page_title: Józef Walaszczyk
section_title: Later life
hierarchical_section_title: Józef Walaszczyk / Later life
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Szyld Kaletnika na ul. Sobieskiego 18 w Warszawie, zakładu niegdyś prowadzonego przez Józefa Walaszczyka
context_page_description: Józef Władysław Walaszczyk is a Polish retired leatherworker and businessman who was declared Righteous Among the Nations in 2002 for sheltering Jews during the Holocaust. He has been described as a "second Schindler" or "Polish Schindler".
context_section_description: Just after the war Walaszczyk and Front moved to Kraków, where he set up new businesses, including organising Kraków–Katowice passenger journeys. Though they broke up, they remained in good relations. Due to Walaszczyk's friendship with the French consul, the Security Service pressured him to leave Kraków. Walaszczyk, in cooperation with Okęcki, launched a wool and cotton materials factory. In 1949, the enterprise was nationalised. Later, Walaszczyk and his Jewish colleagues ran a sewing room in Warsaw which was closed under pressure from the tax office. Walaszczyk's factory was closed after two years in 1952. He was also engaged in the cooperative in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, and then in Rembertów. He worked there for some time, being quite successful. In the meantime, he got permission to work as a master of leatherwork which allowed him to open his own workshop on 18 Jana III Sobieskiego Street in Warsaw. He continued to run it until he was very old.
  Around 1950 Walaszczyk married Alicja Jastrzębska, who he had met in Kraków. In 1951, she gave birth to their son Ryszard. Following divorce with Jastrzębska, in 1970, Walaszczyk married Barbara with whom he has a son Sławomir.
  In 2002, on Front's recommendation, Walaszczyk was honoured by Yad Vashem with the title of Righteous Among the Nations. He has been active in the Polish Association of the Righteous Among the Nations, since August 2008 serving as its Vice-President. In 2009, he was amongst the representatives of Polish Righteous during a visit to the United States, which included meeting with President Barack Obama. In the same year, KARTA Center published his memoir Przywracanie pamięci (Restoring Memory). In 2019, his 100th birthday was commemorated by President of Poland Andrzej Duda.
caption: Plaque of the erstwhile Walaszczyk's workshop on Sobieskiego St, current view
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