Tadeusz Pankiewicz

Tadeusz Pankiewicz
Tadeusz Pankiewicz
Born	21 November 1908 Sambor, Poland
Died	5 November 1993 Kraków
Nationality	Polish
Occupation	Pharmacist
Known for	Holocaust rescue

Tadeusz Pankiewicz (November 21, 1908 in Sambor – November 5, 1993 buried in Kraków), was a Polish Roman Catholic pharmacist, operating in the Kraków Ghetto during the Nazi German occupation of Poland. He was recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem on February 10, 1983, for rescuing countless Jews from the Holocaust.

Pankiewicz studied at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In 1933, he took over the proprietorship of the "Under the Eagle" pharmacy () founded in 1910 by his father Jozef. The pharmacy was situated on Plac Zgody (formerly Mały Rynek square) in Kraków's Podgórze district. Its prewar clientele included both Gentile Poles and Jews.

Under the German Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II, Podgórze district was closed off in March 1941 as a ghetto for local area Jewry. Within the walls of the Kraków Ghetto there were four prewar pharmacies owned by non-Jews. Pankiewicz was the only proprietor to decline the German offer of relocating to the gentile (non-Jewish) side of the city. He was given permission to continue operating his establishment as the only pharmacy in the Ghetto, and reside on the premises. His staff were given passage permits to enter and exit the ghetto for work.

The often-scarce medications and pharmaceutical products supplied to the ghetto's residents, often free of charge, substantially improved their quality of life. In effect, apart from health care considerations, they contributed to survival itself. In his published testimonies, Pankiewicz makes particular mention of hair dyes used by those disguising their identities and tranquilizers given to fretful children required to keep silent during Gestapo raids.

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