Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (; May 20, 1919 − July 4, 2000) was a Polish writer, journalist, essayist, World War II underground fighter, and political dissident abroad during the period of Soviet and communist rule. He is best known for writing a personal account of life in the Soviet

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

entitled '' A World Apart'', first published in 1951 in London.

Biography

Gustaw Herling-Grudziński was born in

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

into a Jewish-Polish merchant family of Jakub (Josek) Herling-Grudziński and his wife Dorota (''née'' Bryczkowska).Zdzisław Kudelski
''Gustaw Herling-Grudziński – wątek żydowski''
Rzeczpospolita, July 5, 2003. His mother died in 1932 of typhoid. His studies of

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

at the Warsaw University were interrupted by the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

at the outbreak of World War II. In late 1939 under the brutal occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Herling-Grudziński co-founded one of the earliest

underground resistance Underground Resistance (commonly abbreviated to UR) are an American musical collective from Detroit, Michigan. Producing primarily Detroit techno since 1990 with a grungy four-track musical aesthetic, they are also renowned for their militant ...

organizations, PLAN ("Polska Ludowa Akcja Niepodległościowa"- "Polish People's Independence Action", or "Polish Popular Independence Action") associated politically with the Polish independent socialist left. He traveled to then Soviet occupied

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

and in March 1940 was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

for attempting to cross the Soviet-Lithuanian border and routinely sentenced to five years of hard labour on "espionage" charges like all Polish intellectuals. Imprisoned in Vitsebsk and two

forced labor camps in Yertsevo and

Kargopol Kargopol () is a town and the administrative center of Kargopolsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on both sides of the Onega River, several miles north of Lake Lacha, in the southwestern corner of the oblast. Population: ...

in Arkhangelsk Region for 2 years, he was released in 1942 under the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement. He joined Gen.

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

' Army ( Polish II Corps) and later fought in North Africa and in Italy, taking part in the

battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

. For his valor in combat he was decorated with the ''

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

'', Poland's highest

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medallion. Civil decorations award ...

. In 1947 he co-founded and initially co-edited the political and cultural magazine '' Kultura'', then published in Rome. When the magazine moved to Paris, he settled first in London and finally in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy, where he married Lidia, a daughter of the philosopher

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce, ( , ; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics. A Cultural liberalism, poli ...

.Premio Napoli alla memoria
Gustaw Herling, la letteratura come eterna trincea
He also wrote for the Italian ''Tempo Presente'' run by Nicola Chiaromonte and

Ignazio Silone Secondino Tranquilli (1 May 1900 – 22 August 1978), best known by the pseudonym Ignazio Silone (, ), was an Italian politician, novelist, essayist, playwright, and short-story writer, world-famous during World War II for his powerful anti-fasci ...

and for various dailies and other periodicals. He died in Naples.

''A World Apart''

Herling-Grudziński's most famous book, '' A World Apart'', is a harrowing personal account of the nature of the Soviet communist system. It was translated into English by Joseph Marek (pen-name of

Andrzej Ciołkosz Andrzej Ciołkosz (19291952), pen name Joseph Marek, was a young Polish language writer, literary critic and translator. He is best known for his Polish-English translation of '' A World Apart: The Journal of a Gulag Survivor'', written by a renow ...

) and published with an introduction by

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

in 1951 (the 2005 edition was introduced by Anne Applebaum). By describing life inside the

labor camp system of the Soviet

, Herling provided an in-depth analysis of the crimes against humanity under Communist regimes written 10 years before

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Soviet and Russian author and Soviet dissidents, dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag pris ...

's ''

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich ''One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich'' (, ) is a short novel by the Russian writer and Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first published in November 1962 in the Soviet literary magazine ''Novy Mir'' (''New World'').Bill Johnston and published in 2003 as ''The Noonday Cemetery and Other Stories''. (
Volcano and Miracle
' By Gustaw Herling, 1996 Viking Penguin.
The Noonday Cemetery and Other Stories
' By Gustaw Herling, 2003 New Directions)

Awards

Herling-Grudziński was the winner of many literary prizes: ''Kultura'' (1958), ''Jurzykowski'' (1964), ''Kościelskis'' (1966), ''The News'' (1981), the Italian Premio Viareggio prize, the international ''Prix Gutenberg'', and French Pen-Club. In 1998 he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle. Herling-Grudzinski monument - Yertsevo 2009

Herling-Grudzinski monument - Yertsevo 2009

In September 2009 a monument to him was unveiled in Yertsevo, where he had been imprisoned.

Books

;Available in English: * '' A World Apart: Imprisonment in a Soviet Labor Camp During World War II'', Penguin Books, reprint edition, 1996, pp. 284, * ''Volcano and Miracle: A Selection from the Journal Written at Night'', Penguin Books, reprint edition, 1997, pp. 288, . * ''The Island; Three Tales'', Penguin Books, reprint edition, 1994, pp. 160, . * ''The Noonday Cemetery and Other Stories'', New Directions Publishing, 2003, pp. 256, .

Citations

References

*
Herling on Gardens of the Righteous Worldwide Committee – Gariwo
* – McFarland, 200
reprint
(Google Books search inside). *

' – '' A World Apart'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Herling-Grudzinski, Gustaw 1919 births 2000 deaths Polish Gulag detainees Polish male writers Polish male essayists Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Polish resistance members of World War II Polish Army officers University of Warsaw alumni People from Kielce 20th-century Polish Jews Polish deportees to Soviet Union Polish people detained by the NKVD 20th-century Polish essayists Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) People associated with Kultura (magazine)