Adolf Fierla (16 January 1908 – 8 September 1967) 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 ...

writer and poet from the region of

Cieszyn Silesia Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Cieszyński ; cs, Těšínské Slezsko or ; german: Teschener Schlesien or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český T� ...

Life and career

He was born 16 January 1908 in Orlová to a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

's family and graduated from the local Juliusz Słowacki Polish Gymnasium. Fierla later studied

Polish studies Polish studies, or Polonistics ( pl, filologia polska, or ''polonistyka'') is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates the Polish language and Polish literature in both historic and present-day forms. In the United State ...

at the Jagiellonian University 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 ...

and Slavic studies in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. He later worked as a teacher of

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...

at Polish elementary schools in

Zaolzie Trans-Olza ( pl, Zaolzie, ; cs, Záolží, ''Záolší''; german: Olsa-Gebiet; Cieszyn Silesian: ''Zaolzi''), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia ( Polish: ''Śląsk Zaolziański''), is a territory in the Czech Republic, which was disputed betwe ...

and eventually at the Polish Gymnasium in Orlová. Adolf Fierla Dachau Arolsen Archives DocID10043150

When

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 opposing ...

broke out Fierla fled like many other Poles to the east. After his return

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

authorities jailed him in 1940 and incarcerated in Dachau and later in

Mauthausen-Gusen Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 further subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germany ...

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

. Released from the camp, he worked as a worker in Pietwałd. In 1944 Fierla was forced to join the German Army and was captured in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

by the British forces. Fierla then stayed in the

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, initially in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he taught in

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...

for Polish girls in

Porto San Giorgio Porto San Giorgio is a ''comune'' (town or municipality) in the Province of Fermo, in the Marche region of Italy. It has approximately 15,700 inhabitants (2021) and it is located on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. History Already famous at the tim ...

; in

, where he taught in one of Polish gymnasiums, and then from 1958 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He continued his literary life there cooperating with Polish press and several other organizations of which he was a member, e.g. Zrzeszenie Ewangelików Polaków w Wielkiej Brytanii (Association of Polish Protestants in the United Kingdom). Fierla died on 8 September 1967 in London and is buried in the Finchley district of London. Fierla wrote his works in literary

and also in

Cieszyn Silesian dialect The Cieszyn Silesian dialect or Teschen Silesian dialect (Cieszyn Silesian: ''cieszyńsko rzecz''; pl, gwara cieszyńska or '; cs, těšínské nářečí; Silesian: ''ćeszyński djalekt'') is one of the Silesian dialects. It has its roots ...

. He focused mainly on the life of the people of Cieszyn Silesia, especially those of the

Beskids The Beskids or Beskid Mountains ( pl, Beskidy, cs, Beskydy, sk, Beskydy, rue, Бескиды (''Beskydŷ''), ua, Бескиди (''Beskydy'')) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west ...

mountain ranges and coal basin around the city of

Karviná Karviná (; pl, Karwina, , german: Karwin) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Olza River in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia. Karviná is known as an indust ...

.Hierowski 1947, 69. His works includes many religious motives. Fierla also translated the works of Czech poet

Jiří Wolker Jiří Wolker () (29 March 1900 – 3 January 1924) was a Czech poet, journalist and playwright. He was one of the founding members of KSČ - Communist Party of Czechoslovakia - in 1921. Life He was born in Prostějov, into a cultural fam ...

to Polish. Fierla's typical motive of his native coal mining region can be observed in the ''Kopalnie'' (Coal Mines) poem from his debut poetry collection ''Przydrożne kwiaty'' (Roadside Flowers):

Works

* ''Przydrożne kwiaty'' (1928) — poetry collection * ''Ondraszek'' (1930/1931) — novel * ''Cienie i blaski'' (1931) — poetry collection * ''Hałdy i inne opowiadania górnicze'' (1931) — short stories collection * ''Dziwy na groniach'' (1932) — poetry collection * ''Kopalnia słoneczna'' (1933) — poetry collection * ''Kolędy beskidzkie'' (1935) * ''Kamień w polu'' (1938) — short stories collection * ''Poezje religijne'' (1971)

Footnotes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fierla, Adolf 1908 births 1967 deaths Jagiellonian University alumni People from Orlová Polish people from Zaolzie Polish Lutherans Polish educators German Army personnel of World War II Dachau concentration camp survivors Mauthausen concentration camp survivors 20th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish male writers Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century Lutherans German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom