Tony Halik, born Mieczysław Antoni Sędzimir Halik (January 24, 1921 – May 23, 1998) was a Polish film operator, documentary film-maker, author of travel books, traveller, explorer, and polyglot (speaking

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French,

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Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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, Guarani and

Xavante The Xavante (also Shavante, Chavante, Akuen, A'uwe, Akwe, Awen, or Akwen) are an indigenous people, comprising 15,315 individuals within the territory of eastern Mato Grosso state in Brazil. They speak the Xavante language, part of the Jê lang ...

). Halik was born in

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

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 populou ...

. During

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 ...

, as a Polish citizen under German occupation he was forcibly drafted into the

Kampfgeschwader 40 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 40 (KG 40) was a Luftwaffe medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II, and the primary maritime patrol unit of any size within the World War II Luftwaffe. It is best remembered as the unit operating a majority of the four-eng ...

, a Luftwaffe squadron, and served in France, where in 1944 he deserted and joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. For his actions, he was awarded the French Croix de guerre. After the war, he married Pierrette Andrée Courtin in 1946 and in 1948 they settled down in Argentina. Soon afterwards he started working as a photojournalist, film operator, and correspondent for various Argentinian media. Since 1956 he worked as a correspondent for

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. In 1974 Halik met Elżbieta Dzikowska, his later life partner. Around this date he moved back to Poland. In 1976, along with

Elżbieta Dzikowska Elżbieta Dzikowska (Międzyrzec Podlaski, 19 March 1937 as Józefa Górska) is a Polish art historian, sinology, sinologist, explorer, director and operator of documentary films, the author of many books, television programs, radio broadcasts, art ...

and Prof. Edmundo Guillén, he reached the legendary

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

capital Vilcabamba. For over twenty years, Halik and Dzikowska hosted over three hundred TV shows and series for

Polish Television Telewizja Polska S.A. (; "Polish Television"; TVP), also known in English as the public Polish Television is a Polish state media corporation. It is the largest Polish television network, although viewership has been declining in the 2010s. Since ...

.Pieprz i wanilia (online at TVP).
/ref> He also created over four hundred documentary films, wrote thirteen books and many press articles. He died 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 ...

, Poland.

References

Bibliography

https://culture.pl/en/article/180000-kilometres-of-adventure-one-polish-cameramans-hunt-for-the-perfect-shot
- Tony Halik short biography - article based on biography by Mirosław Wlazły
Tu byłem. Tony Halik
('been here. Tony Halik') - detailed biography by Mirosław Wlekły, Agora 2017, in Polish * 200 días de Mato Grosso : relato de las aventuras en las selvas de Brasil. by Antonio Halik, in Spanish

by Antonio Halik, in Spanish * ttps://books.google.com/books?id=N4U_AAAAIAAJ 180.000 kilómetros de aventuras relato vívido y apasionante de un viaje a través de las tres Américas by Antonio Halik, in Spanish 1921 births 1998 deaths Polish explorers People from Toruń Polish travel writers Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) {{explorer-stub

See also

References

Bibliography