Andrzej Szczypiorski (; 3 February 1928 – 16 May 2000) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He served as a member of the Polish legislature, and was a Solidarity activist interned during the military crackdown of 1981. He was a secret police agent in the 1950s.

Life

He was son of , a political activist, historian and mathematician, and Jadwiga née Epsztajn. Szczypiorski had a sister Wiesława (1924–1945). He spent his childhood in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. During

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 opposing ...

Szczypiorski studied at an underground university called the "flying university" due to the regular changing of its location for safety. He was a partisan of the Polish People’s Army, and a participant of the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

. After the Uprising he was arrested and condemned to imprisonment at the

Sachsenhausen concentration camp 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 prisoner ...

, where he survived until 1945. In 1946–1947 he studied political science in the Warsaw Consular Diplomatic Academy. In 1948–1956, Szczypiorski worked as an editor in the Katowice Silesian Theater. During this period, in 1952, he made his literary debut in the magazine "Życie Literackie" using the pseudonym 'Maurice S. Andrews' and was inducted into the

Polish Writers' Union The Polish Writers' Union or the Union of Polish Writers ( pl, Związek Literatów Polskich, ZLP) was established at a meeting of Polish writers and activists in Lublin behind the Soviet front line, during the liberation of Poland by the Red Arm ...

. He won the

Austrian State Prize for European Literature The Austrian State Prize for European Literature (german: Österreichischer Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur), also known in Austria as the European Literary Award (''Europäischer Literaturpreis''), is an Austria Austria, , bar, Ö ...

in 1988. In 1956–1958, he was selected to serve in the Polish Embassy to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, after which he returned to work as an editor on the radio and for publications. He later served as a member of the Polish legislature. He was also a

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. The United Nations Intern ...

. Prior to his death, Szczypiorski converted to

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, and is buried in the

Protestant Reformed Cemetery in Warsaw The Evangelical Reformed Cemetery in Warsaw ( pl, Cmentarz ewangelicko-reformowany) is a historic Calvinist Protestant cemetery in Wola, a district in the west of Warsaw, Poland. Details The cemetery was established in 1792 and is located in the ...

. After his death it became known that Szczypiorski was a collaborator of the Polish communist secret police in the years of Stalinism in Poland.

Publications

Source: * 1961: ''Czas przeszły'' (The Past Time), Iskry, Warsaw. * 1966: ''Podróż do krańca doliny'' (Journey to the End of the Valley), Iskry, Warsaw. * 1967: ''Karol Świerczewski – Walter. W 20 rocznicę śmierci'', ZG ZBoWiD, Krajowa Komisja Dąbrowszczaków: „Sport i Turystyka”, Warsaw. * 1968: ''Niedziela, godzina 21.10: wybór felietonów radiowych'', 1964–1967, Czytelnik, Warsaw. * 1971: ''Msza za miasto Arras'', Czytelnik, Warsaw. * 1980: ''Trzej ludzie w bardzo długiej podróży'' (Three People On A Very Long Journey), Czytelnik, Warsaw. * 1983: ''Z notatnika stanu wojennego'', Polonia, London. * 1986: ''Początek'' (The Origin), Instytut Literacki, Paris. * 1990: ''Amerykańska whiskey i inne opowiadania'' (American Whiskey and Other Stories), Kantor Wydawniczy SAWW, Poznań. * 1991: ''Noc, dzień i noc'' (Night, Day and Night), Kantor Wydawniczy SAWW, Poznań. * 1994: ''Autoportret z kobietą'' (Autoportrait with a Woman), Kantor Wydawniczy SAWW, Poznań. * 1999: ''Gra z ogniem'' (Playing with Fire), Sens, Poznań.

Awards and honours

* 1972: Polish PEN-Club Prize * 1988:

* 1989:

Nelly Sachs Prize The Nelly Sachs Prize (German: ''Nelly Sachs Preis'') is a literary prize given every two years by the German city of Dortmund. Named after the Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Nelly Sachs, the prize includes a cash award of €15,000. It honour ...

* 1994: Herder Prize * 1995: Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts * 1995:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* 1997:

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

by the President of the Republic for his services to Poland

Notes

References

University of Silesia in Katowice University Gazette Article, 2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szczypiorski, Andrzej 1928 births 2000 deaths Writers from Warsaw Polish Calvinist and Reformed Christians Converts to Calvinism Polish male writers Members of the Senate of Poland 1989–1991 Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Herder Prize recipients Armia Ludowa members Warsaw Uprising insurgents Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Child soldiers in World War II

Life

Publications

Awards and honours

See also

Notes

References