Józef Kisielewski (26 January 1905 – 20 July 1966) was a Polish writer, journalist and right-wing politician of the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

. Kisielewski was born in

Mostyska Mostyska ( ; , both in the ' form), is a city in Yavoriv Raion, Lviv Oblast (region) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Mostyska urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The city is located in western portion of Sian Lowland near ...

. He studied Polish Language at the Adam Mickiewicz University in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. After graduation, in 1929, he worked as a secretary in a Roman Catholic weekly ''Przewodnik Katolicki'', then, in 1931 became editor-in-chief of the ''Tecza'' monthly. Also, his articles were published in a right-wing weekly Prosto z mostu. In the years 1937 and 1938 Kisielewski went on a series of trips across then-northern Germany, from Berlin, through

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, and

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

to Leba. In the summer of 1939, soon before the outbreak of the Second World War, his book '' Ziemia Gromadzi Prochy'' (''Earth Gathers the Ashes'') was published. The book is a report of his trips, it critically analyzes everyday life of prewar

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and accentuates Slavic past of large parts of Germany. Kisielewski was aware of the growing power of Nazi military machine, he correctly predicted that war would start soon. The book was banned by German occupiers of Poland, it was reprinted by Polish anti-Nazi resistance in 1943 and the publication was widely popular. In September 1939 Jozef Kisielewski, who was well aware that the Germans wanted to capture and kill him for the book, escaped to

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, then to France and Great Britain. Between 1946 and 1949 he published the ''Przegląd Polski'' weekly, then became director of the Roman Catholic Publishing House "Veritas". Also, he co-produced magazines ''Życie'' and ''Poland and Germany''. He married Irish art historian and former SOE officer, Erica O'Donnell, in 1958. They had two sons. He died of a heart attack in Bandon,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He is buried in Gunnersbury Cemetery, London.

References

* "Ocalona garstka popiołu - Pamięci Józefa Kisielewskiego." - 1966 "Dziennik Polski" Marian Czuchnowski * "W kręgu przyjaźni" - A. Rogalski Warszawa 1983, s. 69-88 * "Wielkopolski Słownik Biograficzny" Krystyna Sroczyńska 1981

External links

Short bio of Kisielewski, from an Internet Encyclopedia WIEM
1905 births 1966 deaths Polish male writers People from Mostyska Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Polish exiles Polish expatriates in France {{Poland-writer-stub