Prince Seweryn Franciszek Światopełk-Czetwertyński (; 18 April 1873 – 19 June 1945) was a Polish landowner, entrepreneur and politician. He belonged to a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the Czetwertyński family, historically one of the princely houses of Poland and Lithuania.Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 107, 115. (French). He was a pupil at the Realschule in

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 was a member of the Polish student fraternity ''Arkonia''. He went on to study at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. He became a member of the Russian

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

in 1906, and after Poland had regained its independence, he was elected to the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

from 1919 until 1935. 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 ...

, he was a prisoner of

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 ...

, and was imprisoned at

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

and

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

s. He died of exhaustion barely two months after liberation, having newly arrived in the United Kingdom. Światopełk-Czetwertyński was married to Zofia Przeździecka; their son Włodzimierz (1907–1965) and elder grandchildren were born in Poland, but during World War II, they fled to Britain, eventually taking up residence in North America.

References

1873 births 1945 deaths Politicians from Warsaw Nobility from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate Seweryn Franciszek Popular National Union politicians National Party (Poland) politicians National League (Poland) members Members of the 1st State Duma of the Russian Empire Members of the Polish National Committee (1914–1917) Members of the Legislative Sejm of the Second Polish Republic Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1922–1927) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) University of Bonn alumni Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Auschwitz concentration camp survivors World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom {{Poland-Sejm-politician-stub