Father Jan Skarbek was born in 1885 in Paszczyna near Dębica. In 1909, he was ordained as priest, and became parish priest of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Oświęcim in 1926. He fostered good relations based on mutual respect and tolerance with the Jewish community. When he was named Honorary Citizen of Oświęcim in 1934, the proposal was supported by both Christian and Jewish councillors.
His social commitment did not stop with the onset of German occupation. He succeeded in blocking the Nazi decision to demolish the church where he was priest. To this end, he travelled all the way to Wrocław (then Breslau) to present his arguments to the monument preservation office.
He also served as honorary chairman of the Committee for Carrying Aid to the Political Prisoners of the Auschwitz Camp, which was formed in 1940 under the auspices of the Home Army’s Union of Armed Struggle.
He was arrested by the Germans in 1942 and released after three months. He remained under house arrest outside Oświęcim until February 1945.
After the liberation of KL Auschwitz, he joined in the relief effort for the survivors. His social activism, which continued after World War II, led to surveillance by the Communist political police (Department of Security).
He died in Oświęcim in 1951 and is buried in the local parish cemetery.
Photograph: Remembrance Museum of Land of Oświęcim Residents / private archive of Tadeusz Firczyk