Irena Renata Anders (12 May 1920 – 29 November 2010), born Iryna Renata Jarosiewicz (Yarosevych), was a Ukrainian-Polish stage actress and singer. During

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 ...

she performed with

Henryk Wars Henryk Wars (born Henryk Warszawski, after 1947 Henry Vars; 29 December 1902 – 1 September 1977) was a Polish composer. He composed scores for 50 films during the interwar period in Poland and 60 more in the United States. He composed dozen ...

' troupe and later with the ''Polska Parada'' (Polish Parade) band, entertaining the

Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Polish forces were also raised within Soviet territories; th ...

(commanded by General

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyear ...

, her future husband). She was one of the first singers to perform the anthem, ''Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino'' (

The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino ''Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino'' (The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino) is one of the best-known Polish military songs of World War II. It was composed in May 1944 in Italy, during the Battle of Monte Cassino, on the eve of the Polish Army's captu ...

).A. Tycner, J. Stróżyk
Była pierwszą damą emigracji
Rzeczpospolita. 29 November 2010

Life and career

She was born as Iryna Yarosevych into a Ukrainian family in

Bruntál Bruntál (; german: Freudenthal) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is located in the historical region of Czech Silesia. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

(present-day

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

), where her father was a chaplain for Greek-catholic soldiers. Her mother Olena Yarosevych (née Nyzhankivska) came from a Ukrainian family which counted theater artists and musicians as their members, was the native sister of composer

Ostap Nyzhankivsky Ostap Yosypovych Nyzhankivsky ( uk, Остап Йосипович Нижанківський and ); January 24, 1863 – May 22, 1919) – Ukrainian writer and cleric, a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, composer, conductor, ...

and opera singer Oleksandr Nyzhankivsky. Shortly after her birth, her family migrated eastward to what was then designated the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

, and her father became chaplain of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen and later was a priest in the villages Sapohiv and Bryn, which shortly became part of Poland. In 1926 the family moved to Lwów (today

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

), where Iryna went to a

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

gymnasium and Ukrainian trading school. From 1929 to 1939 she also studied in the Lysenko Lviv Musical Institute, in her cousin

Nestor Nyzhankivsky Nestor Nyzhankivsky (''Nestor Ostapovych Nyzhankivsky'') ( uk, Не́стор Оста́пович Нижанкі́вський); August 31, 1893 – April 10, 1940) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist and music critic. Received his doctoral degree ...

's fortepiano class, and later in the vocal class of Mariya Sokil and Lidiya Ulukhanova. She used the stage name Renata Bogdańska. After World War II, she migrated to the United Kingdom. She starred in several movies. In 2003, a documentary film was made about her. On 12 May 2007, the Polish president,

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he pre ...

awarded Anders the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, "for outstanding contribution to the independence of the Polish Republic, for Polish community and social activities" . She died at age 90 from a heart attack on 29 November 2010, in London.

Family

Her parents were the Greek Catholic priest Mykola Yarosevych (1873–1957) and his wife Olena Yarosevych (née Nyzhankivska; 1878–1957). Her father before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

had Russophile views, for which, after the war broke out, the Austrian government sent him to Talerhof Concentration Camp. After the war he became Ukrainophile. On her mother's side she came from a family of Ukrainian nobles of patriotic and musical traditions. Her mother's brothers were Ukrainian composer, singer and politician

(1863–1919), and Ukrainian composer and opera singer Oleksandr Nyzhankivsky. Her cousins were Ukrainian composer and pianist Nestor Nizhankivsky, and Ukrainian composer and music author of March of Ukrainian Nationalists Omelian Nyzhankivsky (1863–1919). In her youth she participated in Ukrainian Scouts Organisation, as did her brother Anatol (1909–1982), who was in the same group as

Roman Shukhevych Roman-Taras Yosypovych Shukhevych ( uk, Рома́н-Тарас Йо́сипович Шухе́вич, also known by his pseudonym, Tur and Taras Chuprynka; 30 June 1907 – 5 March 1950), was a Ukrainian nationalist, one of the commanders of N ...

. Brother Stepan (1923–1944) was killed in the

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...

. In 1948, she married the decorated Polish General and

hero,

.Irena Anders celebrates her 90th birthday, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London
They had a daughter,

Anna Maria Anders Anna Maria Anders (London, 22 November 1950) is the ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Italy and to San Marino. Life Anders is the daughter of the World War II Commander of the Polish Forces at the Battle of Monte Cassino, General Władys ...

, (born 1950).

Selected discography

Gramophone (78 rpm) records

* Ludzie mówią / Słońce nad Paryżem (Polonia, Cat. 180 Op. 233A/234A) * Uśmiech Wilna / Wróć (Polonia, Cat. 181 Op. 235/236 Fs. 723/724) * Czarny kot / Nad jeziorem (Polonia, Cat. 207 Op. 287/290) * Dlaczegoś spójrzałeś na mnie / Siano (Polonia, Cat. 208 Op. 288/289) * Dziękuję ci / Serce i wino (Polonia, Cat. 209 Op. 291/293) * Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą / Que sera, sera (Polonia, Cat. 210 Op. 292/294) * Pod dachami Paryża / Bezsenna noc (Polonia, Cat. 211 Op. 295/297) * Violetera / Walc księżycowy (Polonia, Cat. 212 Op. 296/298)

LPs

* ''Renata Bogdańska śpiewa kujawiaki Ref-Rena i inne piosenki'' (Renata Bogdanska sings

kujawiak The Kujawiak is a Polish folk dance from the region of Kujawy in central Poland.Don Michael Randel. ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music''. Harvard University Press. 2003. p. 449. It is one of the five national dances of Poland, the others being th ...

s by Ref-Ren and other songs): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) LPM-1010 (mono) or SLPM-1010 (stereo) * ''Do słuchu i tańca'' (For listening and dance): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) LPM-1012 (mono) or SLPM-1012 (stereo) * ''Renata Bogdańska śpiewa piosenki romantyczne'' (Renata Bogdanska sings romantic songs): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) SLPM-1022 * ''Renata Bogdańska śpiewa piosenki sentymentalne'' (Renata Bogdanska sings sentimental songs): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) SLPM-1024 * ''Moja córka i inne przeboje'' (My daughter and other hits): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) LPM-1028

CDs

* (2010) ''Nagrania Orbis Polonia Londyn: Renata Bogdańska'' (Recordings of Orbis Polonia, London: Renata Bogdanska), Teddy Records TR CD 1014

External links

Irena Anders «Золотий Фонд української естради»

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anders, Irena 1920 births 2010 deaths People from Bruntál Polish expatriates in the United Kingdom Expatriates in Czechoslovakia Polish women singers Polish film actresses Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Lviv Conservatory alumni Polish stage actresses 20th-century Polish actresses