Rudolf Paszek (19 March 1894 in

Dolní Marklovice (Polish: ) is a village in Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. It was a separate municipality but became administratively a part of Petrovice u Karviné in 1952. Petrůvka River flows through the village. Etymology The ...

– 29 November 1969 in

Český Těšín Český Těšín (; pl, Czeski Cieszyn ; german: Tschechisch-Teschen) is a town in the Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. Český Těšín lies on the west bank of the Olza ...

) was a

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

teacher, national activist, community organizer and politician from the region of

Zaolzie Trans-Olza ( pl, Zaolzie, ; cs, Záolží, ''Záolší''; german: Olsa-Gebiet; Cieszyn Silesian: ''Zaolzi''), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia ( Polish: ''Śląsk Zaolziański''), is a territory in the Czech Republic, which was disputed betwe ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. He was a member of various organizations active amongst the Polish minority in

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Paszek was born in the family of Mateusz Paszek, a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

employed at Gabriela Mine in

Karviná Karviná (; pl, Karwina, , german: Karwin) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Olza River in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Karviná is known as an indust ...

. He gained the education as a teacher. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

broke out, Paszek was conscripted to the Austro-Hungarian Army. He fought in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

, where he was wounded. After returning from the war, Paszek continued his teaching career, becoming a principal of a Polish school in Śląska Ostrawa in 1921. Five years later he was named a principal of a Polish school in

Jabłonków Jablunkov (; pl, , german: Jablunkau) is a town in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,300 inhabitants. Polish minority makes up 16.4% of the population. It is inhabited by a large am ...

. Paszek was active in the life of the Polish community of Jabłonków. He was a member of several organizations, including the Association of Silesian Catholics,

Sokół Sokół (, English: Falcon), or in full the Polskie Towarzystwo Gimnastyczne "Sokół" ( en, "Falcon" Polish Gymnastic Society), is the Polish offshoot of the Czech Sokol movement, and the oldest youth movement organization of Poland. Created in ...

and scouting organizations. In 1932, Paszek was elected as a mayor of Jabłonków. He held this function until October 1938. After the annexation of

region to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

in 1938, President

Ignacy Mościcki Ignacy Mościcki (; 1 December 18672 October 1946) was a Polish chemist and politician who was the country's president from 1926 to 1939. He was the longest serving president in Polish history. Mościcki was the President of Poland when Germany ...

named him a deputy of the

Silesian Parliament Silesian Parliament or Silesian Sejm ( pl, Sejm Śląski) was the governing body of the Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939), an autonomous voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic between 1920 and 1945. It was elected in democratic elections and h ...

, where Paszek was a deputy until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta , image=Polonia Restituta - Commander's Cross pre-1939 w rib.jpg , image_size=200px , caption=Commander's Cross of Polonia Restituta , presenter = the President of Poland , country = , type=Five classes , eligibility=All , awar ...

. In November 1938 he entered the local Zaolzie chapter of the

Camp of National Unity ''Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego'' (, en, Camp of National Unity; abbreviated "''OZN''"; and often called "''Ozon''" (Polish for "ozone") was a Polish political party founded in 1937 by sections of the leadership in the Sanacja movement. A year ...

. In October 1939, Paszek was arrested by Nazi Germans and imprisoned. In April 1940 he was moved to the

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoner ...

, and in September subsequently transferred to

Dachau concentration camp Dachau () was the first concentration camp built by Nazi Germany, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents which consisted of: communists, social democrats, and other dissidents. It is ...

, where he was incarcerated for the rest of the war. In 1948, he moved with his family to Český Těšín, where he was named as a principal of Polish school there. Three years later Paszek suffered a heart attack, as a result he retired from his job. He died on 29 November 1969, suffering a fourth stroke.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paszek, Rudolf 1894 births 1969 deaths Polish schoolteachers Polish politicians Polish people from Zaolzie Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Polish people of World War I Members of Silesian Parliament Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Dachau concentration camp survivors Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Mayors of places in the Czech Republic People from Karviná District Polish Roman Catholics