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To the Mayor of Bialystok Tadeusz Truskolaski

and To the Councilmen of the City of Bialystok

Until June 1941, Jozef Bartoszko and his wife Julianna took care of the Great Synagogue building in Bialystok. They cleaned it regularly, even though they were not Jewish. How did this happen? Coincidence decided, they lived on Bóżnicza Street, right next to the synagogue. Mr. Jozef knew German very well, which probably made it easier for him to understand Yiddish. Maybe other considerations decided, we don`t know.  

When, on June 27, 1941, a Nazi commando locked several hundred Jews in the Great Synagogue and set it on fire, Mr. Jozef and his wife Julianna opened a small door at the back of the synagogue, through which a dozen or so, or perhaps several dozen, Jews escaped.

Although witness accounts have survived, this story is almost unknown. And yet it bears the mark of unquestionable heroism. Recalling the figures of Jozef and Julianna Bartoszek and their children is extremely important in recalling the true history of Bialystok. It is important that we keep in memory such actions and attitudes, The famous maxim "whoever saves one life saves the whole world" has a universal meaning. Its source is a verse from the Babylonian Talmud, which reads, "If a man destroys one life, it is as if he destroyed the whole world. And if a man saves one life, it is as if he saved the whole world." This quote has become the hallmark of Israel`s highest civilian award given to non-Jews, the "Righteous Among the Nations."  

We would like to apply for the posthumous award of the title "Righteous Among the Nations" to Jozef and Julianna Bartoszka and their children.

We appeal to the authorities of the city of Bialystok to place a plaque commemorating their heroic deed in the vicinity of the monument to the Burnt Synagogue.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)