Dreipappelstraße 1 / Fischapark (laid 2013)
Leopold Martinowsky
Betrayed to the Gestapo by his mother?
Leopold Martinowsky, born 1 November 1906 in Ebreichsdorf, unmarried, disabled.
Martinowsky lived in the Fischabach settlement and was an uncompromising opponent of Nazism. Those who knew him remembered his humanity and extraordinary helpfulness. He sheltered prisoners of war in his cellar during air raids, relayed news from foreign radio stations to them, and supported them in every way he could. One of the former French deportees, Mr. Gossin from Epernay, wrote in 1969:
“During the air raids, I often went to him or to his neighbors — I felt safe among these brave people who, despite language difficulties, knew how to understand and strengthen us; people who were poor but still found ways to save part of their rations to give to us… These are the memories I have kept of this good and courageous man; let us hope that his sacrifice was not in vain and that the guilty will be punished as they deserve.”
On 24 February 1944, as Martinowsky returned home from a friend’s funeral, the Gestapo was waiting for him and arrested him immediately. The Nazi block warden of the settlement, Karlacek, seems to have been involved. He had a close relationship with Martinowsky’s mother, who wanted nothing to do with her son. Martinowsky died in custody. The time and place of his death were unknown.
The DÖW victim database now lists: Place of death: Flossenbürg; Date of death: 3 February 1945 (query 2025).
Anton Blaha, based on Resistance in the Wiener Neustadt Region, 1938–1945 by Karl Flanner
Photo: Leopold Martinowsky (© StAWN, IVM photo collection)