The Pastoral Ministry of Polish Priests in the Allied Occupation Zones after the Liberation of KL Dachau
Abstract
Based on archival sources and scholarly studies, this article presents the ministry of Polish priests in the Allied occupation zones after their liberation from KL Dachau in April 1945. The material outlines the pastoral activity of Polish clergy after liberation as well as the camp ordeal of Polish Roman Catholic clergy, with particular emphasis on KL Dachau near Munich as a place of martyrdom of diocesan and religious priests, deacons, and seminarians during the Second World War. The camp was established by Heinrich Himmler in 1933 for opponents of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP). After the outbreak of the Second World War and Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, its function was expanded, and transports of prisoners from all countries occupied by Germany were sent there. It is difficult to determine the exact number of prisoners; most sources indicate that approximately 250,000 people were held in the camp. From the end of 1940, according to estimates of the Catholic Church, 2,794 priests were imprisoned there, including 1,773 from Poland, of whom 858 were murdered. One of the victims was Bishop Michał Kozal of Włocławek, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II in June 1987. In April 1945, Polish clergy entrusted themselves and all the imprisoned to the care of Saint Joseph of Kalisz. Their prayers were answered by God, and the camp and its prisoners were saved from the planned liquidation and the obliteration of all traces of its existence. The article presents the pastoral activity of Polish clergy after their deliverance from KL Dachau, attributed to Divine Providence through the intercession of Saint Joseph of Kalisz. It discusses their contribution to the reconstruction and maintenance of the parish network in Germany after the end of hostilities in 1945. On the basis of preserved source materials, memoirs, and testimonies of Polish clergy, a picture emerges of the commitment of Polish priests to organizing pastoral care in parishes within the Allied occupation zones.
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