Julian Stryjkowski
Encyclopedia
Julian Stryjkowski was a Polish
journalist and writer, notable for his social prose of leftists character.
He was born April 27, 1905 in Stryj
(modern Ukraine), to a family of Hasidic Jews
. He graduated from the Faculty of Polish language and literature of the Lwów University and in 1932 started working as a teacher of Polish language
in a gymnasium
in Płock. Initially a Zionist
, in 1934 he joined the Communist Party of Western Ukraine
, for which he was arrested and imprisoned in 1935. Upon his release the following year he moved to Warsaw
, where he started working as a journalist for various newspapers and a library clerk. About that time he also started his work on Polish translation of Céline's
Death on the Installment Plan
.
After the Polish Defensive War
of 1939 he found a refuge in Soviet-occupied Lwów (modern Lviv, Ukraine), where he was among the journalists of Czerwony Sztandar, a Polish language propaganda newspaper and the only newspaper available to city's inhabitants apart from the Pravda
. After the end of Nazi-Soviet Pact and the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa
through Tarnopol, Kiev
and Stalingrad he escaped to Kuybyshev
, where he tried to join the Polish II Corps
. Unsuccessful, he moved to Uzbekistan
, where he started working as a factory worker. On insistence of Wanda Wasilewska
he was allowed by the Soviet authorities to move to Moscow
, where he started working for the Wolna Polska weekly, the organ of Society of Polish Patriots, a communist and Soviet-backed shadow government
of Poland. There he adopted the pen name of Julian Stryjkowski, which after the World War II
became his official surname.
He returned to Poland in 1946 and became the head of Katowice
branch of the Polish Press Agency
. Between 1949 and 1952 he headed that agency's bureau in Rome
. However, he was deported from Italy after having published a strongly anti-capitalist novel on the fate of Italian landless peasants. Upon his return to Poland he started working as the head of prose division of the Tworczosc
weekly devoted to modern literature. He held that post until his retirement in 1978. Initially strongly devoted to Communism, in 1966 he quit the Polish United Workers Party as a protest against the Communist suppression of art, science and culture, along with other notable Polish writers of the epoch. After that move, it was not until 1978 that his novels were again allowed by the censorship
. He died August 8, 1996 in Warsaw.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
journalist and writer, notable for his social prose of leftists character.
He was born April 27, 1905 in Stryj
Stryj
Stryj may refer to:*Stryj, Lublin Voivodeship *Stryi, Ukraine - Stryj in Polish...
(modern Ukraine), to a family of Hasidic Jews
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
. He graduated from the Faculty of Polish language and literature of the Lwów University and in 1932 started working as a teacher of Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
in a gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Płock. Initially a Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
, in 1934 he joined the Communist Party of Western Ukraine
Communist Party of Western Ukraine
Communist Party of Western Ukraine was a political party in eastern interbellum Poland. Until 1923 it was known as the Communist Party of Eastern Galicia.Young Communist League of Western Ukraine was the youth league of the party....
, for which he was arrested and imprisoned in 1935. Upon his release the following year he moved to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, where he started working as a journalist for various newspapers and a library clerk. About that time he also started his work on Polish translation of Céline's
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
Death on the Installment Plan
Death on the Installment Plan
Death on Credit is a novel by author Louis-Ferdinand Céline, published in 1936. The most common, and generally most respected English translation is Ralph Manheim's....
.
After the Polish Defensive War
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
of 1939 he found a refuge in Soviet-occupied Lwów (modern Lviv, Ukraine), where he was among the journalists of Czerwony Sztandar, a Polish language propaganda newspaper and the only newspaper available to city's inhabitants apart from the Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
. After the end of Nazi-Soviet Pact and the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
through Tarnopol, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Stalingrad he escaped to Kuybyshev
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
, where he tried to join the Polish II Corps
Polish II Corps
Polish II Corps , 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and by the end of 1945 it had grown to well over 100,000 soldiers....
. Unsuccessful, he moved to Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, where he started working as a factory worker. On insistence of Wanda Wasilewska
Wanda Wasilewska
Wanda Wasilewska was a Polish and Soviet novelist and communist political activist who played an important role in the creation of a Polish division of the Soviet Red Army during World War II and the formation of the Polish People's Republic....
he was allowed by the Soviet authorities to move to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he started working for the Wolna Polska weekly, the organ of Society of Polish Patriots, a communist and Soviet-backed shadow government
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
of Poland. There he adopted the pen name of Julian Stryjkowski, which after the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
became his official surname.
He returned to Poland in 1946 and became the head of Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
branch of the Polish Press Agency
Polish Press Agency
Polish Press Agency is a Poland's news agency owned by Polska Agencja Prasowa S.A., distributing political, economic, social, and cultural press releases as well as events info and online news, in a similar way to Reuters, Agence France-Presse and AP....
. Between 1949 and 1952 he headed that agency's bureau in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. However, he was deported from Italy after having published a strongly anti-capitalist novel on the fate of Italian landless peasants. Upon his return to Poland he started working as the head of prose division of the Tworczosc
Twórczość
Twórczość is a Polish monthly literary journal, first published in 1945. Since 1 April 2000, Twórczość has been published by the state-funded Book Institute ....
weekly devoted to modern literature. He held that post until his retirement in 1978. Initially strongly devoted to Communism, in 1966 he quit the Polish United Workers Party as a protest against the Communist suppression of art, science and culture, along with other notable Polish writers of the epoch. After that move, it was not until 1978 that his novels were again allowed by the censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. He died August 8, 1996 in Warsaw.