On 28th February 1871, Wilhelm Fraenkel and Maria, neé Liban, welcomed a son,  Henryk Fraenkel, a future industrialist and philanthropist. Fraenkel got his education at St.Jack’s Gymnasium in Cracow, followed by various trade courses. Fraenkel took up a job at his father’s company soon after. In 1890 he got transferred to Bernard Liban Cement Factory in Bonarka where got promoted to General Manager. What is more, Fraenekel was one of the founders of the Austrian cement cartel as well as a co-founder of the Factory of Fire-Clay Ceramics and Faience in Skawina. From 1905 he held the position of  a councellor of the city of Podgórze. In 1913 Fraenkel joined the Rifflemen Association, yet his poor health prevented him from taking part in battles. Instead, he was…

Aleksander Rosner, a pioneer of modern gynaecology and obstetrics, a professor at the Jagiellonian University and a long-time Head of a University Department, the son of Antoni, was born on 26th February 1867 in Cracow.  After Aleksander Rosner had graduated from St. Ann’s Gymnasium no.3, he began medical studies.  He was an exceptional student – maxima cum laude. Rosner finished his studies in 1889 and obtained his MD title a year later. He travelled across Europe, visiting leading research centres.  Thanks to Maurycy Madurowicz, Rosner took the opportunity to develop his professional career under the tutelage of  Ludwik Rydygier, among others. In 1895 Rosner defended his postdoctorial thesis and set off on another scientific journey across Europe. After his return, Aleksander Rosner obtained the title of Associate…

Born in Vienna on 23rd February 1907, Oswald Bouska  was a German Police officer working in Cracow during WWII, awarded a Righteous Among the Nations medal in 1964. Oswald Bouska was a high-rank police sergeant working at a police station responsible for Cracow’s ghetto. A zealous Nazi at first , after witnessing the way the Jews were mistreated, Bouska changed his mind. Durig his work in Cracow, he helped Cracow’s Jews by working with Julius Madritsch (pronounced a Righteous Among the Nations), the owner of a sewing room located at Rynek Podgórski3 which offered empoyment to around 800 Jews and Poles. At the end of 1942, Madritsch found out that all children from the ghetto in Cracow would be deported. Thus, he decided to save some of…

Maciej Jakubowicz was born on 20 February 1911, son of Helena (born Schenker) and Maciej (homonym). Before the Second World War he was a reserve Polish Army Lieutenant and then fought in the September Campaign (1939). He was consequently arrested and held at the prison on ul. Montelupich in Kraków, before being transferred to Nowy Wiśnicz.  During the occupation, he had at first “Aryan papers” under the name of Jan Gołąb. In 1942 he was once more arrested and taken to the labour camp of Kraków-Płaszów but managing to escape from it. Until the liberation, Jakubowicz had to hide in the woods around Dobczyce. After the Second World War, he was a member of the board of the Congregation of the Mosaic Faith (currently the Jewish Religious Community…

20th February 1870 marks the date of death Dow Ber Meisels. The son of  Izaak and Aurelia (born in 1798 in Szczekociny) passed away in Warsaw. A Chief Rabbi of Kraków between  1832-1856  and a Chief  Rabbi of  Warsaw between 1856-1870. A great advocate of the settlement between the Poles and the Jews in order to regain indepenence. Dow Ber Meisels  spent his childhood and youth years in Kamieniec Podolski where he took his first steps in the Talmud education thanks to his father.  In 1820 he moved to Cracow where he married Pajcza, a daughter of a very wealthy banker and a salt dealer from Chrzanów,  Zelman Bornstein. Thanks to this marriage, Meisels could fully devote himsef to the Talmud studies. However, he did not resist…

Born on 20th February 1877 in Lviv, Majer Bałaban was a historian and a researcher of the Jewish history on Polish soil.  An author of „Historia Żydów w Krakowie i na Kazimierzu 1304-1655” (”The History of Jews in Cracow and Kazimierz 1304-1655”), a monumental work for the history and identity of the Cracow Jews. The two-volume book, which took nearly 25 years to write, was pubished in Cracow in 1936. Its reprint by Austeria , a Cracow publishing house,  came out in 2013. Bałaban received thorough education which he started at a cheder in Lviv.  In 1890, he graduated from the C. K. 4th Gymnasium in Lviv. Between 1895–1904 Bałaban studied history, philosophy and law at the John Casimir University in Lviv. He obtained his PhD title…

Czesław Jakubowicz was born on 20th February in 1916 in Lviv as the son of  Józef and Anna, neé Milner. A president of the Congregation of the Mosaic Faith in Cracow between   1979-1993. For most of his life, Jakubowicz had a close connection with his uncle Maciej Jakubowicz’s family. What is more, he worked at the uncle’s company for several years.  After Maciej Jakubowicz’s passing, Czesław Jakubowicz was chosen a president of the Congregation of the Mosaic Faith in Cracow. He died on 7th March 1997 and was buried at the new Jewish Cemetery in Cracow at Miodowa street.

Abraham Ozjasz Thon  – a rabbi, politician, activist, publicist, speaker and most importantly, a Zionist, was born on 13th February 1870 in Lviv.Thon came from a poor orthodox family. From a very young age he stood out with his intelligence and hard work.  Thon was the son of a well-known Talmudist – Uri Wolf Salat. At the age of 17, Abraham Ozjasz Thon received an unofficial rabbi title from his father. Between 1888–1891 he was a student of the 2nd National Gymnasium in Lviv. He continued his education at the  Frederick William University in Berlin, in the Department of Philosophy.    Thon achieved a PhD title in Philosophy in 1895.  Concurrently, he was studying at the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums. It is very challenging to describe…