Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, (; nom de guerre: Jan Bugaj; 22 January 1921 – 4 August 1944) was a Polish poet and

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) est ...

soldier, one of the most well known of the

Generation of Columbuses The Generation of Columbuses ( pl, pokolenie Kolumbów) is a term denoting the generation of Poles who were born soon after Poland regained its independence in 1918, and whose adolescence was marked by World War II. The term itself was coined by ...

, the young generation of Polish poets, of whom several perished in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

and during the German occupation of Poland.

Biography

Baczyński was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

into the family of renowned literary critic and soldier of the

Polish Legions in World War I The Polish Legions ( pl, Legiony Polskie) was a name of the Polish military force (the first active Polish army in generations) established in August 1914 in Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing all ...

, Stanisław Baczyński and school teacher Stefania Zieleńczyk. His mother was a zealous

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

but with

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish roots, and as such was treated by the Germans as Jewish. His uncle, Dr. Adam Zieleńczyk, escaped from the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...

and was killed by Germans in 1943. Baczynski was baptized on 7 September 1922 in Warsaw. As a child, he suffered from asthma, his heart was very weak and he was in constant threat of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. In 1933, he began education at Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Stefana Batorego, he graduated in May 1939. In his class there were future heroes of the

Szare Szeregi "Gray Ranks" ( pl, Szare Szeregi) was a codename for the underground paramilitary Polish Scouting Association (') during World War II. The wartime organisation was created on 27 September 1939, actively resisted and fought German occupation i ...

Jan Bytnar Jan Roman Bytnar, ''nom de guerre'' "Rudy" (''Ginger'') (born 6 May 1921, Kolbuszowa, Poland – died 30 March 1943, Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish scoutmaster, a member of Polish scouting anti-Nazi resistance, and a lieutenant in the Home Army du ...

(''Rudy'') and

Tadeusz Zawadzki Tadeusz Leon Józef Zawadzki, assumed surname: ''Tadeusz Zieliński'', Pseudonym, alias ''"Kajman"'', ''"Kotwicki"'', ''"Lech Pomarańczowy"'', ''"Tadeusz"'', ''"Zośka"'' (born on January 24, 1921, in Warsaw, died on August 20, 1943, in Sieczychy) ...

(''Zośka''). Baczynski debuted as a poet some time in 1938 in ''Strzała'' - a magazine published by the Organization of

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

Youth ''Spartakus'', to which he belonged himself. After graduation, he wished to continue his education at Warsaw's Academy of Fine Arts, but the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

ended these plans. During the German and Soviet (until 1941) occupation of Poland, he continued to work with the left-wing underground press, most notably with the "Płomienie" (''Flames'') and "Droga" (''Way'') magazines. At the same time he was a student of

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...

at the secret underground

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

and the Armia Krajowa's "

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mi ...

NCOs A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

School. He took up several jobs, and in 1943 joined Batalion Zośka, after which he gave up studies, committing himself to the Polish resistance activities. In his apartment, he hid several pieces of weaponry, including submachine guns and grenades. On 6 July 1942 he married Barbara Drapczyńska, a university colleague. The marriage resulted in a set of erotica written by Baczyński, reputedly one of the most notable in the Polish language. Shortly before the

Baczyński gave a copy of all his poems to one of his friends, to hide in

Żoliborz Żoliborz () is one of the northern districts of the city of Warsaw. It is located directly to the north of the City Centre, on the left bank of the Vistula river. It has approximately 50,000 inhabitants and is one of the smallest boroughs of W ...

. Because of that, they survived the war. As a member of Scouting Assault Groups ('' Harcerskie Grupy Szturmowe''), Baczyński took part in many sabotage actions throughout the occupation. One of them was derailment of a German military train in August 1944, which resulted in a 26-hour delay of traffic on the strategic connection Warsaw- Białystok. After the

broke out, he joined the "

Parasol An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy (building), canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunburn, sunlight. The term ''umbr ...

" battalion. He was killed in action by a German sniper at approximately 4pm on 4 August 1944 in the Blanka Palace in the

Warsaw Old Town Warsaw Old Town ( pl, Stare Miasto, italic=yes and colloquially as ''Starówka'') is the oldest part of Warsaw, the capital city of Poland. It is bounded by the ''Wybrzeże Gdańskie'' (Gdańsk Boulevards), along with the bank of the Vistula river, ...

. He is buried in the

Powązki Military Cemetery Powązki Military Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Wojskowy na Powązkach) is an old military cemetery located in the Żoliborz district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquial ...

, together with his pregnant wife, who was killed on 1 September 1944. He was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

awarded the

Armia Krajowa Cross The Cross of the Home Army ( pl, Krzyż Armii Krajowej) is a Polish military decoration that was introduced by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski on 1 August 1966 to commemorate the efforts of the soldiers of the Polish Secret State between 1939 and ...

and in 1947 the Medal for Warsaw 1939-1945 ( pl). In his poems and short novels, Baczyński demonstrated both romantic traditions and catastrophism. His poems depict the brutality of war, and suggest that love is the only force that can effectively defend a human being against it. His talent was highly appreciated by his contemporaries, Stanisław Pigon, upon hearing news of Baczynski joining the Szare Szeregi, said to

Kazimierz Wyka Kazimierz Wyka (19 March 1910 – 19 January 1975) was a Polish literary historian, literary critic, and professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków following World War II. He was a deputy to the Polish parliament (Sejm) from 1952 to 1956 ...

: ''We belong to a nation, whose fate is to shoot at the enemy with diamonds''.

Baczyński in Polish culture

* The 1984 film '' The Fourth Day'' (''Dzień czwarty'') tells the story of the last four days of his life. * In 1965, Polish singer

Ewa Demarczyk Ewa Maria Demarczyk (16 January 1941 – 14 August 2020) was a Polish singer, generally associated with the sung poetry genre and the Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret. Demarczyk was recognized as one of the most talented and charismatic singers in ...

sings Baczyński poems on LP " Wiersze wojenne" (eng. "War Poems") * 1990

Jacek Kaczmarski Jacek Marcin Kaczmarski (22 March 1957 – 10 April 2004) was a Polish singer, songwriter, poet and author. Life He was the son of painter Anna Trojanowska-Kaczmarska, a Pole of Jewish background, and the artist Janusz Kaczmarski. Kaczmarski ...

: Kosmopolak – "Barykada (Śmierć Baczyńskiego)", * 1991 Grzegorz Turnau: Naprawdę nie dzieje się nic, * 2005 Lao Che: Powstanie Warszawskie – "Godzina W" * 2007 Zbigniew Hołdys: - Pocałunek * 2012 Tadek (FIRMA) - Elegia o chłopcu polskim * The 2013 film "Baczyński" * 2020 "Astronomia Poety. Baczyński." − Album by Kwadrofonik and Mela Koteluk * 2021 Jacob George Scyther - "Pomarańczowy Ogór" *2022 sanah - Baczyński (pisz do mnie listy)

Published works

*''White Magic and Other Poems'' trans. by Bill Johnston (Los Angeles: Green Integer, 2005).

References

Levine, Madeline G. ''Contemporary Polish Poetry'', 1925-1975 (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1981).

External links

Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński
at Culture.pl
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński
s poems at poezja.org
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński
biography and poems * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baczynski, Krzysztof Kamil 1921 births 1944 deaths Warsaw Uprising insurgents Writers from Warsaw Home Army members Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Recipients of the Armia Krajowa Cross Polish Scouts and Guides Polish socialists Polish people of Jewish descent Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany University of Warsaw alumni 20th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish male writers Jewish resistance members during the Holocaust Polish civilians killed in World War II Deaths by firearm in Poland

Biography

Baczyński in Polish culture

Published works

References

Further reading

External links