Władysław Skierkowski

Władysław Skierkowski (12 March 1886 – 20 August 1941) was a Polish priest born in the peasant village of Głużek.

He was responsible for studying and collecting the folk music of the Kurpie region of Poland.

He was later ordained 23 June 1912 and, after serving as vicar in Dzierzgowo, he was reassigned to a church in the town of Myszyniec.

His pastoral travels by foot or horse from Myszyniec to the town of Chorzele, a distance of 30 kilometers, led him through the primeval swamps and the dark forest of the Kurpie wilderness.

During World War II Skierkowski attempted to avoid capture by the Germans, but was finally caught and arrested during the night of 6 March 1941 and taken to Soldau concentration camp near the town of Działdowo.