Halina Kwiatkowska ( Królikiewiczówna, 25 April 192112 November 2020) was a Polish actress, educator, and writer. She performed in ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...

'' at the

National Stary Theatre The Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theater in Kraków (Polish: ''Narodowy Stary Teatr im. Heleny Modrzejewskiej'') is one of the oldest public stages in Poland and a national institution of culture, first opened in 1781. It was named after re ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, and starred in the films ''

Ashes and Diamonds ''Ashes and Diamonds'' ( Polish original: ''Popiół i diament'', literally: ''Ash and Diamond'') is a 1948 novel by the Polish writer Jerzy Andrzejewski. The story takes place during the last few days of World War II in Europe, and describes th ...

'', '' The Doll'', and ''

And Along Come Tourists ''And Along Come Tourists'' is a 2007 German dramatic film that was written and directed by Robert Thalheim. The principal characters are a young German doing civilian service at the former German Auschwitz concentration camp and an elderly ca ...

''.

Personal life

Kwiatkowska was born in

Bochnia Bochnia (german: Salzberg) is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted for its salt mine, the oldest functioning i ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. She attended

Wadowice Wadowice (; ger, Frauenstadt – Wadowitz) is a town in southern Poland, southwest of Kraków with 19,200 inhabitants (2006), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). W ...

High School, where she met Karol Wojtyla (later

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

). She last saw Wojtyla in 2002, after Wojtyla made a special effort to see her despite suffering from ill health. Kwiatkowska denied rumours that she and Wojtyla had been a couple in their early years, after the 2005 miniseries '' Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'' portrayed Kwiatkowska as a former lover of the Pope. Kwiatkowska was married to ; they married shortly after the end of the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. Kwiatkowska died in

Konstancin-Jeziorna Konstancin-Jeziorna is a town in Piaseczno County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 17,566 inhabitants (as of March 2011, according to GUS). It is located about south of downtown Warsaw and is a part of the metropolitan area of that city. Th ...

. She was interred in the

Rakowicki Cemetery Rakowicki Cemetery (English: ; pl, Cmentarz Rakowicki) is a historic necropolis and a cultural heritage monument located on 26 Rakowicka Street in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It lies within the Administrative District No. 1 ''Stare Miasto'' ...

, Kraków.

Career

Kwiatkowska started acting at the

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre Juliusz Słowacki Theatre ( pl, Teatr im. Juliusza Słowackiego w Krakowie) is a 19th-century Eclectic theatre-opera house in the heart of Kraków, Poland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Erected in 1893, it was modeled after some of the best ...

. Her first performance was ''Król Duch'' (''King Ghost'') in 1941. During the

Nazi occupation of Poland Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

, Kwiatkowska and Wojtyla acted together at the

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

. Kwiatkowska later worked at the Powszechny Theatre until 1947, when she joined the Kraków Theatre. In 1954, she acted in ''

'' at the

. In total, she played 64 different roles in theatre productions in Kraków. Kwiatkowska starred in nine films, including ''

'' in 1958, '' The Doll'' in 1968, and the 2007 German film ''

''. For about 40 years Kwiatkowska taught at the State Higher School of Theatre in Kraków. There, she and Ewa Otwinowska wrote two plays: ''Ogłoszenie matrymonialne'' (''Marriage Announcement'') and ''Sytuację bez wyjścia'' (''A Situation Without a Way Out''). She wrote the book ''Porachunki z Pamięcia'' (''Reckoning with Memory''), which won a Kraków book of the month award. For many years, until 2011, she was Chair of the Main Collegiate Court of the (ZASP).

Awards and decorations

Her major awards include: *1955:

Medal of the 10th Anniversary of People's Poland The Medal of the 10th Anniversary of People's Poland ( Polish: ''Medal 10-lecia Polski Ludowej'') is a former Polish civil state award established by the Council of State on 23 May 1954 to recognize services to the state. It was created to mark ...

*1977:

Meritorious Activist of Culture The honorary badge Meritorious Activist of Culture ( pl, Zasłużony Działacz Kultury) was a departmental decoration of Poland in Arts awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland to persons and organizations ...

decoration *1981: Knight's Cross of the

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 ...

Halina Kwiatkowska
''

Dziennik Polski ''Dziennik Polski'' is a Polish newspaper. It was established in 1945 as a regional newspaper for Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern ...

'', no.28, 2006 *2007: Gold

Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

, *2008: Honorary award from the Polish Culture Foundation in 2008. *2018: Medal on the 100th Anniversary of ZASP-SPATiF ( Association of Polish Stage Artists ) Nagrody
''Sceny Polskie'', No.1, 2018, p.32

References

External links

Filmography
at filmpolski.pl
Halina Kwiatkowska
at Encyklopedia Teatru Polskiego {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwiatkowska, Halina 20th-century Polish actresses Polish stage actresses Polish film actresses People from Bochnia 1921 births 2020 deaths Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989) Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Pope John Paul II 21st-century Polish actresses