Józef Hen (born Józef Henryk Cukier on 8 November 1923), is a Polish novelist, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and reporter of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

origin.

Biography

Early life

Cukier was born on 8 November 1923 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 ...

. As a child he contributed to ''The Little Review'', a Friday supplement to an adult daily, written entirely by children and founded by the educator

Janusz Korczak Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit (22 July 1878 or 1879 – 7 August 1942), was a Polish Jewish educator, children's author and pedagogue known as ''Pan Doktor'' ("Mr. Doctor") or ''Stary Doktor'' ("Old Doctor"). After spending ma ...

. After the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in September 1939, he remained in Warsaw but fled the capital in November to escape the

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

. He spent the war in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Despite his good health, he was not accepted into the Anders' Army in exile. In 1944, Cukier joined the rival Polish People's Army in exile and also published his poem "Łódź Wierna" (Faithful Łódź) in the magazine '' Voice of the Soldier''. During the war, Cukier lost his father, who was killed in 1945 in Buchenwald. His brother, Moses, disappeared in the Soviet Union, and his sister Mirka died in 1942. His mother and sister Stella survived the war. In 1944, Cukier adopted the pen name "Hen", which in time began to serve as his legal name. Immediately after the war, he worked as editor of the weekly '' Polish Soldier''.

Career

In 1947, Hen published his first book, ''Kiev, Tashkent, Berlin'', an autobiographical tale of his travels. He subsequently worked as a reporter and wrote short stories, historical fiction, and novels for adults and adolescents. He also wrote screenplays for films that he sometimes directed, including ''Buses Like Turtles''. Some of his works were made into films in the 1960s, including '' The Cross of Valour'', '' No One Is Calling'', ''

April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. April is commonly associated with ...

'', and '' Law and the Fist''. He also wrote the script for the film '' An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God'' and the historical series '' Royal Dreams'', which he later published in book form. In 1967–69, Hen was attacked in print by a group called the " Partisans". At that time, he began a collaboration with ''

Kultura ''Kultura'' (, ''Culture'')—sometimes referred to as ''Kultura Paryska'' ("Paris-based Culture")—was a leading Polish-émigré literary-political magazine, published from 1947 to 2000 by ''Instytut Literacki'' (the Literary Institute), ini ...

'', a Polish journal in exile. It published three of Hen's stories under the pen name Korab—"Western", "Dayan's Eye", "The Twin"). Some of Hen's writings include the children's novel ''The Battle of Goat Court'' (1955); the war novel ''April'' (1960); the short story collection ''The Cross of Valour'' (1964); the historical novel ''The Crime, a Folk Tale'' (1975); two autobiographical novels, ''Before the Great Pause'' and ''Resistance'', which document his childhood before World War II and during the siege of Warsaw in 1939; a volume of essays titled ''I Fear Not Sleepless Nights'' (1987); and the memoir ''Nowolipie Street'' (1991). He also wrote belletristic biographies, among them '' I, Michel de Montaigne'' (1978); ''The Clown, a Great Man'' (1998), a comprehensive sketch of the character and activities of Tadeusz Boy-Zelenski; and ''My Friend the King'' (2003), about

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

Personal life

Hen lives in Warsaw. From his marriage to Irene (née Lebewal) (1922–2010), he has two children: Magdalena (b. 1950) and writer Maciej Hen (b. 1955). He was awarded the Cross of Valour and the Commander's Cross with Star of the

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

(1998). In 2009, he received the City of Warsaw Literary Award for his works.Literary Award of Warsaw of 2009
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Selected works

* ''The Battle of Goat Court'', 1955 * ''Kiev, Tashkent, Berlin'', Wydawnictwo MON, 1958 * ''Kwiecień'',

Czytelnik The ''Czytelnik'' Publishing House ( pl, Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza „Czytelnik”) is a publishing company in Poland. It was established in 1944 behind the Soviet front line as the ''Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza "Czytelnik"'' ("Czytelnik" Publishin ...

, 1961 * ''The Cross of Valour'', 1964 * ''Mist'', PIW, 1970 * ''The Crime, a Folk Tale'', 1975 * ''I, Michel de Montaigne'', 1978 * ''Theatre of Herod: Before the Great Pause; Resistance'', Czytelnik, 1982 * ''I Fear Not Sleepless Nights'', Czytelnik, 1987, * ''No One Is Calling'', Wyd. Literackie, 1990, * ''Nowolipie Street'', Prospero, Łódź, 1991, , (English translation, DL Books LLC 2012, ) * ''Departure of Aphrodite'', Twój styl, 1995 * ''The Clown, a Great Man'', Wydawnictwo Iskry, 1998, * ''I, Michel de Montaigne ...'', Prószynski i S-ka, 1999, * ''April'', Nowe Wydawnictwo Polskie Ypsylon, Warsaw 2000 * ''My Friend the King'', Wydawnictwo Iskry, 2003, * ''The Silent Among Us,'' Jeden Świat, 2004, * ''Professor T's Notebooks'', PIW 2006, * ''The Law and the Fist'', Świat Literacki, 2006, * ''The Ping-Pong Player'', W.A.B. 2008, * ''Journal for the New Century'', W.A.B. 2009, * ''The Sixth, the Youngest and Other Stories'', W.A.B. 2012, * ''Powrót do bezsennych nocy. Dzienniki'', Sonia Draga, Katowice 2016,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hen, Joseph Writers from Warsaw 1923 births Living people 20th-century Polish Jews 21st-century Polish Jews 20th-century Polish novelists 21st-century Polish novelists Polish male novelists Polish screenwriters Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis 20th-century Polish male writers 21st-century Polish male writers Polish People's Army personnel Polish military personnel of World War II