Remembrance of Jeremi Grocholski.

Jeremi Grocholski, son of Zdzisław and Maria née Sołtan, was born on February 8, 1927, in the Pod Czterema Wiatrami palace in Warsaw as the ninth of ten children of Zdzisław and Maria née Sołtan.

Zdzisław Grocholski was the owner of the Pietniczany estate near Vinnytsia, but when this estate was lost after the Bolshevik revolution, the family moved to Poland, and Zdzisław purchased a tenement house in Warsaw, which he later sold to acquire an estate in Poniatów near Jabłonna in August 1921.

In the new reality, farming became a thing of the past, and Zdzisław decided to invest in industry. He was a co-founder and one of the main shareholders of companies: Pocisk Ammunition Factory, Nitrat Chemical Plants, and French-Polish Automotive and Aviation Works S.A., known as Frankopol.

Due to his professional duties, Zdzisław spent most of his time in Warsaw, but the family home was in Poniatów. There, Jarema spent a happy childhood and completed the first four-grade stage of education, taught at home by teacher Mrs. J. Latynowicz. He did not go to high school, as the war intervened.

The Poniatów estate was designated as a field airfield, and in the last days of August, the III/1 Fighter Squadron, commanded by Capt. pilot Adam Kowalczyk, arrived there. As part of the Pursuit Brigade, the Squadron defended Warsaw from Luftwaffe raids from Poniatów for the first three days of September. The pilots of this Squadron, Lt. pilot Aleksander Gabszewicz and Cpl. pilot Andrzej Niewiara, had the honor of shooting down the first German aircraft in defense of the capital.

After the Germans entered, the Poniatów estate was confiscated by the Germans in the spring of 1940 and taken over by a German Commissioner, who brought in Władysław Danielewicz to assist. The family was left with part of the manor where Jarema lived with his brothers Henryk and Tadeusz, under the care of their mother and aunt, Helena Sołtan. The rest of the family lived in Warsaw at 13 Kapucyńska Street, apartment 2, from where the mother commuted to visit her sons.

Poniatów became one of the centers of local conspiracy, the III Battalion, I Region Legionowo, VII District of the Warsaw District “Obroża”. Reserve Second Lieutenant Władysław Danielewicz “Oko” became the commander of the company stationed in Poniatów, with others located in Nieporęt and Zegrze. Additionally, Poniatów was the headquarters of one of the platoons of the company, with others in Skrzeszew and Wieliszew. The task of the local Home Army was to organize and train units, conduct propaganda, and protect radio stations and drop zones, where paratroopers and supplies from Great Britain were delivered. The commander of the Women’s Military Service of the III Battalion was Helena Sołtan “Brzoza”. From the autumn of 1942, Jeremi and Tadeusz Grocholski were admitted to the company as privates. After the liquidation of the ghetto in Legionowo at the end of October 1943, two adult women and two Jewish girls were hidden in Poniatów for 7 months. Both girls and one woman survived the war.

On August 1, 1944, the uprising also covered the areas controlled by the III Battalion, including Poniatów, but after a few hours, in the face of advancing German units, the local Home Army went underground. Soon, the mother arrived in Poniatów with her son Adam, who failed to join his unit in Warsaw and joined the local Home Army. On the night of August 16/17, Tadeusz took part in the battalion’s diversion on Bródno to enable the Kampinos Group to break through to Warsaw. The next day, the Gestapo came to Poniatów and arrested Adam and Władysław Danielewicz. Tadeusz, returning from the action, also fell into German hands. Jarema, warned in time, remained in the unit, but it was broken up by the Germans two days later, and Jarema hid for several days in fields and nearby farms. On that day near Nieporęt, Adam, Tadeusz, and Second Lieutenant Danielewicz were executed (August 19).

Faced with the advancing front, on October 14, Helena Sołtan and Maria Grocholska with their son Jarema, who joined the family, reached Guzów near Żyrardów through Modlin, where they waited out the end of the war. The manor in Poniatów was completely destroyed as a result of military actions, so the Grocholski family moved to Motycz near Lublin to their daughter and son-in-law – Helena and Jerzy Brykczyński.

In 1947, Jarema passed his high school exams in Lublin, where he also attended classes at the OMTUR School of Fine Arts, where he developed his talents. He then began studies at the Catholic University of Lublin in the fields of art history, archaeology, and ethnography. After completing the latter and defending his master’s thesis under Professor Józef Gajek, he worked at the Catholic University of Lublin, and later in Nałęczów at the Central Office of Folk and Artistic Industry (Cepelia). The parents often stayed in Rogów Opolski at the home of Jerzy and Helena née Grocholski Brykczyński, where they were visited during holidays by their sons living in Poland – Jarema and Henryk. In the late 1950s/early 1960s, Jarema moved to Wrocław, where he worked at the local branch of the Polish Geographical Atlas.

In 1970, he married Róża née Dowgiałło, with whom he had three daughters: Joanna – Ania, Teresa – Enia, and Idalia – Ida. After retiring, in 2002, he moved with his wife to Sopot, and in 2010, they both moved to the regained Jezierski estate in Pobikry.

He left behind numerous ethnographic studies, illustrations, occasional works including the anthem of the Immaculate Sisters’ High School in Wałbrzych, as well as poems, which he beautifully recited, just like those of other authors. He was involved in many cultural and social activities.

Jarema Grocholski always willingly, with dedication and enthusiasm, engaged in professional, cultural, and social endeavors. His special artistic and literary talents helped him in this. He left behind numerous ethnographic studies, illustrations, occasional works including the anthem of the Immaculate Sisters’ High School in Wałbrzych, as well as poems, which he beautifully recited, just like those of other authors; translations from French and English, including his contribution to the translation of the book “Christ Lives” by M. Queist. During the “Solidarity” period, he prepared texts and illustrations for appearing newsletters and brochures.

He passed away peacefully on March 1, 2018. He was buried in the family tomb at the parish cemetery at the Church of St. Stanislaus Bishop in Pobikry.

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Siblings of Jeremi Grocholski:
1. Maria – born 1911 – died on 22.05.1940
2. Stanisław – born 1912 – worked at the Consulate General in Marseille before and during the war, returned to Poland in 1967, died in 2002
3. Helena – born 1914 – died after the war in 1983
4. Władysław – born 1915 – deported to Starobelsk and executed in Kharkov in April 1940
5. Kazimierz – born 1917 – died after the war in 1994
6. Michał – born 1919 – fought in the 2nd Volhynian Cavalry Brigade, 7th Uhlans Regiment, died on 06.09.1939
7. Adam – born 1922 – Home Army soldier, executed on 19.08.1944 near Nieporęt
8. Tadeusz – born 1924 – same as above
9. Henryk – born 1933 – the last living