Adam Wawrosz (24 December 1913 – 18 December 1971) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

poet, writer, and activist from the

Zaolzie Trans-Olza ( pl, Zaolzie, ; cs, Záolží, ''Záolší''; german: Olsa-Gebiet; Cieszyn Silesian: ''Zaolzi''), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (Polish: ''Śląsk Zaolziański''), is a territory in the Czech Republic, which was disputed betwee ...

region of

Cieszyn Silesia Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Cieszyński ; cs, Těšínské Slezsko or ; german: Teschener Schlesien or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český Tě ...

. He is considered the most important writer of the folk literature of Cieszyn Silesia. He was born in the village of Końska (now part of

Třinec Třinec (; pl, Trzyniec ; german: Trzynietz) is a city in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants and is the least populated statutory city in the country. The city is an ...

) to a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

's family as the youngest of nine children. His father died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and his mother was left with seven children. After the death of his father Wawrosz was raised in the village of Tyra, where he also attended local Polish elementary school. Wawrosz later graduated from a course for tailors in Sucha Górna, and from a course in

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a perform ...

in Stare Troki. After 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 opposin ...

Wawrosz volunteered in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

and fought in the

Independent Operational Group Polesie Independent Operational Group Polesie (''Samodzielna Grupa Operacyjna Polesie'', SGO Polesie) was one of the Polish Army Corps (Operational Groups) that defended Poland during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. It was created on 11 September 1939 and ...

of general

Franciszek Kleeberg Franciszek Kleeberg (1 February 1888, in Tarnopol – 5 April 1941, near Dresden) was a Polish general. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army before joining the Polish Legions in World War I and later the Polish Army. During the German Invasion ...

in the battle of Kock in October 1939. He was later jailed by Nazis and subsequently incarcerated in Gross-Born,

Sachsenhausen Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

and

Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

.Radłowska-Obrusnik 1997, 259. After World War II he worked in

Třinec Iron and Steel Works Třinec Iron and Steel Works (TŽ) ( cs, Třinecké železárny, pl, Huta trzyniecka) is a producer of long rolled steel products in Třinec, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. TŽ produces over a third of all steel produced in the Cze ...

. Wawrosz was an active member of the

Polish Cultural and Educational Union Polski Związek Kulturalno-Oświatowy (commonly known as PZKO) ( cs, Polský kulturně-osvětový svaz) (meaning "Polish Cultural and Educational Union") is a Polish organization in the Czech Republic. It represents the Polish minority in the C ...

and in 1958–1962 was an artistic director of its Puppet Theatre "Bajka". Wawrosz wrote in literary

and

Cieszyn Silesian dialect The Cieszyn Silesian dialect or Teschen Silesian dialect (Cieszyn Silesian: ''cieszyńsko rzecz''; pl, gwara cieszyńska or '; cs, těšínské nářečí; Silesian: ''ćeszyński djalekt'') is one of the Silesian dialects. It has its roots ...

. Texts written in dialect form a backbone of his works. The ones written in literary Polish are mostly documentary in character, as some of them were written in concentration camps. The ones written in dialect focus on the life of ordinary people of Cieszyn Silesia, their life, culture and traditions. Wawrosz wrote poetry, prose and also plays for amateur theatres. Wawrosz's poetry from the concentration camps can be seen for example in the poem ''Lato'' (Summer) from ''Niezapominajki'' (Forget-me-nots) poetry collection.

Works

* ''Niezapominajki'' (1954, 1968) - poetry collection * ''Na śćmiywku'' (1959) - prose * ''Z naszej nolepy'' (1969) - prose * ''Z Adamowej dzichty'' (1977) - posthumous selection of his poetic and prosaic works

Footnotes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wawrosz, Adam 1913 births 1971 deaths Writers from Třinec Polish people from Zaolzie Polish military personnel of World War II Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Dachau concentration camp survivors 20th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish male writers