Tadeusz Konwicki (22 June 1926 – 7 January 2015) was a Polish writer and film director, as well as a member of the Polish Language Council.

Life

Konwicki was born in 1926 as the only son of Jadwiga Kieżun and Michał Konwicki in Nowa Wilejka, where he spent his early

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

. His father died early and Konwicki lived with his great-aunt and great-uncle who he later depicted in his novels. He attended a local King Zygmunt August gymnasium. Immediately following 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 ...

, Wilno was occupied by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and subsequently by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, and all education for Poles was discontinued. Konwicki continued his studies

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

and joined the eighth Oszmiana Brigade of the

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 ...

that took part in the nationwide guerrilla operation code-named

Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home ...

and

Operation Ostra Brama , Second Polish Republic) , coordinates = , result = Failure of the operation , combatant1 = Polish Secret State (Armia Krajowa) , combatant2 = , combatant3 = , commander1 = Aleksander KrzyżanowskiAntoni Olechnowicz , comman ...

. He later disarmed and went into hiding from the Soviet Army. In November 1944, he joined Tur's (Witold Turonek) unit and fought until April 28, 1945 - one of the last guerrilla units in the area. After the war Wilno (retrieving its name as Vilnius in the process) was annexed by the

and Konwicki was expatriated. In the spring of 1945 Konwicki moved to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, where he enrolled at Jagiellonian University. He also started to work as a journalist at ''Odrodzenie'' weekly, moving to

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 ...

in 1947 to continue his work for the magazine. In the capital, he was one of the leading advocates for

Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is c ...

in literature. In 1948 he finished his memoirs of his partisan years (''Rojsty''), but the book was not published until 1956. His literary debut was the (production novel) ''Construction Site'' (1950, ''Przy budowie''), which was followed by the novel ''Power'' (1954, ''Władza''). His 1956 novel ''From a Besieged City'' (1956, ''Z oblężonego miasta'') also became quite popular. In the years 1952–1966 he was a member of

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

. By the mid-1950s, Konwicki had become disillusioned by the communist regime in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and fell out of grace with the party. His later works (beginning with ''A Hole in the Sky'' (1959, ''Dziura w niebie''), are mostly concerned with the author's childhood and the semi-mythical, romantic land of his youth. At this time Konwicki became the head of the Kadr Film Studio and has since been recognized as one of the most notable members of the

Polish Film School Polish Film School ( pl, Polska Szkoła Filmowa) refers to an informal group of Polish film directors and screenplay writers active between 1956 and approximately 1963. Among the most prominent representatives of the school are Andrzej Wajda, And ...

. However, his work veered away from the style pursued by his contemporaries, due to its uniquely bitter quality. As a filmmaker he is known for his Venice'58 Grand Prix winner '' The Last Day of Summer'' (''Ostatni dzień lata'', 1958), ''

All Souls' Day All Souls' Day, also called ''The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed'', is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by certain Christian denominations on 2 November. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and ...

'' (''Zaduszki'', 1961), as well as for his masterpieces Salto (1962) and '' How Far Away, How Near'' (''Jak daleko stąd, jak blisko'', 1973), as well as film adaptations: of Nobel Prize Winner Czesław Miłosz's book ''Issa Valley'' (''Dolina Issy'', 1982), and of Adam Mickiewicz's drama ''Forefather's Eve'' – ''

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

'' (1989). He is widely known for two novels, published by the Polish underground press: '' The Polish Complex'' (1977) and '' A Minor Apocalypse'' (1979). The latter work, a bitter satire about a washed-up writer who is asked to burn himself in front of the Soviet-built

Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

; the novel was adapted as a 1993 French

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, directed by

Costa-Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

. ''A Minor Apocalypse'' is a post-Orwellian parody that refers to specific historical events, such as self-immolation protests against the communist regime by

Ryszard Siwiec Ryszard Siwiec (; 7 March 1909 – 12 September 1968) was a Polish accountant and former Home Army resistance member who was the first person to commit suicide by self-immolation in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Alth ...

in Poland and

Jan Palach Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 in ...

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

Literary works

* * * * * * * *

Films

Writer/Director

* '' The Last Day of Summer'' (''Ostatni dzień lata'', 1958) * ''

'' (''Zaduszki'', 1961) * ''Matura'', short film, a segment of a French-German-Polish coproduction ''The Moment of Peace'' (''Chwila pokoju'' / ''Le Moment de paix'', 1965) * '' Salto'' (1965) * '' How Far Away, How Near'' (''Jak daleko stąd, jak blisko'', 1973) * '' Issa Valley'' (''Dolina Issy'', 1982), based on a novel by

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, ...

* ''

'' (''Lawa '', 1989), based on a poetic drama by

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

Writer

* ''Career'' (''Kariera'', 1954, dir. Jan Koecher), co-written with Kazimierz Sumerski * ''Winter Twilight'' (''Zimowy zmierzch'', 1956, dir. ) * ''

Mother Joan of the Angels ''Mother Joan of the Angels'' ( pl, Matka Joanna od Aniołów, also known as ''The Devil and the Nun'') is a 1961 Polish art film on demonic possession, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, based on a novella of the same title by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, ...

'' (''Matka Joanna od Aniołów'', 1961, dir.

Jerzy Kawalerowicz Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz (19 January 1922 – 27 December 2007) was a Polish film director and politician, having been a member of Polish United Workers' Party from 1954 until its dissolution in 1990 and a deputy in Polish parliament since ...

), co-written with Kawalerowicz, based on a novella by

Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz Jarosław Leon Iwaszkiewicz, also known under his literary pseudonym Eleuter (20 February 1894 – 2 March 1980), was a Polish writer, poet, essayist, dramatist and translator.Bartłomiej Szleszyński, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. 2003 Culture.plJaros ...

* ''

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

'' (''Faraon'', 1966, dir.

), co-written with Kawalerowicz, based on a novel by

Bolesław Prus Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world li ...

* ''Jowita'' (1967, dir.

Janusz Morgenstern Janusz "Kuba" Morgenstern (16 November 1922 – 6 September 2011) was a Polish film director and producer. Janusz Morgenstern was born in 1922 to a Jewish family in the town of Mikulińce, Poland (now Mykulyntsi, Ukraine), to Dawid Morgenstern ...

), based on a novel by Stanisław Dygat * '' Austeria'' (1982, dir.

), co-written with Kawalerowicz and Julian Stryjkowski, based on a novel by Stryjkowski * '' A Chronicle of Amorous Accidents'' (''Kronika wypadków miłosnych'', 1985, dir.

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

), based on Konwicki's novel

References

External links

*
Tadeusz Konwicki
at Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Konwicki, Tadeusz 1926 births 2015 deaths People from Wilno Voivodeship (1926–1939) Polish film directors Polish journalists Polish United Workers' Party members Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989) Polish male novelists 20th-century Polish novelists Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland) Writers from Vilnius