Tadeusz Jerzy Gebethner (18 November 1897 – 14 October 1944) was a Polish soldier, insurgent, bookseller, and

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. From 1914 to 1925 he was an active player and captain of the

Polonia Warsaw Polonia Warsaw (, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing sports club in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, best known for its Association football, football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, Swimming (sport), swimm ...

team; later he worked in his family bookstore and publishing business (). Tadeusz Gebethner fought in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

and

Polish September Campaign The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

. Becoming an officer of the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

after the invasion, from 1942 he sheltered a Jewish family in his home 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 ...

during the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

. A participant of the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

, he was critically wounded and taken prisoner to Stalag-XIA, where he died from the same injuries on 14 October 1944. For his wartime activities, he was recognised as one of the

Polish Righteous Among the Nations The citizens of Poland have the highest count of individuals who have been recognized by Yad Vashem as the Polish Righteous Among the Nations, for saving Jews from extermination during the Holocaust in World War II. There are Polish men and w ...

in 1981.

Biography

Early life

Tadeusz Jerzy Gebethner was born on 18 November 1897 in Warsaw into the Gebethner family. His father, was a bookseller, publisher, and co-owner of the company. His mother, Maria Gebethner née Herse, was a co-owner of the clothing store Boguslaw Herse Fashion House. He attended the real school of in Warsaw, passing his

matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

exams in 1916 and later studied in the

Warsaw School of Economics SGH Warsaw School of Economics (, ''SGH'' Since his youth, Gebethner was interested in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. He was one of the co-founders of the

football club in 1915; he became its first president and was an active player with the club until 1925. Gebethner paused his studies and sports career to join the 5th Zasław Ułan Regiment during the Polish–Soviet War and took part in fighting around

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(now Lviv, Ukraine) in 1920. After the war, he took part in promoting Polish sports in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

during the

1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and the Second Polish Republic. The region was ethni ...

. For a short period, he was a chairman of another sports club

Polonia Bytom Polonia Bytom () is a Polish football club based in Bytom. Founded in 1920, the team won two List of Polish football champions, championships, in 1954 Ekstraklasa, 1954 and 1962 Ekstraklasa, 1962. As of the 2025–26 I liga, 2025–26 season, th ...

, although the title might have been just honorary. He resumed his studies and sport activities afterwards. In 1921, together with the Polonia Warsaw team, Gebethner won the title of vice-champion of Poland in the

1921 Polish Football Championship 1921 Polish Football Championship was the 2nd edition of the Polish Football Championship (Non-League) and 1st completed season ended with the selection of a winner. The championship was decided in final tournament played among five teams ( winn ...

. Between 1915 and 1925, he played a total of 137 official matches for his parent club, serving as team captain for most of them. He ended his football career at the age of 28 and devoted himself to professional work in the family bookselling and publishing enterprise (Gebethner i Wolff). In the years 1928 to 1934, he served on the Main Board of the . He still occasionally participated in Polonia Warsaw matches, and he was a known figure in Varsovian cultural circles. His associates and friends included

Zofia Nałkowska Zofia Nałkowska (, 10 November 1884 – 17 December 1954) was a Polish prose writer, dramatist, and prolific essayist. She served as the executive member of the prestigious Polish Academy of Literature (1933–1939) during the interwar period. ...

Juliusz Żuławski Juliusz Żuławski (7 October 1910 in Zakopane – 10 January 1999 in Warsaw) was a Polish poet, prose writer, literary critic and translator. He was an editor of ''Nowa Kultura'' (1950–1951), chairman of Polish PEN Club (during the years of 197 ...

Kornel Makuszyński Kornel Makuszyński (; 8 January 1884 – 31 July 1953) was a Polish writer of children's literature, children's and Young adult literature, youth literature. Dorota Piasecka. ''Proza Kornela Makuszyńskiego dla młodego odbiorcy: zarys problematyk ...

, Mira Zimińska-Sygietyńska,

Jan Lechoń Leszek Józef Serafinowicz (pen name: Jan Lechoń; 13 March 1899 – 8 June 1956) was a Polish poet, literary and theater critic, diplomat, and co-founder of the Skamander literary movement and the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America ...

(a former classmate), and

Władysław Reymont Władysław Stanisław Reymont (; born Rejment; 7 May 1867 – 5 December 1925) was a Polish novelist and the laureate of the 1924 Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known work is the award-winning four-volume novel '' Chłopi'' (''The Peasant ...

(a neighbour).

World War II

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 ...

began with the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in September 1939, as a lieutenant of the reserve Gebethner was mobilised and joined the . Following the Soviet invasion of Poland which occurred shortly afterward, he took part in the Battle of Grodno. Shortly thereafter, together with most of his unit, he crossed the Polish-Lithuanian border and was interned in the camp in

Rokiškis Rokiškis () is a list of cities in Lithuania, city in northeastern Lithuania, close to the Latvia–Lithuania border, with a population of 11,606 (2023). The city is a capital of the Rokiškis District Municipality with a population of 28,715 (20 ...

. Gebethner escaped from the camp and moved to

Wilno Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

(now Vilnius, Lithuania), where he became involved in the Polish resistance (

Union of Armed Struggle The Union of Armed StruggleThus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. (; ZWZ), also translated as the Union for Armed Struggle, Association of Armed Struggle, and Association for Armed Struggle ...

) and organised more escapes from the Rokiškis camp (following the

Soviet occupation of the Baltic states The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic st ...

, many of the Polish officers still there perished in the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

). In 1941, he returned to Warsaw and joined the

(Armia Krajowa). In the years 1942 to 1944, he helped to save a Jewish family of three (the Abrahamers), for whom he arranged shelter in his home and other support, including arranging for fake documents (

Kennkarte The ''Kennkarte'' served as the basic identification document issued to German nationals from the age of 15 onwards, with place of residence or permanent residence in the territory of Germany during the Third Reich era, and extended to include ci ...

), medical care, and bribing the Blue Police when the family was discovered. Eventually he was able to arrange their evacuation to Hungary. The Abrahamer family survived the war thanks to this.The Righteous Among the Nations Database at Yad Vashem Remembrance Authority
The Righteous: Gebethner Tadeusz
/ref> He also convinced the Home Army not to execute

Józef Retinger Józef Hieronim Retinger (World War II noms de guerre ''Salamandra'', "Salamander", and ''Brzoza'', "Birch Tree"; 17 April 1888 – 12 June 1960) was a Polish politician, scholar, international political activist with access to some of the lea ...

. During the

he served in the 3rd Armored Battalion (the ) of the Home Army. He was seriously injured in the fighting, losing an arm and a leg. After the capitulation of the Polish insurgents, he was interned in

Stalag XI-A Stalag XI-A (also known as Stalag 341) was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp (''Stalag, Stammlager''), located just to the east of the village of Altengrabow and in the south of Dörnitz in Saxony-Anhalt, about south-west of Berlin. Cam ...

Altengrabow in the

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

area. He died in a nearby hospital on 14 October 1944, at the age of 46, as a result of wounds received during the Uprising. He was buried there, but the cemetery was destroyed by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

during post-war military base construction. Later he received a symbolic grave in the Varsovian

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare Powązki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...

. He was promoted to

rotmistrz Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

(cavalry captain) either on 11 September or posthumously.

Remembrance

For his wartime activities, in 1981 he was recognised by

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 ...

as one of the

. In 2022, his story was used in educational materials prepared by the British

Holocaust Educational Trust The Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) is a British charity, based in London, whose aim is to "educate young people of every background about The Holocaust and the important lessons to be learned for today." One of the Trust's main achievements ...

for the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

youth.https://www.timesofisrael.com/toi-tale-about-soccer-hero-saving-german-jew-will-be-studied-by-premier-league-youth/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gebenthner, Tadeusz 1897 births 1944 deaths Footballers from Warsaw Men's association football midfielders Polonia Warsaw players Ekstraklasa players Polish booksellers Home Army members Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish September Campaign participants Polish Righteous Among the Nations Polish sports executives and administrators SGH Warsaw School of Economics alumni Warsaw Uprising insurgents Polish prisoners of war in World War II Polish military personnel killed in World War II