Irena Górska-Damięcka (20 October 1910 – 1 January 2008) was a Polish actress, mise-en-scène designer, and theater director.

Biography

Born in Ashmyany in the Russian Empire (now Belarus), her mother Alina Górska was forbidden to act after marrying, but used the money from her dowry to build a home with a cinema inside. After graduating from high school, Górska went to theatre school in Vilnius. She made her stage debut in 1936, aged 26, in

Juliusz Osterwa Juliusz Osterwa, born Julian Andrzej Maluszek (Kraków, 23 June 1885 – 10 May 1947, Warsaw), was a renowned Polish actor, theatre director and art theoretician active in the interwar period. He was the founder of Theatre Reduta, the first experim ...

's experimental group Reduta. She met

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation ...

in a cafe while reciting poetry, and they developed a relationship that lasted for two years; they continued to correspond throughout their lives after separating. Bekanntmachung

In 1940, Górska married actor Dobieslaw Damięcki, who was married when they met to actress and dancer Jadwiga Hryniewiecka. The following year, the actor and Nazi collaborator

Igo Sym Karol Juliusz "Igo" Sym (3 July 1896 – 7 March 1941) was a actor and collaboration, collaborator with Nazi Germany. He was killed in Warsaw by members of the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish resistance movement. Early career ...

was killed by members of the Polish resistance movement after he named

Hanka Ordonówna Hanka Ordonówna or Ordonka (born Maria Anna Pietruszyńska; 4 August 1902 in Warsaw – 8 September 1950 in Beirut) was a Polish singer, dancer and actress. She began her career at the age of 16 in a Warsaw cabaret named Sfinks and then the thea ...

to the Gestapo. Following Sym's assassination, over 100 actors were rounded up by the Gestapo, and the people of Warsaw were given three days to turn over the perpetrators. Górska-Damięcka and her husband, under suspicion though innocent, fled the city two hours before the Nazis searched their home; 21 of those arrested were executed. A bounty of 3,000 Polish złoty had been issued for their arrest. The couple lived through the rest of World War II in

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (), often referred to as Ostrowiec, is a city in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland, with 66,258 residents (as of 2021). The town is one of historic centers of Polish industry and metallurgy, a ...

, changing hiding places and under false documents, using the name Bojanowski. In 1953, the People's Council of the

Koszalin Voivodeship Koszalin Voivodeship may also refer to: *Koszalin Voivodeship (1950–1975) *Koszalin Voivodeship (1975–1998) The Koszalin Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of ...

decided to establish a theater company and tapped Górska-Damięcka as its artistic director. In January 1964, the premiere of Aleksander Fredro's ''Maiden Vows'' opened under her direction.

Personal life

Górska's sons

Damian Damięcki Damian ( la, links=no, Damianus) may refer to: *Damian (given name) *Damian (surname) *Damian Subdistrict, in Longquanyi District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China See also *Damiani, an Italian surname *Damiano (disambiguation) *Damien (disambiguation) *Dam ...

and Maciej Damięcki, and her grandchildren, Grzegorz Damięcki,

Mateusz Damięcki Mateusz Damięcki (born 19 May 1981) is a Polish actor. He has appeared in more than 30 films and television shows since 1993. Selected filmography *'' Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'' (2005) *''Jutro idziemy do kina ''Jutro idziemy do kina'' ...

, and

Matylda Damięcka Matylda Damięcka (born 10 June 1985) is a Polish actress who works primarily in television. Family Damięcka comes from an acting family. Her grandparents were Dobiesław Damięcki and Irena Górska-Damięcka, and her parents are Maciej Dami ...

, became actors as well. She died on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

, 2008, aged 98, in Skolimów, Poland.

Selected filmography

* '' Serce matki'' (1938) * ''

How to Be Loved ''How to be Loved'' ( pl, Jak być kochaną) is a Polish film released in 1963, directed by Wojciech Has. The film, based on a novel of the same name by Kazimierz Brandys, examines the emotional casualties of war, which is perhaps the central th ...

'' (1963)

Bibliography

* Irena Górska-Damięcka, ''Wygrałam życie'', 1997 (autobiography) ().

References

External links

* 1910 births 2008 deaths People from Ashmyany People from Oshmyansky Uyezd Polish film actresses Polish stage actresses Polish theatre directors Polish women theatre directors 20th-century Polish actresses Artists from Białystok {{Poland-actor-stub