Jan Liwacz

January Liwacz ( born October 4, 1898 in Dukla, † April 22, 1980 in Bystrzyca Kłodzka ) was a Polish blacksmith and a prisoner of the concentration camp Auschwitz I.

Captivity

Liwacz was arrested on 16 October 1939 in Bukowsko and deported to prison stays in Sanok, Krosno, Krakow and Nowy Wiśnicz on 20 June 1940 in the concentration camp Auschwitz I. In Auschwitz, he worked as a locksmith and made balustrades, pillars, chandeliers and zodiac signs. In the main camp, he was involved in the ironwork for the front gate. The inverted letter B of the slogan " Work Sets You Free ", with the smaller bulge downwards, is understood as a protest.

Several times he was for a few days in solitary confinement in the bunker of the block No. 11, which he survived ( of 8 June 1942 and 30 March 1943 ). In December 1944 he was transferred to the Mauthausen concentration camp. In addition to camp Ebensee concentration camp this Liwacz was liberated on May 6, 1945. After the war he worked in Bystrzyca Kłodzka as craftsman.

In December 2010, the gate was stolen by criminals and damaged heavily. The perpetrators were quickly caught and restored the gate.