Feliks Rączkowski

Music through occupation and reconstruction

An organist, composer and teacher whose career linked secret wartime concerts with the revival of sacred music in postwar Warsaw.

Photograph: Brit in Poland archive, Holy Cross Church, Warsaw. This is a later memorial or representation, not an original lifetime portrait.

Learning the instrument

Born in Szczaworyż in 1906, Rączkowski trained at the Salesian Organist School in Przemyśl and later studied organ and composition at the Warsaw Conservatory.

Keeping music alive during war

During German occupation he earned a living performing in cafés and restaurants, played organ recitals and took part in clandestine concerts in private homes. His story reveals music as a form of cultural endurance.

A quarter century at Holy Cross

From 1945 to 1970 he served as organist of Warsaw’s Holy Cross Church, directed the Świętokrzyski Choir during much of this period and helped organise organ festivals and concerts.

Teaching the next generation

He also taught at Warsaw music institutions and trained a new generation of organists. A memorial plaque at Holy Cross Church recalls his work.

Explore the story

Visit the memorial at Holy Cross Church on Krakowskie Przedmieście in Warsaw. This profile will gain further site links as the Warsaw guide develops.