Czesław Jacek Centkiewicz (October 18, 1904 – July 10, 1996) was a Polish engineer, explorer, writer and journalist. He is best known for a number of books he authored (or co-authored with his wife Alina Centkiewicz) on history of exploration of polar areas and the daily life of Inuit.

Biography

Czesław Jacek Centkiewicz was born on October 18, 1904, 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 ...

to Stanisław and Stanisława née Bresteczer. In 1924 he graduated from Saint Kazimierz Gymnasium and then the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

in Belgium. An engineer by trade, until World War II he worked at the State Meteorological Institute in Warsaw. With that institution he organised and led the first Polish expedition to the Bear Island in 1932. Soon afterwards he also published his first books: an account of saving the

SS Chelyuskin SS ''Chelyuskin'' ( rus, «Челю́скин», p=tɕɪˈlʲuskʲɪn) was a Soviet steamship, reinforced to navigate through polar ice, that became ice-bound in Arctic waters during navigation along the Northern Maritime Route from Murmansk to ...

's crew (1934) and a reportage on Anaruk, a young Eskimo boy (1937). 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 opposin ...

he remained in

and after the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

of 1944 he was arrested by the Germans and deported to the

Neuengamme Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in Northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, th ...

concentration camp 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 ...

. After the war he became a director of a large power plant cluster in Lower Silesia (in

Jelenia Góra Jelenia Góra (pron. ; Polish: ; german: Hirschberg im Riesengebirge; Exonym: ''Deer Mountain''; szl, Jelyniŏ Gōra) is a historic city in southwestern Poland, within the historical region of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is situated in the Low ...

) and at the State Hydrological-Meteorological Institute. In 1950 he returned to Warsaw where he continued to promote the exploration of polar areas and published numerous books on that topic. During one of his lectures on polar exploration he "re-discovered"

Jan Nagórski Alfons Jan Nagórski (1888–1976), also known as ''Ivan Iosifovich Nagurski'', was a Polish engineer and pioneer of aviation, the first person to fly an airplane in the Arctic and the first aviator to perform a loop with a flying boat. Biog ...

, a Polish polar explorer who had been presumed dead since 1917. Most of his books were co-authored by his wife Alina. He died on July 10, 1996, in Warsaw, and was buried at the Wólka Węglowa cemetery in Warsaw. As many of his books were targeted at younger readers, in 1970 he received the

Order of the Smile The Order of the Smile (Polish: ''Order Uśmiechu'') is an international award given by children to adults distinguished in their love, care and aid for children. History The idea of the Order of the Smile was established in 1968 by the Polis ...

. He was also awarded with numerous state medals. His ''Anaruk, chłopiec z Grenlandii'' (Anaruk, a boy from Greenland) remains an obligatory book for children in Polish schools.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Centkiewicz, Czeslaw 1904 births 1996 deaths Polish explorers Polish male writers Polish travel writers Explorers of the Arctic 20th-century Polish engineers Recipient of the Meritorious Activist of Culture badge Recipients of the Medal of the 10th Anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland Recipients of the Medal of the 40th Anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland