Jerzy Kluger

Jerzy Kluger (4 April 1921, Krakow, Poland – 31 December 2011, Rome, Italy) was a Polish Jewish businessman who lived in Rome. He was born in 1921 in Krakow and raised in Wadowice^[1], where he met and became a personal friend of Karol Wojtyła, later Archbishop of Kraków and eventually Pope John Paul II.^[2]

World War II military service

While fighting with the Polish army in Africa, Kluger met his future wife, Irene White, who was a driver for the British army. They were married in Egypt before Kluger fought at Monte Cassino, a key battle in the Italian campaign, in 1944. After the war, Kluger received an engineering degree from the University of Nottingham and worked in that field before moving to Rome in the 1950s.

Family

Predeceased by his daughter, Leslie Kluger, who died in 2011, Kluger was survived by his widow, a second daughter and a grandchild.

Death

Kluger died on 31 December 2011 in Rome of Alzheimer's disease, aged 90.

Literature

• Dowling, Gregory. Letter to a Jewish Friend - Jerzy Kluger. Hodder & Stoughton Religious, 1994, ISBN 034061014X, Jerzy Kluger (author), Pope John Paul II (author), Gian Franco Svidercoschi (editor)
• O'Brien, Darcy. The Hidden Pope - The Untold Story of a Lifelong Friendship That Is Challenging the relationship between Catholics and Jews. The Personal Journey of John Paul II and Jerzy Kluger, Daybreak Books, New York, 1998. [ISBN 0-87596-478-8]

References