Radom, 12 March 1945
The life of Stanisław Bartkowicz
The late Stanisław Bartkowicz was born on 15 January 1924 in Mroczkowice, but he lived in Radom for 14 years. This is where he grew up and studied. He was, therefore, a citizen of Radom. His father was a post office worker. Bartkowicz graduated from the 7th grade of the elementary school in Radom. During the war he worked at the post office. He was brought up to love his home country. He was a proud Pole and a patriot. The job at the post office was hard, because upon witnessing Bartkowicz’s patriotism (which was evident from every conversation), his supervisor – a Reichsdeutsch – tormented him and made his work difficult. This continued until the German hit Bartkowicz twice in the face. Unable to control himself upon experiencing such a disgrace, Stanisław hit him back. This brought on very grave consequences. Stanisław Bartkowicz did not see them coming and he kept on working at the post office. In the meantime, the German reported the incident to the Gestapo. The Gestapo arrested Bartkowicz. During the investigation, when they saw his stubbornness and hatred towards Germans, they detained him in prison as a political prisoner. Unfortunately, this coincided with a murder of several Germans, for which the Germans ordered that 10 people be executed. Stanisław Bartkowicz was among those who were sentenced. He bravely stood in front of the wall in Skaryszew and held his head high. He died like a true Pole and citizen of Radom. His last words were: “Long Live Poland!”. The late Bartkowicz has joined the list of heroes and martyrs from Radom who fell victim to the German terror which rampaged in Radom for five years. The late Stanisław Bartkowicz died a heroic death on 20 June 1944.