Objects

Baptism certificate of Marta Józefa Maria Ochlawa (born Bauer), issued by the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Parish in Opole on 20 July 1949 – official document in two languages (Polish and Latin), filled in by hand. In the top left corner, there is a stamp with text reading: “PARISH OFFICE | Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Parish | in Opole”. By the top edge of the page, in the centre, there is the document title: “Baptism Certificate”. The text of the document follows below, with the place and date of its issuance underneath, on the left: “Opole, 20 July 1949”. On the right, there is a round stamp of the parish office in purple ink. Next to the stamp, there is a handwritten signature of the parish priest.

The baptism certificate includes the names of Marta Olchawa’s biological parents – Marek (born Izydor Marek) and Ernestyna née Kutin, who died in Lvov during the Second World War. However, it does not mention their surname – Bauer. “Olchawa” is the surname of the foster mother, Stanisława Olchawa, who took in the girl at the request of her parents. The document gives the date and place of Maria Józefa Olchawa’s baptism: 15 June 1949 in Opole. Information from another document – Marta Józefa Olchawa’s birth and baptism certificate issued by the Parish Office in Skomorochy Stare (Lvov Diocese) on 1 January 1942 – suggests that Marta Olchawa was baptised on 12 December 1941. The record dated 1942 shows one middle name – Józefa, while the newer baptism certificate gives three names: Marta Józefa Maria Olchawa. Most likely, Marta Olchawa was baptised after the war, and the earlier document – the birth and baptism certificate – was produced during the German occupation to save the child from the Holocaust. | Text by Monika Harchut