The Secret History of a Polish Businessman's Grandmother Leads Him to Step Up Personally to Fight Terrorism

Thinking back to his grandmother’s secret wartime past, Beniamin Krasicki, owner of a huge Polish security company, decided he had to do something to help Jews 70 years after World War II.

“My grandmother Roza actually hid six Jews in her home during the Holocaust saving their lives,” Krasicki told TheBlaze.

That was no easy feat, given that his grandparents were wealthy landowners, and thus also at risk for being targeted by the Nazi occupation bent on erasing Polish culture and the educated aristocracy.

Inspired by his grandmother’s brave act, Krasicki would like to continue her legacy in protecting Jews.

And he’s in the perfect position to do that given that his City Security agency employs 6,000 security guards, some of them accomplished strongmen and mixed martial arts athletes.

A member of the IDF gives the Polish team a briefing on recent terrorist attacks. (Photo courtesy: From the Depths)

Krasicki said he would like to send 100 of his guards to Israel on assignment – which he plans to fund – to help protect Israeli civilians facing a wave of nearly daily Palestinian stabbing, car ramming and shooting attacks that began in September.

Krasicki said that though he is a Christian, he believes his fate is intertwined with that of the Jewish people.

“As proud Poles who shared over 1,000 years of common history with the Jewish people that ended due to the German Nazis, we are well aware that they will first come for the Jews and then for us as we saw in Paris just a few weeks ago,” Krasicki said.

Beniamin Krasicki (L) meets Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan, Polish president's anti-terrorism adviser Krzysztof Liedel and (R) From the Depths CEO Jonny Daniels. (Photo courtesy: From the Depths)

“Terrorism in Israel and Europe comes from the same roots. Israel's fight is ours too,” Krasicki added.

One member of the advance team in Israel this week examining the feasibility of sending the Polish guards made quite the impression, even on Israeli women soldiers over whom he towered at 7-foot-2 and nearly 420 pounds.

Polish strongman competition veteran Tomasz Gorka poses with Israeli soldiers. (Photo courtesy: From the Depths)

Tomasz Gorka is a veteran strongman competitor and MMA fighter who works in personal protection.

“We decided to send 100 of our top, best trained and knowledgeable guards to Israel to be at the service of the Israelis, to show that we Poles and Christians stand side-by-side with the Israelis in their fight against terror,” Krasicki said.

Krasicki and his men have been promoting Christian-Jewish collaboration in Poland, where they volunteer with the non-profit From the Depths to track down and restore Jewish tombstones.

Some of the tombstones are more than 100 years old, and many were re-purposed as building materials in the years after World War II when the Polish Jewish community was essentially decimated. From the Depths has found tombstones in unusual places, including in a metal shop once used to sharpen knives, in the wall of a cowshed, as cobblestones in public gardens and in bathroom walls.

Former Polish competitors with the “strongest man” contests have pitched in to unearth heavy tombstones that can’t be accessed by vehicles with extraction equipment.

Jonny Daniels, founder and executive director of From the Depths, told TheBlaze, “The partnership with City Security has been remarkable.”

“When we started speaking about the situation in Israel they understood how important this connection is, how history truly can and is repeating itself, and they want to be on the side of the good guys,” Daniels said.

The delegation visited the sites of recent attacks in Jerusalem and met with Israeli government and defense officials, including the deputy minister of defense, the deputy speaker of the Knesset and Israel Defense Forces officers.