Krystyna Zofia Feldman (1 March 1916 – 24 January 2007) was a Polish

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

Life and career

Born in

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now

Lviv, Ukraine Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

) to a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mother, Katarzyna Sawicka, an opera singer and a

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 ...

father, Ferdynand Feldman, an actor. Her father died in 1919 when she was 3 years old. At that time, Lemberg (

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

) returned to the reborn

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 populous ...

and her mother began to educate Krystyna at the Lwów acting studio run by the actor Janusz Strachocki. In 1934, she graduated from the gymnasium named

Queen Jadwiga Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig ( hu, Hedvig), was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. She was the youngest daughter of Louis the Great, ...

in Lwów; She passed her secondary school-leaving examination extramural in order to pass the exams to the theater school. After three years of study, in 1937, she graduated from the State Institute of Theater Arts 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 ...

. Soon after, she made her debut at the Grand Theatre in Lwów. In 1939, she was engaged to the theater in

Łuck Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (oblast, province) and the administrative center o ...

in Poland (now Lutsk, Ukraine), but after the outbreak of

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 ...

, she returned to Lwów, which was under Soviet occupation from October 6, 1939 (''read:

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

''). In 1942 she was sworn in as a soldier of the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

. She was a liaison there. She returned to the stage of the Lwów theater in 1944 after the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

entered the city. At that time, she played the male role of Staszek (book character) in Wyspiański's

Wesele ''The Wedding'' ( pl, Wesele) is a defining work of Polish drama written at the turn of the 20th century by Stanisław Wyspiański. It describes the perils of the national drive toward self-determination following the two unsuccessful uprisings ...

(''The Wedding'' - the book from 1901), directed by

Aleksander Bardini Aleksander Bardini (17 November 1913 – 30 July 1995) was a Polish theatre and opera director, actor, notable professor at the State Theatre School in Warsaw. He appeared in 30 films between 1937 and 1994. Selected filmography * '' Long Is ...

. After the separation of Lwów from Poland in 1945 and the incorporation of the city into the USSR, Feldman moved to the new borders of

- she settled in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

. She starred in theatre productions there until 1944, and later in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

, and

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 ...

. In 1980, the Security Service initiated an operational reconnaissance case against the actress, codenamed "Aranżerka" (''the feminine version of the word arranger,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: aranżer''). Krystyna Feldman was harassed after she signed a letter defending the autonomy of the

Adam Mickiewicz University Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

in Poznań. Despite the control of correspondence, frequent searches in the apartment and many difficulties in the development of her career, the actress couldn't be broken. Since 1983, she performed at the Teatr Nowy in

. Feldman made her film debut in '' Celuloza'' (1953), directed by

Jerzy Kawalerowicz Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz (19 January 1922 – 27 December 2007) was a Polish film director and politician, having been a member of Polish United Workers' Party from 1954 until its dissolution in 1990 and a deputy in Polish parliament since ...

. Her career continued with various supporting roles. She was best known for a male role of an elderly disabled painter

Nikifor Nikifor (21 May 1895, Krynica, Austria-Hungary – 10 October 1968, Folusz, Poland), also known as Nikifor Krynicki, born as Epifaniy Drovnyak (Epifaniusz Drowniak) 1, was a Lemko naïve painter. Nikifor painted over 40,000 pictures – on s ...

in ''

Mój Nikifor ''My Nikifor'' ( pl, Mój Nikifor) is a 2004 Polish drama film directed by Krzysztof Krauze. It is based on the life of Nikifor, a folk and naïve painter. Cast *Krystyna Feldman as Nikifor *Roman Gancarczyk as Marian Włosiński * Lucyna Male ...

'' (''My Nikifor''), for which she won the award for best actress in 2004 at the Polish Film Festival in

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...

and numerous awards at other festivals in the world: # Best Actress at 4th International Film Festival -

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

2006 # Best European Film at 8th

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

International Film Festival 2005 # Best Actress at 50th

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

International Film Festival 2005 # Best Film at The 41st

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

International Film Festival 2005 # Best Film at The 18th Panorama Of European Cinema -

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

2005 # Best Actor/Actress at International Film Festival -

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

2005 # Best Actress at International Actor's Film Festival in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

- Stozhary 2005 # Grand Prix, Best Actress and Best Film at 40th International Film Festival

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...

2005Zebra Movie Studio website
/ref> She also appeared as the grandmother in the TV sitcom ''

Świat według Kiepskich ''Świat według Kiepskich'' (''The World According to the Kiepskis'', "kiepski" could be roughly translated to the English term ''poor'' or ''shoddy'') is a Polish television sitcom that premiered on 16 March 1999 on Polsat. The show follows th ...

''. This role brought her great fame and popularity. Krystyna Feldman died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in her flat in

, aged 90. She was a long-term heavy smoker.

References

*
Biography at Wirtualna Polska

External links

Biography
at culture.pl 1916 births 2007 deaths Actors from Poznań Deaths from cancer in Poland Deaths from lung cancer Actors from Lviv Polish film actresses Polish people of Jewish descent Polish stage actresses Polish television actresses 20th-century Polish actresses Recipient of the Meritorious Activist of Culture badge {{Poland-actor-stub