Emanuel Schlechter (pseudonyms Eman, Olgierd Lech) (Emanuel Szlechter) (9 October 1904 – 1943) was born and died in

Lwów 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 ...

. He was a

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the l ...

artist,

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

, writer, satirist, translator, composer and director. His father was a house painter in Lwów. The family name of his mother was Begeleiter. Emanuel's brother was Emil Henryk Szlechter (1906-1995),A. Redzik, Emil Henryk Szlechter (1906–1995) – w dwudziestą rocznicę śmierci, "Palestra" 2015, nr 1-2, pp. 216. an expert in the laws of Sumeria, Babylonia and Assyria. When Szlechter was 14 years old, he joined the ''Małopolskie Oddziały Armii Ochotniczej'' (Lesser Poland's Volunteer Army) and during summer 1920 he participated in the

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

of Lwów.Lerski, p. 351. After passing his matura exam around 1923 he studied law at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lwów and worked briefly in a law firm. His earliest lyrics were written for Leon Borunski's songs, staged at the ''Morskie Oko'' theater's ''Parada gwiazd'' show in 1930, performed and recorded by Syrena Rekord star

Kazimierz Krukowski Kazimierz Krukowski (born 2 February 1901 in Łódź — died 24 December 1984 in Warsaw), professionally known as Lopek, was a Polish cabaret performer and writer, revue and film actor. Career He performed songs and monologues by famous poets and ...

.http://www.bibliotekapiosenki.pl/Schlechter_Emanuel Biblioteka Piosenki biography of Emanuel Schlechter

Musical career

In 1931, Schlechter created the Lwów Academic Theatre ''Złoty pieprzyk (Golden mole)''. One of his first revues, ''Co słychać w wielkim świecie (What's going on in the big world)'' included his first hit song, ''Żołnierska brać''. He performed as a singer in the Lwów cafes of ''Musa'' and ''Roma'', accompanied by the pianist Julius Gabla. He also wrote columns for newspapers. Around 1932, he moved permanently 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 officiall ...

. In 1933, he wrote the screenplay and songs for the first Polish film operetta ''Każdemu wolno kochać'' (Everyone is allowed to love), directed by

Mieczysław Krawicz Mieczysław Krawicz (2 February 1893, Warsaw – 17 September 1944, Warsaw) was a Polish film director from Warsaw. Life He was born on 1 January 1893 in Warsaw, in the Catholic family of Juliusz and Antonina (1857–1941). He graduated from hi ...

. He worked at the ''Rex'' theater writing songs, revues, sketches, scenarios, satirical songs and monologues. Between 1933 and 1935 he recorded as a singer and guitarist, as himself or using the nickname of Olgierd Lech. He made a series of "Jewish" records including like ''Awremałe'' (Avremele), ''Śpiewak sobotni'', ''Rabi Eli-Melech'' (Rabbi Elimelech), ''Alef Bet'' (Oyfn Pripetchok), and ''Żydowskie wesele'' (Yidishe khasene). One of the most popular songs by Schlechter was ''Srulek''. He worked with the ''Columbia'' and ''Odeon'' orchestras. In 1934 he wrote for ''La Bohème'' theater, collaborating with

Konrad Tom Konrad Tom (9 April 1887 – 9 August 1957), born Konrad Runowiecki, a Polish Jewish actor, writer, singer and director, born in Warsaw. Wrote song lyrics in Polish and in Yiddish for stage, film and cabaret, including '' szmonces''. His wife was ...

. He wrote lyrics of many songs featured in Polish pre-war films including ''Parada rezerwistów'', ''Kobiety na sprzedaż'', ''Trójka hultajska'', ''Kocha, lubi, szanuje'', ''Czy Lucyna to dziewczyna?'', ''Co mój mąż robi w nocy'', ''Jaśnie pan szofer'', ''Dodek na froncie'', ''Jego wielka miłość'', ''Skłamałam'', ''Książątko'', ''Wyrok życia'', ''Robert i Bertranda'', and ''Czarna perła''. He wrote screenplays of ''Antek policmajster'' (with Konrad Tom and

Michał Waszyński Michał Waszyński (29 September 1904 – 20 February 1965) was first a film director in Poland, then in Italy, and later (as Michael Waszynski) a producer of major American films, mainly in Spain. Known for his elegance and impeccable man ...

), ''Będzie lepiej'' (with

Ludwik Starski Ludwik Starski (born Ludwik Kałuszyner, 1 March 1903 in Łódź – died 29 February 1984 in Warsaw) was a Polish Jewish lyricist, sound engineer and screenwriter of the twentieth century. He was the father of the set designer Allan Starski, wh ...

and Michał Waszyński), ''Jadzia'' (with Karol Jarossy and Mieczysław Krawicz), ''Ja tu rządzę'' (with Ludwik Starski and Mieczysław Krawicz), ''Królowa przedmieścia'' (with Jerzy Nel and

Eugeniusz Bodo Eugeniusz Bodo (born Bohdan Eugène Junod; 28 December 1899 7 October 1943) was a film director, producer, and one of the most popular Polish actors and comedians of the interwar period. He starred in some of the most popular Polish film produc ...

), ''Piętro wyżej'' (with Ludwik Starski, Eugeniusz Bodo, and Leon Trystan), ''Szczęśliwa trzynastka'' (with Ludwik Starski, Aleksander Pękalski, and Marian Czauski), and ''Włóczęgi'' (with Konrad Tom and Michał Waszyński). Starting in 1935 he worked with the ''Cyrulik Warszawski'' and ''Małe Qui pro Quo'' theaters. Some of his hits included: * ''Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą (I Have a Date with Her at Nine), music by ''

Henryk Wars Henryk Wars (born Henryk Warszawski, after 1947 Henry Vars; 29 December 1902 – 1 September 1977) was a Polish composer. He composed scores for 50 films during the interwar period in Poland and 60 more in the United States. He composed dozen ...

'', * ''Sex-appeal'', music by

, * ''Nie ja—nie ty! (Neither me, nor you!)'', music by

Henryk Gold Henryk Gold (19029 January 1977 in New York City, United States) was a Polish-born American composer, arranger, and orchestra director. He was born in Warsaw to a musical family: his mother Helena was of the famous Warsaw klezmer Melodysta fami ...

, sung by Schlechter himself, * ''Nic o tobie nie wiem... (I Know Nothing About You)'', music by

, sung by

Mieczysław Fogg Mieczysław Fogg (born Mieczysław Fogiel; 30 May 1901, Warsaw3 September 1990, Warsaw) was a Polish singer and artist. His popularity started well before World War II and continued well into the 1980s. He had a characteristic way of staying ...

, * ''Co bez miłości wart jest świat '' with

, music by

, * ''Ty i ja (You And I)'' with Fred Scher, * ''Ja mam czas, ja poczekam (I have time, I can wait)'' music by Mieczysław Mierzejewski, * ''Odrobinę szczęścia w miłości (A bit of luck with love)'', music by

Jerzy Petersburski Jerzy Petersburski (1895–1979) was a Jewish Polish pianist and composer of popular music, renowned mostly for his Tangos, some of which (such as '' To ostatnia niedziela'', ''Już nigdy'' and ''Tango Milonga'') were milestones in popularizat ...

sung by

Stefan Witas Stefan Witas (born 21 June 1908 in Warsaw, died 18 August 2006 in Warsaw), also known as Stefan Nowita, was a Polish actor and singer. In 1933, he began performing at places of entertainment in Warsaw, then in theatrical stages in many Polish cit ...

, * ''Młodym być i więcej nic (To be young and nothing more)'', music by

Ivo Wesby Ivo Wesby (1902–1961), born Ignacy Singer in Kraków, Poland, was a Polish composer and director. He studied music in Vienna. In the 1920s he was music director of various revi-teaters (revue theaters) in Warsaw, and in the last years before th ...

orchestra

Death

In September 1939, during the German and Soviet

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 af ...

Schlechter was working at the Lwów Teatr Miniatura as an actor, writer and director. He was known for his anti-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

s. However, after the Germans occupied Lwów in 1941 during

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, Schlechter was sent to the Lviv ghetto. He was then transferred to the

Janowska concentration camp Janowska concentration camp ( pl, Janowska, russian: Янов or "Yanov", uk, Янівський табір) was a German Nazi concentration camp combining elements of labor, transit, and extermination camps. It was established in September 194 ...

where he was part of its artistic life, participating in literary evenings. Schlechter most likely died in Janowska in 1942, along with his wife and young son, although it is possible that he managed to survive until 1943.

Filmography

Screenplays

Parada rezerwistów ''Parade of the Reservists'' (''Parada rezerwistów'') is a 1934 Polish film directed by Michał Waszyński. Cast *Adolf Dymsza ... The Chief * Jerzy Kobusz * Józef Kondrat ... The Private * Tola Mankiewiczówna ... Barbara *Stanisław ...

(1934) * Co mój mąż robi w nocy? (1934) * Antek policmajster (1935) * Amerykańska awantura (1936) * Bedzie lepiej (1936) * Jadzia (1936) * Królowa przedmieścia (1937) * Kochaj tylko mnie (1937) * Strachy (1938) * Szczesliwa 13-ka (1938) * '' Robert and Bertram'' (1938) * Piętro wyżej (1938) * Serce matki (1938) * Ja tu rządzę (1939) *'' Wlóczegi'' (1939)

Dialogues

* Wyrok życia (1933) * Każdemu wolno kochać (1933) * Czy Lucyna to dziewczyna (1934) * Jaśnie pan szofer (1935) * Jego wielka miłość (1935) *

Dodek na froncie ''Dodek na froncie'' is a 1936 Polish comedy film directed by Michał Waszyński. Cast *Adolf Dymsza ... Dodek Wedzonka * Alicja Halama ... Zofia Majewska * Mieczysław Cybulski ... Lt. Jerzy Majewski * Helena Grossówna ... Zuzia, the m ...

(1936) *Będzie lepiej (1936) *Królowa przedmieścia (1937) *Robert i Bertrand (1938)

Films with his song lyrics

* Czarna perła (1934) *Kochaj tylko mnie (1937) *Piętro wyżej (1938)

References

Bibliography

* A. Redzik, Jak twórca szlagierów wszech czasów nie został adwokatem – rzecz o Emanuelu Schlechterze (1904–1943). W 110. rocznicę urodzin i 70. rocznicę śmierci, „Palestra” 2014, nr 1–2, s. 245–255. * A. Redzik, Emil Henryk Szlechter (1906–1995) – w dwudziestą rocznicę śmierci, "Palestra" 2015, nr 1–2, s. 216. *

External links

* * Music by

, sung by

Tadeusz Olsza Tadeusz Olsza (3 December 1895 – 1 June 1975), born Tadeusz Blomberg, was a Polish film and stage actor, cabaret singer, dancer and director born in Warsaw. From 1915 to 1917, he taught vocal classes at Warsaw Conservatory. Starting in 1921 he p ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlechter, Emanuel 1904 births 1943 deaths Jewish cabaret performers Musicians from Lviv Polish cabaret performers Jewish composers Jewish songwriters People who died in the Lwów Ghetto 20th-century Polish male singers 20th-century comedians 20th-century Polish screenwriters Male screenwriters 20th-century Polish male writers People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Austro-Hungarian Jews Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Film people from Lviv Child soldiers Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust