Former Marcin Wadowita Elementary School

The boy is very lively, very talented, very smart and very good. Optimistic in disposition, though with a closer look, one could see a shadow of early orphanhood in him. I met him shortly after his mother's death. He was distinguished by his loyalty to his colleagues and he had no conflicts with the teaching staff. He was a very good student.

Fr. Kazimierz Figlewicz - middle school catechist and guardian of the altar servers

Karol Wojtyła spent the first 18 years of his life in Wadowice. When he was 6 years old he went to the Elementary School, and when he was 10 years old to the eight-year-long Middle School, finished with matriculation exam. He believed that he owed the foundation for his future to no other but to the Polish school and its teachers. He emphasized that through culture, learnt at school, one can be oneself.

Karol Wojtyła began his education at the Marcin Wadowita Male Elementary School on 15 September 1926. The school was located in the building of the town hall at the main square in Wadowice. The ground floor of the building housed the municipal offices, restaurant and confectionery “Oaza” of Jan Hyłka, and the school was located on upper floors. At that time, the learning conditions were difficult because there were a lot of children and very few teachers (there were 9 teachers per 320 students). In the interwar period, the classrooms were very crowded and poorly ventilated, and often very poorly lit. The school had to operate double shifts. Due to small financial resources, the school was missing adequate school equipment. The curriculum of the school at that time included Polish language, history and geography. After school, children spent little time playing, because immediately afterwards they started to do their homework and learn.

Maria Janina Kaczorowa, a neighbour of Mr. and Mrs. Wojtyła, recalled that during this period of his life Karol was a slender, pale and short-haired boy, usually dressed in shorts. He was also always very polite and well-behaved and obedient to his parents and older brother.

One day, a teacher from the elementary school, Mrs. Bernhardt, called little Karol into the teachers' room. There was nobody there at the time. Then, Lolek heard that he had to be brave because his mother died. She explained to the boy that his dad asked her to do it because he couldn't do it himself. It was then that little Karol understood what had happened.

The death of his mother did not affect Karol's grades, but the little boy was not as cheerful and confident as before. Only after some time he did recover and became more cheerful and participated in the games with his peers.

One of the anecdotes from Karol's life says that one day they played Indians and cowboys with Jerzy Kluger on the market square. When they noticed a policeman marching through the square they started to discuss whether his sabre is wooden or metal. The dispute had to be resolved, so as soon as the tired policeman sat down on a bench and fell asleep, the boys approached him stealthily. Each of them tried to draw a weapon from the scabbard, but without success. That's why they tried to do it together by grabbing both ends. One grabbed the sabre handle and the other one held the scabbard. When the boys were pulling each end in opposite directions, the sabre suddenly flew up and fell to the ground with a clang. Then, the policeman woke up and became very angry. Luckily, Jerzy's dad showed up to ease the situation. Currently, the building is the seat of the Municipal Office.