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{{Short description|Austrian policeman}}
{{Expand German|Oswald Bosko|date=March 2010}}
{{Infobox person
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{{Righteous Among the Nations}}


'''Oswald Bosko''' was an Austrian from [[Vienna]] who became a sergeant in the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] stationed at the [[Kraków Ghetto|Jewish ghetto of Kraków]]. He supported [[Julius Madritsch]] in rescuing [[Jews]] during [[World War II]]. Bosko was postumously honored by the [[Israel|State of Israel]] as a [[Righteous Among the Nations]], meaning a non-Jew who risked his life during the [[Holocaust]] to save Jews from extermination by the [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]].‪<ref>Gilbert, Martin. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=1mQBeR9F0isC&pg=PA220 The Righteous‬: ‪The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust]'', pp. 220-221 (Macmillan 2010‬).</ref>
'''Oswald Bosko''' (also spelled Bousko or Bouska) was an Austrian policeman from [[Vienna]] later stationed at the [[Kraków Ghetto|Jewish ghetto of Kraków]] from 1942 to 1944.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story Behind the List|last=Crowe|first=David M.|publisher=Basic Books|year=2007|isbn=978-0-465-00253-5|location=New York|pages=199–201}}</ref> He supported [[Julius Madritsch]] in rescuing [[Jews]] during [[World War II]]. Bosko was posthumously honored by the [[Israel|State of Israel]] as a [[Righteous Among the Nations]], an award for a non-Jew who risked their life during the [[Holocaust]] to save Jews from extermination by the [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]].<ref>Gilbert, Martin. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=1mQBeR9F0isC&pg=PA220 The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust]'', pp. 220-221 (Macmillan 2010).</ref>


==Heroic deeds==
==Heroic deeds==
In March 1943 the [[Nazis]] decided to liquidate the ghetto in Kraków and to deport all children who lived there in order to kill them. Oswald Bosko and Julius Madritsch helped hundreds of children to escape the ghetto. He also found people who were willing to house them temporarily.
In March, 1943, the [[Nazis]] decided to liquidate the ghetto in [[Kraków Ghetto|Kraków]] and to deport all children who lived there in order to kill them. Oswald Bosko and Julius Madritsch helped hundreds of children to escape the ghetto. He also found people who were willing to house them temporarily.

Bosko once had studied to be a Catholic monk but then abandoned that vocation and joined the Nazi Party; he even joined "an illegal [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] unit set up by [Heinrich] [[Heinrich Himmler|Himmler]] to act as a fifth column against the Austrian government" after the Nazi Party was outlawed in Austria in the summer of 1933. Yet Bosko turned against the Nazis after [[Anschluss|Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938]]. In Kraków, the "tall and blond" Bosko "used his loud scream to hide his deeper feelings" to aid Jews. Bosko also occasionally accepted bribes and "when he fled Kraków in the summer of 1944, he carried a suitcase of his ill-gotten contraband with him." While accepting compensation in rescuing Jews ran counter to the requirements for naming someone Righteous Among Nations, according to [[Oskar Schindler]] biographer [[David M. Crowe]], several writers who have examined Bosko's efforts, "all agree that many Jews and Poles owed their lives" to Bosko.<ref name=":0" />
After the liquidation of the ghetto Bosko looked for Jewish families that hid from the Nazis. Whoever he found he managed to bring to Madritsch's textile factory. Then he organized a rescue.
After the liquidation of the ghetto, Bosko looked for Jewish families that hid from the Nazis. Whoever he found, he managed to bring to Madritsch's textile factory. Then he organized a rescue.
In historian Crowe's telling, Bosko sought to avoid transfer to the Eastern Front when he "injected himself with a drug that made him severely ill" and he was hospitalized. He then fled with a Polish mistress and two Jewish children. He wrote his commanding officer that partisans had kidnapped him, but the officer soon determined otherwise. Bosko was ultimately captured, court-martialed for treason, desertion, and disobedience, and sentenced to death. Israel's [[Yad Vashem]] website cites September 18, 1944 as the date of Bosko's execution,<ref name=":1" /> while Crowe lists it as October 18, 1944.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":02">{{cite web|access-date=2023-07-26|publisher=Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes|title=Erinnern - Biographien - Spurensuche - Oswald Bouska (1907 - 1944)|url=https://www.doew.at/erinnern/biographien/spurensuche/oswald-bouska-1907-1944}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>
The [[Gestapo]] found out about the rescue. Bosko was arrested, accused and then executed on 18 September 1944.


==Later developments==
==Later developments==
In 1964, [[Yad Vashem]] recognized Oswald Bosko as Righteous Among the Nations. In 1982, Bosko appeared in the historically-based novel ''[[Schindler's Ark|Schindler's List]]'', written by Australian novelist [[Thomas Keneally]].<ref>Keneally, Thomas. ''Schindler's List'', pp. 97, 117, 118, 138, 139 (Simon and Schuster, 2013).</ref>
In 1964, [[Yad Vashem]] recognized Oswald Bosko as Righteous Among the Nations.<ref name=":1">[http://db.yadvashem.org/righteous/family.html?language=en&itemId=4014067 Oswald Bosko], Yad Vashem website.</ref> In 1982, Bosko appeared in the historically based novel ''[[Schindler's Ark|Schindler's List]]'', written by Australian novelist [[Thomas Keneally]].<ref>Keneally, Thomas. ''Schindler's List'', pp. 97, 117, 118, 138, 139 (Simon and Schuster, 2013).</ref>

==See also==
*[[The Holocaust in Poland]]


==References==
==References==
<references />
<references />

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosko, Oswald}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosko, Oswald}}
[[Category:Austrian Righteous Among the Nations]]
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:People who rescued Jews during the Holocaust]]
[[Category:Austrian Righteous Among the Nations]]
[[Category:People from Vienna]]
[[Category:Kraków Ghetto]]
[[Category:Kraków Ghetto]]
[[Category:Austrian police officers]]
[[Category:Austrian people executed by Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Austrian people executed by Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:Bartenders]]
[[Category:Bartenders]]
[[Category:People executed for desertion]]

[[Category:Police officers executed for treason]]
{{Austria-hist-stub}}
[[Category:People executed for treason against Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad]]

Latest revision as of 22:35, 31 December 2023

Oswald Bosko
Died18 September 1944
NationalityAustrian
Known forRighteous Among the Nations
Righteous
Among the Nations
By country

Oswald Bosko (also spelled Bousko or Bouska) was an Austrian policeman from Vienna later stationed at the Jewish ghetto of Kraków from 1942 to 1944.[1] He supported Julius Madritsch in rescuing Jews during World War II. Bosko was posthumously honored by the State of Israel as a Righteous Among the Nations, an award for a non-Jew who risked their life during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.[2]

Heroic deeds

[edit]

In March, 1943, the Nazis decided to liquidate the ghetto in Kraków and to deport all children who lived there in order to kill them. Oswald Bosko and Julius Madritsch helped hundreds of children to escape the ghetto. He also found people who were willing to house them temporarily.

Bosko once had studied to be a Catholic monk but then abandoned that vocation and joined the Nazi Party; he even joined "an illegal SS unit set up by [Heinrich] Himmler to act as a fifth column against the Austrian government" after the Nazi Party was outlawed in Austria in the summer of 1933. Yet Bosko turned against the Nazis after Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938. In Kraków, the "tall and blond" Bosko "used his loud scream to hide his deeper feelings" to aid Jews. Bosko also occasionally accepted bribes and "when he fled Kraków in the summer of 1944, he carried a suitcase of his ill-gotten contraband with him." While accepting compensation in rescuing Jews ran counter to the requirements for naming someone Righteous Among Nations, according to Oskar Schindler biographer David M. Crowe, several writers who have examined Bosko's efforts, "all agree that many Jews and Poles owed their lives" to Bosko.[1]

After the liquidation of the ghetto, Bosko looked for Jewish families that hid from the Nazis. Whoever he found, he managed to bring to Madritsch's textile factory. Then he organized a rescue.

In historian Crowe's telling, Bosko sought to avoid transfer to the Eastern Front when he "injected himself with a drug that made him severely ill" and he was hospitalized. He then fled with a Polish mistress and two Jewish children. He wrote his commanding officer that partisans had kidnapped him, but the officer soon determined otherwise. Bosko was ultimately captured, court-martialed for treason, desertion, and disobedience, and sentenced to death. Israel's Yad Vashem website cites September 18, 1944 as the date of Bosko's execution,[3] while Crowe lists it as October 18, 1944.[1][4]

Later developments

[edit]

In 1964, Yad Vashem recognized Oswald Bosko as Righteous Among the Nations.[3] In 1982, Bosko appeared in the historically based novel Schindler's List, written by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally.[5]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Crowe, David M. (2007). Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story Behind the List. New York: Basic Books. pp. 199–201. ISBN 978-0-465-00253-5.
  2. ^ Gilbert, Martin. The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust, pp. 220-221 (Macmillan 2010).
  3. ^ a b Oswald Bosko, Yad Vashem website.
  4. ^ "Erinnern - Biographien - Spurensuche - Oswald Bouska (1907 - 1944)". Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  5. ^ Keneally, Thomas. Schindler's List, pp. 97, 117, 118, 138, 139 (Simon and Schuster, 2013).
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