Jerzy Andrzejewski (; 19 August 1909 – 19 April 1983) was a prolific Polish writer. His works confront controversial moral issues such as betrayal, the Jews and Auschwitz in the wartime. His novels, '' Ashes and Diamonds'' (about the immediate post-war situation in Poland), and ''

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

'' (treating the

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to the gas chambers of the ...

), have been made into film adaptations by the Oscar-winning Polish director

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 "P ...

. ''Holy Week'' and ''Ashes and Diamonds'' have both been translated into English. His novel '' The Gates of Paradise'' was translated into English by

James Kirkup James Harold Kirkup (23 April 1918 – 10 May 2009) was an English poet, translator and travel writer. He wrote more than 45 books, including autobiographies, novels and plays. He wrote under many pen-names including James Falconer, Aditya Jha, ...

and published by Panther Books with the anglicised spelling "George Andrzeyevski".

Life and career

Born in Warsaw in 1909, Andrzejewski studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. In 1932 he debuted in ''ABC Magazine'' with his first short story entitled ''Wobec czyjegoś życia''. In 1936 he published a full collection of short stories called ''Drogi nieuniknione'', in ''Biblioteka Prosto z mostu'', and soon received broad recognition for his new, Catholic-inspired novel ''Ład serca'' from 1938. During World War II he was involved in efforts to aid the Jewish refugees. His short novel ''Holy Week'' (1945) has been described as "arguably the first literary attempt to examine the behavior of Poles facing the Holocaust". Immediately after World War II, Andrzejewski published the volume ''Night'' (''Noc'', 1945) and his most famous novel so far, '' Ashes and Diamonds'' (''Popiół i diament'', 1948). Having joined the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), 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 legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...

(PZPR) in 1950, he left the party after the 1956

Polish October The Polish October ( ), also known as the Polish thaw or Gomułka's thaw, also "small stabilization" () was a change in the politics of the Polish People's Republic that occurred in October 1956. Władysław Gomułka was appointed First Secretar ...

protests and riots.Oscar E. Swan
''Holy Week: a novel of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising By Jerzy Andrzejewski''
with biographical notes, and photographs. ''Ohio University Press'', 2007. After the suppression of the Prague Spring, in which Polish troops participated, Andrzejewski wrote a letter of apology to Eduard Goldstücker, the chairman of the Czechoslovak Writers Union. In 1964 he was one of the signatories of the so-called Letter of 34 to Prime Minister

Józef Cyrankiewicz Józef Adam Zygmunt Cyrankiewicz (; 23 April 1911 – 20 January 1989) was a Polish Socialist (PPS) and after 1948 Communist politician. He served as premier of the Polish People's Republic between 1947 and 1952, and again for 16 years between 1 ...

regarding freedom of culture. In 1976 Andrzejewski was one of the founding members of the intellectual opposition group KOR (''

Workers' Defence Committee The Workers' Defense Committee ( , KOR) was a Polish civil society group that was established to give aid to prisoners and their families after the June 1976 protests and ensuing government crackdown. It was a precursor and inspiration for efforts ...

''). Later, Andrzejewski was a strong supporter of Poland's anti-Communist

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

movement. Andrzejewski was gay. Although he was frequently considered a front-runner for the

Nobel Prize for Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in t ...

, he never received the honor. His purported

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

in his later years may have hindered his literary output, thus preventing him from ever becoming a true moral authority. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Warsaw in 1983.

Legacy

Andrzejewski's wartime writings, which inspired the Anti-Nazi

Home Army The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

, and in turn his post-war work as a propagandist for

Stalinism in Poland Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism inc ...

are analyzed in

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...

's '' The Captive Mind''. In that book, Miłosz refers to Andrzejewski only as "Alpha." According to Miłosz, Andrzejewski's writing is "sainted and supercilious," and other poets and writers in postwar Poland considered him a "respectable prostitute." On 23 September 2006, Jerzy Andrzejewski was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

awarded the Commander's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

by 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 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...

List of works

*'' Unavoidable Roads'' (''Drogi nieuniknione'', 1936), a collection of short stories *'' Mode of the Heart'' (''Ład serca'', 1938), first novel, winner of the Polish Academy of Literature award *''Night'' (''Noc'', 1945) featuring ''Holy Week'' *'' Ashes and Diamonds'' (''Popiół i diament'', 1948),Polish literature in English translation.
''20th century Polish literature'', at ''roadrunner.com. film version won Critics' Prize at 1959

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

*'' The Inquisitors'' (''Ciemności kryją ziemię'', 1957, tr. 1960) *'' An Effective War'' (''Wojna skuteczna, czyli Opis bitew i potyczek z Zadufkami'', 1953), stalinist feel-good story *'' The Gates of Paradise'' (''Bramy raju'', 1960), novel notable for being written almost without punctuation, in two sentences *'' A Sitter for a Satyr'' (''Idzie skacząc po górach'', 1963) published in the United Kingdom as ''He Cometh Leaping upon the Mountain'' ''(and others)''

References

External links

* C Tighe. ''Jerzy Andrzejewski: life and times''. Journal of European Studies, Vol. 25, 1995

Jerzy Andrzejewski (1909–1983)
''University of Glasgow'' College of Arts. Slavonic studies. * , at ''www.pisarzepolscy.cpo.pl''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrzejewski, Jerzy 1909 births 1983 deaths Writers from Warsaw Gay novelists Members of the Workers' Defence Committee People from Warsaw Governorate Polish people who rescued Jews during the Holocaust Polish United Workers' Party members Members of the Polish Sejm 1952–1956 Polish LGBTQ novelists Polish male novelists Polish gay politicians Polish gay writers Polish male short story writers University of Warsaw alumni Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Burials at Powązki Cemetery 20th-century Polish novelists 20th-century short story writers 20th-century Polish LGBTQ people

Life and career

Legacy

List of works

Further reading

References

External links