Roma Ligocka (born Roma Liebling, 13 November 1938) is a Polish writer, and painter. She was born in a Jewish family in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

a year before World War II. During the German occupation of Poland, her family was persecuted by the Germans - her father was incarcerated, first in the Płaszów and then

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

s. In 1940, she was taken with her mother to the

Kraków Ghetto The Kraków Ghetto was one of five major metropolitan Nazi ghettos created by Germany in the new General Government territory during the Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German occupation of Poland in World War II. It was established for the p ...

but, before the end of the ghetto in 1943, they fled and hid with a Polish family. After World War II, she studied painting and scenic design in the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Then, she worked with considerable success in theatre, film, and television as a set designer. In 1965, she and her husband, Jan Biczycki, left Communist Poland and moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany, where she continued with her set design assignments. Roma Ligocka is Roman Polanski's cousin.

Novels

She has written several novels, some of them reflecting her biography: * '' The Girl in the Red Coat'' (''Dziewczynka w czerwonym płaszczyku'') * ''Znajoma z lustra'' * ''Kobieta w podróży'' * ''Tylko ja sama'' (originally published in German) * ''Wszystko z miłości'' Her novel, ''The Girl in the Red Coat'', was inspired by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's movie, ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...

''. After watching the movie, she recognized herself as a Jewish child that wore a red coat.

References

External links

Roma Ligocka and her writing
- a website created by her publisher (Polish)
Bibliography of Roma Ligocka
- National Library of Poland 1938 births Living people Kraków Ghetto inmates Polish Holocaust survivors Artists from Kraków Polish women writers {{poland-writer-stub