INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

Centenarian residents of the region – Józefa Jasik and Henryk Ziółkowski – were honoured with the Marshal’s Medal of the Region, Unitas Durat Palatinatus Cuiaviano-Pomeraniensis. The celebrants met with the Vice-Marshal of the Region, Aneta Jędrzejewska.

“This is a generation that lived through the most difficult experiences of the 20th century, yet managed to rebuild their lives and pass on to subsequent generations such values as diligence, responsibility and respect for others. Their stories are an important part of our shared memory and the heritage of the region,” emphasises Marshal Piotr Całbecki.

Józefa Jasik was born on 5 March 1926 in Włocławek and has been connected with the city since birth. She was born in a district once known as “Kapitułka,” on what is now Mylna Street – in a house that still stands today and remains a symbol of her family roots. Her early childhood was marked by the loss of her father, who died when she was only two years old. She and her siblings were raised by their mother, who supported the family through trading activities.

She completed her education after four years of primary school. At the age of 14 she was deported to Germany for forced labour. There she met her future husband, Tadeusz Jasik. Their shared wartime experiences bound them together for life – in June 1945, shortly after the end of the war, they were married. A year later they returned to Włocławek and settled on Słoneczna Street, where Mrs Jasik still lives today.

The couple raised four children. Today Mrs Jasik is the senior member of a multigenerational family – she has six grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. For 30 years she worked at the Włocławek cellulose plant, combining professional duties with running the household. In later years she had the opportunity to travel, visiting among other places England, the United States and Italy. To this day she enjoys tending flowers and reading books – still without glasses. Her greatest treasure remains her family, to whom she has given a sense of security and warmth throughout her life.

Henryk Ziółkowski was born on 22 February 1926 in Radziejów. He grew up in a large family and had four sisters. His youth was brutally interrupted by the Second World War. At the age of sixteen he was sent to forced labor for a German farmer in Lubsin. To this day he recalls the dramatic moment when, for lighting a cigarette during work, he was ordered to dig his own grave. He ultimately avoided death, but was soon deported west, where he worked digging trenches. When the front began to move, he walked home for three days and nights.

After the war he faced further hardships – he was arrested on suspicion of activity in the Home Army, although he had never been a member. For some time, he worked at a shipyard in Szczecin, but eventually returned to his home region. Together with his wife Krystyna, née Mazurek, whom he married in 1960, he ran a farm in Lubsin. The period of compulsory deliveries and post-war reconstruction required great determination, but thanks to their perseverance they managed to maintain the family farm.

He has three children as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He still lives in the family home, surrounded by his loved ones. He is interested in politics and world affairs and follows current events closely. He enjoys relatively good health and, at the Christmas Eve table, jokingly repeats that “next year we won’t meet again” – only to prove once more that strength of character and devotion to family can keep the story going.

The regional self-government has been honouring centenarian residents since 2018. To date, more than 450 people have received the Unitas Durat medal. Families of residents of the region who will soon celebrate their 100th birthday, as well as those older, are encouraged to contact us at +48 56 62 18 344 or by e-mail at: stulatkowie@kujawsko-pomorskie.pl.

Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office

6 March 2026