Jan Paweł Rogalski

Polish anarchist and anti-Nazi fighter. Before the war, employee newspaper 'Ostatnie Wiadomości' (Last News), a member of the Anarchistycznej Federacji Polski (AFP; Polish Anarchist Federation). In 1924, one of the editors of the socialist magazine 'Nowy Zew' (New Call). Since 1926, a student of the Faculty of Politics and Social Sciences at the Polish Free University. In the same year he began to act in self-education anarchist group organised by Benjamin Wolman, then in 1927 he was on the organising committee of the Anarchistycznej Federacji Polski (Polish Anarchist Federation), a comrade of Jerzy Borejsza. Worked in the clandestine AFP newspaper 'Walka' (Struggle). In 1929, in Warsaw, arrested in connection with the Akademią Kropotkinowską (Kropotkin Academy). During this time, he served as Secretary of the Organisation of the Warsaw AFP. In 1930 he went to France, where he worked as a labourer and studied at the Sorbonne. In 1932, he returned to Poland. During the occupation, went into hiding and helped hide others. In October 1939 together with Roman Jablonowski (before the war member of Communist Party of Poland, then close to syndicalists, activist and last leader of ‘Zegota’ (Council for Aid to Jews) initiated a socialist resistance group. In August 1942, escaping from the Warsaw ghetto.

During the Warsaw Uprising in the summer of 1944, he was arrested along with his family by the SS Division Galicia, but they manage to escape. By the end of the occupation, they were hiding in Nadarzyn. In January 1947 invited by Rose Pesotta (union activist and member of anarchist group publishing Freie Arbeiter Shtimme Yiddish language paper, who visited Poland in 1946) Rogalski went to the USA, where he held a series of lectures on Poland and the Warsaw Uprising. After his return, he was interrogated by Urzad Bezpieczenstwa (Public Security – secret police). In 1946, together with other anarchists and Roman Jabłonowski found the Spoldzielczy Instytut Wydawniczy 'Słowo' ('Word' Cooperative Publishers Institute) in Lodz, becoming its chairman. As part of its activities, among others, issued Kropotkin's books. Rogalski also lectured extensively, including in America, on the Warsaw Uprising. The Cooperative was persecuted by Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza (Polish United Workers Party) and was forced to close in 1949. From mid-1949 until his retirement he worked in the ‘Ksiazka i Wiedza’ (Book and Knowledge) publishing house.