until two other Polish diplomats, Rokicki's superior are recognized as Righteous Among The Nations, too. Polish Ambassador to Switzerland Jakub Kumoch who contributed to the discovery of Rokicki also refuted the Yad Vashem's interpretation stating that Rokicki worked under Ładoś and Ryniewicz. Eldad Beck of ''

Israel Hayom ''Israel Hayom'' () is an Israeli Hebrew-language free daily newspaper. Distributed for free around Israel, it is the country's most widely distributed newspaper. Owned by the family of the late Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul and politica ...

'' suggested that this decision was politically inspired and related to the worsening of Israel-Poland relations due to the controversy over the Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rokicki, Konstanty 1899 births 1958 deaths Ładoś Group members Polish diplomats Polish people of World War II Polish exiles Polish Righteous Among the Nations Recipients of the Virtus et Fraternitas Medal

Childhood and early career

Holocaust rescue action and "passport affair"

Later life and legacy

Yad Vashem controversy

See also

Further reading

References