Sławomir Mrożek (29 June 1930 – 15 August 2013) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

dramatist, writer and

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

. Mrożek joined the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

during the reign of

Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...

in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

, and made a living as a political journalist. He began writing plays in the late 1950s. His theatrical works belong to the genre of

absurdist fiction Absurdist fiction is a genre of novels, plays, poems, films, or other media that focuses on the experiences of characters in situations where they cannot find any inherent purpose in life, most often represented by ultimately meaningless acti ...

, intended to shock the audience with non-realistic elements, political and historic references, distortion, and

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

. In 1963 he emigrated to Italy and France, then further to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 1996 he returned to

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 settled in

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 2008 he moved back to France.Krystyna Dąbrowska
Sławomir Mrożek.
Culture.pl, September 2009. He died in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

at the age of 83.

Postwar period

Mrożek's family lived in

during World War II. He finished high school in 1949 and in 1950 debuted as a political hack-writer on ''

Przekrój ''Przekrój'' (; ''Cross-section'') was the oldest Polish weekly newsmagazine in operation, established in 1945 in Kraków. After temporary closure in 2013, it was bought by photographer Tomasz Niewiadomski and subsequently relaunched in December ...

''. In 1952 he moved into the government-run Writer's House ( ZLP headquarters with the restricted canteen). In 1953, during the Stalinist terror in postwar Poland, Mrożek was one of several signatories of an

open letter An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...

from ZLP to Polish authorities supporting the persecution of Polish religious leaders imprisoned by the Ministry of Public Security. He participated in the defamation of Catholic priests from Kraków, three of whom were condemned to death by the Communist government in February 1953 after being groundlessly accused of treason (see the Stalinist show trial of the Kraków Curia). Their death sentences were not enforced, although Father Józef Fudali died in unexplained circumstances while in prison.. ''

Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation ( pl, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state resea ...

''. Retrieved 11 October 2011.David Dastych
"Devil's Choice. High-ranking Communist Agents in the Polish Catholic Church."
''Canada Free Press'' (CFP), 10 January 2007.Dr Stanisław Krajski

''Katolicka Gazeta Internetowa'', 2001-12-01.Damian Nogajski
WINY MAŁE I DUŻE – CZYLI KTO JEST PASZKWILANTEM.
''Polskiejutro.com'', No. 227; 11 September 2006.Katarzyna Kubisiowska (interview with Sławomir Mrożek)

''

Rzeczpospolita () is the official name of Poland and a traditional name for some of its predecessor states. It is a compound of "thing, matter" and "common", a calque of Latin ''rés pública'' ( "thing" + "public, common"), i.e. ''republic'', in Engli ...

'', archiwum. Mrożek wrote a full-page article for the leading newspaper in support of the verdict, entitled "Zbrodnia główna i inne" (The Capital Crime and Others), comparing death-row priests to degenerate SS-men and Ku-Klux-Klan killers.. ''

'' (IPN). Retrieved 1 November 2011. He married Maria Obremba living in

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

and relocated to

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 ...

in 1959. In 1963 Mrożek travelled to Italy with his wife and decided to

defect A defect is a physical, functional, or aesthetic attribute of a product or service that exhibits that the product or service failed to meet one of the desired specifications. Defect, defects or defected may also refer to: Examples * Angular defec ...

together. After five years in Italy, he moved to France and in 1978 received French citizenship. After his defection, Mrożek turned critical of the Polish communist regime. Later, from the safety of his residence in France, he also protested publicly against the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Long after the collapse of the Soviet empire, he commented thus on his fascination with Communism: His first wife, Maria Obremba, died in 1969. In 1987 he married Susana Osorio-Mrozek, a Mexican woman. In 1996, he relocated back to Poland and settled in Kraków. He had a stroke in 2002, resulting in

aphasia Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in t ...

, which took several years to cure. He left Poland again in 2008, and moved to Nice in southern France. Sławomir Mrożek died in Nice on 15 August 2013. Not a religious person by any means, on 17 September 2013 he was buried at the St. Peter and Paul Church in Kraków. The funeral mass was conducted by the

Archbishop of Kraków The Archbishop of Kraków is the head of the archdiocese of Kraków. A bishop of Kraków first came into existence when the diocese was created in 1000; it was promoted to an archdiocese on 28 October 1925. Due to Kraków's role as Poland's politic ...

, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz.Monika Scislowska (17 September 2013)
Polish playwright Slawomir Mrozek buried in Krakow.
Associated Press.

Literary career

Mrożek's first play, ''

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

'', was published in 1958. His first full-length play, ''

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

'' (1965) written about

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

in the style of

Theatre of the Absurd The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post–World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style o ...

, made him, according to Krystyna Dąbrowska, one of the most recognizable Polish contemporary dramatists in the world. It became also Mrożek's most successful play, according to Britannica, produced in many Western countries. In 1975 his second popular play ''Emigranci'' (The Émigrés),August Grodzicki
"Bardzo polska tragikomedia."
''Życie Warszawy'' nr 5; 7 Jan 1976 a bitter and ironic portrait of two Polish emigrants in Paris, was produced by director

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

at the ''Teatr Stary'' in Kraków. Mrożek traveled to France, England, Italy, Yugoslavia and other European countries. After the military crackdown of 1981 Mrożek wrote the only play he ever regretted writing, called ''Alfa'', about the imprisoned Solidarity leader

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...

who became

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...

after the collapse of the Soviet empire. ''See also'' "

fałszywka Fałszywka ( en, false document or forgery) is a Polish socio-political term describing counterfeit top secret files and fake police reports produced by the Ministry of Public Security in the People's Republic of Poland. Their purpose was to und ...

". After the introduction of martial law in Poland, productions of Alfa were banned, along with two of Mrożek's other plays, The Ambassador and Vatzlav. The later play, in

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, in the city known as the birth and home to

Solidarity (Polish trade union) Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subseq ...

and its leader

Lech Walesa Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Pozna� ...

, Theater Wybrzeze courageously premiered " Vatzlav". These were the times that the country had food shortages, curfews and a police hour. Many actors were interned including actor Jerzy Kiszkis who played the title role of " Vatzlav". A

born actress, activist and Solidarity ''Solidarność'' (Solidarity)supporter

Beata Pozniak Beata or Beate is a female given name that occurs in several cultures and languages, including Italian, German, Polish, and Swedish, and which is derived from the Latin ''beatus'', meaning "blessed".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Beate" Retrie ...

, was asked to play Justine, a character that symbolized

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

in theaters were enforced. It was noted that in this 1982 Gdańsk production, the censor stopped Mrozek's play not allowing many gestures made by actors on stage, including Justine's father wearing a beard, because he reminded her too much of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

. (Reference: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/world-theatre-day_b_9548710) It was not without reason that Mrozek's plays were often classified as absurd, since the times that everyone lived in were often referred to as absurd.

List of works

List of plays by Mrożek (below) is based on Małgorzata Sugiera's "Dramaturgia Sławomira Mrożka" (Dramatic works of Sławomir Mrożek): *Professor / The professor''Source:'' Jerzy Afanasjew, ''Sezon kolorowych chmur. Z życia Gdańskich teatrzyków 1954–1964'' (The season of colorful clouds – from the life of Gdańsk's small theatres 1954–1964), Gdynia 1968. *Policja / ''

'', "Dialog" 1958, nr 6 *Męczeństwo Piotra Oheya / The Martyrdom of Peter Ohey, "Dialog" 1959, nr 6 *Indyk / The Turkey, "Dialog" 1960, nr 10 *Na pełnym morzu / At Sea, "Dialog" 1961, nr 2 *Karol / Charlie, "Dialog" 1961, nr 3 *Strip-tease, "Dialog" 1961, nr 6 *Zabawa / The Party, "Dialog" 1962, nr 10 *Kynolog w rozterce / Dilemmas of a dog breeder, "Dialog" 1962, nr 11 *Czarowna noc / The magical night, "Dialog" 1963, nr 2 *Śmierć porucznika / The death of the lieutenant, "Dialog" 1963, nr 5 *Der Hirsch, trans. Ludwik Zimmerer (in:) STÜCKE I, Berlin (West), 1965 (no Polish version) *''

'', "Dialog" 1965, nr 11 *Racket baby, trans. Ludwik Zimmerer (in:) STÜCKE I, Berlin (West), 1965 (no Polish version) *Poczwórka / The quarter, "Dialog" 1967, nr 1 *Dom na granicy / The house on the border, "Dialog" 1967, nr 1 *Testarium, "Dialog" 1967, nr 11 *Drugie danie / The main course, "Dialog" 1968, nr 5 *Szczęśliwe wydarzenie / The fortunate event, "Kultura" 1971, nr 5 *Rzeźnia / The slaughterhouse, "Kultura" 1971, nr 5 *Emigranci / The Émigrés, "Dialog" 1974, nr 8 *Garbus / The Hunchback, "Dialog" 1975, nr 9 *Serenada / The Serenade, "Dialog" 1977, nr 2 *Lis filozof / The philosopher fox, "Dialog" 1977, nr 3 *Polowanie na lisa / Fox hunting, "Dialog" 1977, nr 5 *Krawiec / The Tailor (written in 1964) "Dialog" 1977, nr 11 *Lis aspirant / The trainee fox, "Dialog" 1978, nr 7 *Pieszo / On foot, "Dialog" 1980, nr 8 *'' Vatzlav'' (written in 1968), published by the Instytut Literacki (Literary Institute in Paris) *Ambassador / The Ambassador, Paris 1982 *Letni dzień / A summer day, "Dialog" 1983, nr 6 *Alfa / Alpha, Paryz, 1984 *Kontrakt / The contract, "Dialog" 1986, nr 1 *Portret / The portrait, "Dialog" 1987, nr 9 *Wdowy / Widows (written in 1992) *Milość na Krymie / Love in the Crimea, "Dialog" 1993, nr 12 *Wielebni / The reverends, "Dialog" 2000, nr 11 *Piękny widok / A beautiful sight, "Dialog" 2000, nr 5

English translations

*''Tango''. New York: Grove Press, 1968. *''The Ugrupu Bird'' (selected stories from: ''Wesele w Atomicach'', ''Deszcz'' and an excerpt from ''Ucieczka na południe''). London: Macdonald & Co., 1968. *''Striptease'', ''Repeat Performance'', and ''The Prophets''. New York: Grove Press, 1972. *''Vatzlav''. London: Cape, 1972. *''The Elephant'' (Słoń). Westport: Greenwood Press, 1972.

Notes

External links