Wiera Gran
Encyclopedia
Wiera Gran was a Polish singer and actress. Reputedly born as Weronika Grynberg, she was also known as Vera Gran and Mariol.
Wiera Gran had a low alto voice even in early 1934, when at the age of 17 when - using the pseudonym Sylvia Green - she made her first recording, the tango Grzech. She sang in the Cafe Paradis in Warsaw in the early 1930s. While most of her recordings are in the Polish language, she sang in Yiddish in the movie On a heym (Without a home) with Shimon Dzigan
and Israel Shumacher
.
She escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto
during World War II
. In 1947, she was accused in Poland of collaboration with the Germans during World War II by Jonas Turkow
and Adolf Berman
. Władyslaw Szpilman said in the court to hear of her collaboration in "aryan" Warsaw during the war. Marek Edelman
(Kommendant of the Ghetto Uprising in Warsaw) said on 5.5.1945 (before the end of the war) that he knew of the collaboration of Wiera Gran with the Gestapo. He knew also that a death sentence was imposed against her by the Home Army (Armia Krajowa - AK), but Gran was not found, and therefore it did not come to an enforcement. Similar information reported by Irena Sendlerowa AK Wiera Gran later emigrated to Israel where she had to face similar accusations.
In 1950, she moved to France. She was associated with Maurice Chevalier
's stage theater, "Alhambra". She also worked with Charles Aznavour
. The first song which made her popular was composed in 1937 by Adolf Kurc (later known as Eddy Courts) to Gran's lyrics. She traveled to Poland in 1965. Some of her best known songs include "List", "Wir tańca nas porwał", "Gdy odejdziesz", "Trzy listy", "Fernando", "Cicha jest noc", "Varsovie de mon enfance", "Ma Patrie" and "Mazowiecki wiatr".
of collaboration while in the Warsaw Ghetto
and later, outside of the Ghetto on the "aryan" side of the wall - in the Hotel Polski. In 1947, the Citizen's Court of the Central Committee of Polish Jews (Sąd Obywatelski przy Centralnym Komitecie Żydów Polskich) heard the case and Gran was found not guilty in 1949 (the case was dropped by the Committee's lawyers for lack of incriminating evidence).
The Jewish Historical Institute (Żydowski Instytut Historyczny) in Warsaw holds documents from that period. In Israel, she was also accused of collaboration with German Gestapo by Jonas Turkow
, Adolf Berman
and Pesach Burstein
and boycotted. She attempted to clear her name in courts there but the trial was finally suspended in 1982 causing her to lose the case.
In her book Sztafeta Oszczerców published in 1980 in Paris, Gran gives her own account of events and argues her innocence accusing Jonas Turkow
of collaboration with Gestapo. Irena Sendlerowa says in 1983 as a member of the AK (National Army): "Wiera Gran - was a cabaret actress in the ghetto. She also appeared on the so-called "Aryan" side in "Cafe Mocca" in the Marszalkowska street, and worked with Leon Skosowski, Adam Zurawin, Koenig, Wlodarski, Mark Rozenberg and Franciszaka Manowna for the Gestapo. Adam Zurawin Skosowski and Leon were sentenced to death in 1943 by the Polish and Jewish underground movement. Skosowskis sentence was carried out in Warsaw by the members of underground organizations. Zurawin escaped. After the shooting of Skosowski, Wiera Gran hid in Babice (Boernerowo) under the name - Jezierska." This information and the underground army (AK) reports were not known to the courts in 1946-47, when deliberating over Wiera Gran's guilt.., It is proven that her husband, Kazimierz Jezierski at the time was employed by the Polish Ministry of State Security.Antoni Marianowicz, at this time 16-years old, considers the accusations to be profoundly idiotic, but Marianowicz says himself in his book, that he stayed most of the wartime outside of the ghetto in the "aryan" Warsaw.
Marianowicz claims Wiera Gran was a "singer and only a singer" and was known to him for her philanthropy.
A similar statement is made by journalist Joanna Szczęsna in Gazeta Wyborcza Szczęsna posits that the accusations against Gran were based on personal animosities between Gran and Jonas Turkow
and Władyslaw Szpilman. Joanna Szczęsna in Gazeta Wyborcza informs that Gran accuses Szpilman and Polanski
of planning to kill Wiera Gran. It is possible that Władyslaw Szpilman saw Gran in person collaborating with the Gestapo "13" - a Jewish department of the Gestapo in the Warsaw Ghetto. Gran was very closely related to some policemen and members of the "13". She was described in the book "The Pianist" by Władyslaw Szpilman as Mrs K. in the chapter "A Fine Gesture by Mrs K". Szczęsna quotes, from documents preserved in the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, statements made by witnesses such as Jerzy Jurandot
, Krystyna Żywulska and Izabela Czajka-Stachowicz , all of whom claimed that the accusations against Wiera Gran were based on hearsay.
Wiera Gran had a low alto voice even in early 1934, when at the age of 17 when - using the pseudonym Sylvia Green - she made her first recording, the tango Grzech. She sang in the Cafe Paradis in Warsaw in the early 1930s. While most of her recordings are in the Polish language, she sang in Yiddish in the movie On a heym (Without a home) with Shimon Dzigan
Shimon Dzigan
Shimon Dżigan was a Yiddish comedian. His father was a soldier in the Russian military. After the outbreak of the first world war Dzigan was apprenticed to a tailor to help the family make ends meet....
and Israel Shumacher
Israel Shumacher
Israel Shumacher was a Yiddish comedian who worked together with Shimon Dzigan, thus forming "Dzigan and Shumacher", one of the most famous Yiddish comic duos in the 20th century. Israel Shumacher first met Shimon Dzigan at the revolutionary Jewish theater in Łódź, Poland...
.
She escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
during 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...
. In 1947, she was accused in Poland of collaboration with the Germans during World War II by Jonas Turkow
Jonas Turkow
Jonas Turkow was born in 1898 in Warsaw, Poland and died in 1987 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was an actor, stage manager, director and writer.He was the brother of the actor Zygmunt Turkow, the actor and writer Icchak Turkow and the journalist Marek Turkow, and husband of the famous actress Diana...
and Adolf Berman
Adolf Berman
-Biography:Born in Warsaw under the Russian Empire , Berman attended the University of Warsaw, where he earned a PhD in philosophy...
. Władyslaw Szpilman said in the court to hear of her collaboration in "aryan" Warsaw during the war. Marek Edelman
Marek Edelman
Marek Edelman was a Jewish-Polish political and social activist and cardiologist.Before World War II, he was a General Jewish Labour Bund activist. During the war he co-founded the Jewish Combat Organization. He took part in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, becoming its leader after the death of...
(Kommendant of the Ghetto Uprising in Warsaw) said on 5.5.1945 (before the end of the war) that he knew of the collaboration of Wiera Gran with the Gestapo. He knew also that a death sentence was imposed against her by the Home Army (Armia Krajowa - AK), but Gran was not found, and therefore it did not come to an enforcement. Similar information reported by Irena Sendlerowa AK Wiera Gran later emigrated to Israel where she had to face similar accusations.
In 1950, she moved to France. She was associated with Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
's stage theater, "Alhambra". She also worked with Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...
. The first song which made her popular was composed in 1937 by Adolf Kurc (later known as Eddy Courts) to Gran's lyrics. She traveled to Poland in 1965. Some of her best known songs include "List", "Wir tańca nas porwał", "Gdy odejdziesz", "Trzy listy", "Fernando", "Cicha jest noc", "Varsovie de mon enfance", "Ma Patrie" and "Mazowiecki wiatr".
Collaboration case
After the war, in 1945, Gran was accused by Jonas TurkowJonas Turkow
Jonas Turkow was born in 1898 in Warsaw, Poland and died in 1987 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was an actor, stage manager, director and writer.He was the brother of the actor Zygmunt Turkow, the actor and writer Icchak Turkow and the journalist Marek Turkow, and husband of the famous actress Diana...
of collaboration while in the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
and later, outside of the Ghetto on the "aryan" side of the wall - in the Hotel Polski. In 1947, the Citizen's Court of the Central Committee of Polish Jews (Sąd Obywatelski przy Centralnym Komitecie Żydów Polskich) heard the case and Gran was found not guilty in 1949 (the case was dropped by the Committee's lawyers for lack of incriminating evidence).
The Jewish Historical Institute (Żydowski Instytut Historyczny) in Warsaw holds documents from that period. In Israel, she was also accused of collaboration with German Gestapo by Jonas Turkow
Jonas Turkow
Jonas Turkow was born in 1898 in Warsaw, Poland and died in 1987 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was an actor, stage manager, director and writer.He was the brother of the actor Zygmunt Turkow, the actor and writer Icchak Turkow and the journalist Marek Turkow, and husband of the famous actress Diana...
, Adolf Berman
Adolf Berman
-Biography:Born in Warsaw under the Russian Empire , Berman attended the University of Warsaw, where he earned a PhD in philosophy...
and Pesach Burstein
Pesach Burstein
Pesach "Peishachke" Burstein , born in Warsaw, was an Israeli-American comedian, singer, coupletist, and director of Yiddish vaudeville/theater. His wife Lillian Lux, and son Mike Burstyn are also actors.-Early years:...
and boycotted. She attempted to clear her name in courts there but the trial was finally suspended in 1982 causing her to lose the case.
In her book Sztafeta Oszczerców published in 1980 in Paris, Gran gives her own account of events and argues her innocence accusing Jonas Turkow
Jonas Turkow
Jonas Turkow was born in 1898 in Warsaw, Poland and died in 1987 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was an actor, stage manager, director and writer.He was the brother of the actor Zygmunt Turkow, the actor and writer Icchak Turkow and the journalist Marek Turkow, and husband of the famous actress Diana...
of collaboration with Gestapo. Irena Sendlerowa says in 1983 as a member of the AK (National Army): "Wiera Gran - was a cabaret actress in the ghetto. She also appeared on the so-called "Aryan" side in "Cafe Mocca" in the Marszalkowska street, and worked with Leon Skosowski, Adam Zurawin, Koenig, Wlodarski, Mark Rozenberg and Franciszaka Manowna for the Gestapo. Adam Zurawin Skosowski and Leon were sentenced to death in 1943 by the Polish and Jewish underground movement. Skosowskis sentence was carried out in Warsaw by the members of underground organizations. Zurawin escaped. After the shooting of Skosowski, Wiera Gran hid in Babice (Boernerowo) under the name - Jezierska." This information and the underground army (AK) reports were not known to the courts in 1946-47, when deliberating over Wiera Gran's guilt.., It is proven that her husband, Kazimierz Jezierski at the time was employed by the Polish Ministry of State Security.Antoni Marianowicz, at this time 16-years old, considers the accusations to be profoundly idiotic, but Marianowicz says himself in his book, that he stayed most of the wartime outside of the ghetto in the "aryan" Warsaw.
Marianowicz claims Wiera Gran was a "singer and only a singer" and was known to him for her philanthropy.
A similar statement is made by journalist Joanna Szczęsna in Gazeta Wyborcza Szczęsna posits that the accusations against Gran were based on personal animosities between Gran and Jonas Turkow
Jonas Turkow
Jonas Turkow was born in 1898 in Warsaw, Poland and died in 1987 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was an actor, stage manager, director and writer.He was the brother of the actor Zygmunt Turkow, the actor and writer Icchak Turkow and the journalist Marek Turkow, and husband of the famous actress Diana...
and Władyslaw Szpilman. Joanna Szczęsna in Gazeta Wyborcza informs that Gran accuses Szpilman and Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
of planning to kill Wiera Gran. It is possible that Władyslaw Szpilman saw Gran in person collaborating with the Gestapo "13" - a Jewish department of the Gestapo in the Warsaw Ghetto. Gran was very closely related to some policemen and members of the "13". She was described in the book "The Pianist" by Władyslaw Szpilman as Mrs K. in the chapter "A Fine Gesture by Mrs K". Szczęsna quotes, from documents preserved in the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, statements made by witnesses such as Jerzy Jurandot
Jerzy Jurandot
Jerzy Jurandot, born Jerzy Glejgewicht , Polish poet, dramatist, satirist and songwriter....
, Krystyna Żywulska and Izabela Czajka-Stachowicz , all of whom claimed that the accusations against Wiera Gran were based on hearsay.
Recordings
- Gdy odejdziesz composer Stanisław Ferszko
- Ciemna dziś noc Polish words by Julian TuwimJulian TuwimJulian Tuwim , sometimes used pseudonym "Oldlen" when writing song lyrics. He was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, of Jewish parents, and educated in Łódź and Warsaw where he studied law and philosophy at Warsaw University...
to the Russian Tyomnaya Noch by Nikita Bogoslovski - the Lambeth Walk