When the Gestapo raided the Masonic Hall at 56 Aleje Jerozolimskie in Warsaw in November 1941, they found nothing. The lodge had been sealed by the Nazis months earlier. What the Germans did not know was that beneath the floorboards of the lodge room, behind the altar where Masonic rituals had been performed just months before, a hidden chamber held 32 Jewish families, 87 people in total.
The man responsible was Antoni Wronecki, a 43-year-old carpenter and Master Mason of the Warsaw lodge Stanislaus Kosciuszko. Wronecki had used his knowledge of construction to create a false floor indistinguishable from the original. He had also placed Masonic regalia, aprons, and the square and compasses prominently on the surface as a psychological deterrent. The Nazis were superstitious about Freemasonry, they had already closed all Masonic lodges in occupied Poland and deported hundreds of Masons. When confronted with Masonic symbols, even the Gestapo was hesitant to enter without orders from Berlin.
Wronecki worked at night, smuggling food, medicine, and blankets to the 87 people beneath the floor. He brought them water from wells outside the building and installed a ventilation system using air ducts he had designed during peacetime renovations at the lodge.
A small wooden square and compasses, carved by Wronecki himself, sat on a desk in the hallway. The Gestapo commander who came to search the building saw the symbols and decided there was nothing of value worth examining. The families remained beneath that floor for 742 days.
Wronecki survived the war, and all 87 people survived with him. The wooden square and compasses are now preserved at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. When asked after the war why he risked everything, Wronecki said simply, The first lesson a Mason learns is to protect the distressed. It does not matter if they are Brothers or strangers. We are all building the same temple.