Georg Jonas - fighter for Polish independence

An open-air exhibition 'Faces of independence fighters from Czarny Dunajec and surroundings' was opened at the market square in Czarny Dunajec on the occasion of Independence Day. It presents profiles of people who have contributed to Poland's regaining its independence, including those decorated with Independence Crosses and Medals in the 1930s, mainly soldiers of the Polish Legions, members of underground organisations and plebiscite activists.

Photo: Michał Szaflarski

Georg Jonas is also among the persons of those merited in the fight for Polish independence. "Baker, born in 1885 in Czarny Dunajec, before World War I he belonged to the Riflemen's Association in Czarny Dunajec, then conscripted into the Austrian army. In 1931 awarded the Independence Medal". - reads the description.

Photo: Michał Szaflarski

Georg, or rather Gerszon Jonas, was in fact a baker. His father Józef (born in 1856, died 14.08.1916 in Czarny Dunajec) had a bakery in a building at the address Rynek 6. His mother was Julia Jonas, and his wife Sala, née Stiller (born in Rabka, daughter of Aron and Bronisława). Georg and Sala had at least six children: Józef, Aron, Lala, Julia, Adolf and Roman. According to Georg's granddaughter and Jozef Jonas's daughter, who lives in Israel, Lala, Jula, Aron and Adolf died during the Holocaust, her father and brother Roman managed to survive in the camps and went abroad. Józef Jonas was born in 1921 in Czarny Dunajec and died in 1980 in New York.

In the family photographs given to us by his family, Georg appears twice.

Georg Jonas, first from the bottom left, in the red circle, with his eyes closed, photo: Jonas family archive

In this photograph Georg Jonas is marked with the number 1, photo: Jonas family archive

During Operation Reinhardt in Podhale, the Nazi operation to exterminate Jews, Georg Jonas and his wife Sala were killed in executions on 24 August 1942. They are most likely buried in a mass grave in the Jewish cemetery in Czarny Dunajec.