Irena Górska-Damięcka (20 October 1910 – 1 January 2008) was a Polish actress,

mise-en-scène (; or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in the visual arts through storyboarding, visual themes, and cinematography and in narrative-storytelling through ...

designer, and theater director.

Biography

Born in

Ashmyany Ashmyany or Oshmyany is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus. It is located from Vilnius in Lithuania, and serves as the administrative center of Ashmyany District. The river Ashmyanka passes through the city. As of 2025, it has a population of 16 ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now Belarus), her mother Alina Górska was forbidden to act after marrying, but used the money from her dowry to build a home with a cinema inside. After graduating from high school, Górska went to theatre school in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. She made her stage debut in 1936, aged 26, in

Juliusz Osterwa Juliusz Osterwa, born Julian Andrzej Maluszek (23 June 1885 – 10 May 1947), was a renowned Polish actor, theatre director and art theoretician active in the interwar period. He was the founder of Theatre Reduta, the first experimental stage in Wa ...

's experimental group Reduta. She met

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...

in a cafe while reciting poetry, and they developed a relationship that lasted for two years; they continued to correspond throughout their lives after separating. Bekanntmachung

In 1940, Górska married actor Dobieslaw Damięcki, who was married when they met to actress and dancer Jadwiga Hryniewiecka. The following year, the actor and Nazi collaborator

Igo Sym Karol Juliusz "Igo" Sym (3 July 1896 – 7 March 1941) was a Polish actor and collaborator with Nazi Germany. He was killed in Warsaw by members of the Polish resistance movement. Early career Sym was born in Innsbruck, the son of Anton Sym, ...

was killed by members of the Polish resistance movement after he named

Hanka Ordonówna Hanka Ordonówna or Ordonka (born Maria Anna Pietruszyńska; 4 August 1902 in Warsaw – 8 September 1950 in Beirut) was a Polish singer, dancer and actress. Life She began her career at the age of 16 in a Warsaw cabaret named Sfinks and then ...

to the Gestapo. Following Sym's assassination, over 100 actors were rounded up by the Gestapo, and the people of Warsaw were given three days to turn over the perpetrators. Górska-Damięcka and her husband, under suspicion though innocent, fled the city two hours before the Nazis searched their home; 21 of those arrested were executed. A bounty of 3,000

Polish złoty The złoty (alternative spelling: ''zloty''; Polish: ''polski złoty'', ;The nominative plural, used for numbers ending in 2, 3 and 4 (except those in 12, 13 and 14), is ; the genitive plural, used for all other numbers, is abbreviation: z� ...

had been issued for their arrest. The couple lived through the rest of World War II in

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (), often referred to as Ostrowiec, is a city in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland, with 66,258 residents (as of 2021). The town is one of the historic centers of Polish industry and metallurgy ...

, changing hiding places and under false documents, using the name Bojanowski. In 1953, the People's Council of the Koszalin Voivodeship decided to establish a theater company and tapped Górska-Damięcka as its artistic director. In January 1964, the premiere of

Aleksander Fredro Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet, playwright and Polish authors, author active during Romanticism in Poland, Polish Romanticism in the Partitions of Poland, period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works ...

's ''Maiden Vows'' opened under her direction.

Personal life

Górska's sons Damian Damięcki and

Maciej Damięcki Maciej (Polish pronunciation: ) is a Polish given name, the etymological equivalent of Matthias. Its diminutive forms are Maciek, Maciuś. Namedays according to Polish calendar: 30 January, 24 February, 14 May Maciej may refer to: Arts and ente ...

, and her grandchildren,

Grzegorz Damięcki Grzegorz Damięcki (born 15 November 1967) is a Polish theatre, television, and film actor from Warsaw best known to international audiences for his role in the Netflix series '' The Woods''. Biography Early life Born in Warsaw, Grzegorz Damię ...

Mateusz Damięcki Mateusz Damięcki (born 19 May 1981) is a Polish actor. He has appeared in more than 30 films and television shows since 1993. Selected filmography *'' Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'' (2005) *''Jutro idziemy do kina'' (2007) *'' Remembrance'' (2 ...

, and

Matylda Damięcka Matylda Damięcka (born 10 June 1985) is a Polish actress who works primarily in television. Family Damięcka comes from an acting family. Her grandparents were Dobiesław Damięcki and Irena Górska-Damięcka, and her parents are Maciej Dami� ...

, became actors as well. She died on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

, 2008, aged 98, in

Skolimów Konstancin-Jeziorna is a spa town in Piaseczno County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 17,566 inhabitants (as of March 2011, according to GUS). It is located about south of downtown Warsaw and is a part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. The to ...

, Poland.

Selected filmography

* ''

Serce matki Serce matki (Polish for ''Mother's Heart'') is a 1938 Polish melodrama film directed by Michał Waszyński. Cast * Stanisława Angel-Engelówna as Maria * Irena Malkiewicz as Elżbieta Borzęcka * Lidia Wysocka as Lusia * Ina Benita as Hanka ...

'' (1938) * ''

How to Be Loved ''How to be Loved'' () is a 1963 Polish film, directed by Wojciech Has. The film, based on a novel of the same name by Kazimierz Brandys, examines the emotional casualties of war, which is perhaps the central theme of the Polish Film School ...

'' (1963)

Bibliography

* Irena Górska-Damięcka, ''Wygrałam życie'', 1997 (autobiography) ().

References

External links

* 1910 births 2008 deaths People from Ashmyany People from Oshmyansky Uyezd Polish film actresses Polish stage actresses Polish theatre directors Polish women theatre directors 20th-century Polish actresses Artists from Białystok {{Poland-actor-stub