back...Unveiling of the tombstone of Zygmunt Olejniczak

On the initiative of the Museum of Polish Children – Victims of Totalitarianism, with the cooperation of the Governor of Łódź, the City of Łódź Office and the Archdiocese of Łódź, the tombstone of the late Zygmunt Olejniczak was renovated. Mr. Olejniczak was a prisoner murdered in the German concentration camp for Polish children on Przemysłowa Street in Łódź, buried at the St. Wojciech Cemetery in Łódź on Kurczaki Street. The official unveiling of the tombstone took place on 27 April 2024.

The unveiling of the tombstone of the late Zygmunt Olejniczak, a 12-year-old prisoner of the German concentration camp for Polish children on Przemysłowa Street in Łódź, took place at the St. Wojciech Roman Catholic Cemetery in Łódź. Zygmunt's relatives also attended the ceremony.

“The grave of Zygmunt Olejniczak is one of two tombstones of children from the camp on Przemysłowa Street that have survived to this day. It was found by me in 2021 and - due to its very poor state of preservation - immediately underwent an initial restoration. On the Museum's initiative, the grave was entered in the register of war graves. The funds for the new tombstone were provided by the Province Office at the request of the City of Łódź Office. The author of the tombstone design is the sculptor Dr. Marcin Mielczarek from Łódź,” explained Dr. Ireneusz Piotr Maj, director of the Museum of Polish Children – Victims of Totalitarianism.

As the Museum’s Director added, Zygmunt's grave was preserved most likely by chance. The burial book of the St. Wojciech cemetery contained incorrect information that the boy was a prisoner of the Radogoszcz prison; consequently, the cemetery staff took care to preserve the tombstone.