Katarzyna Janina Łaniewska-Błaszczak (20 June 1933 – 7 December 2020) was a Polish theatre and film actress, opposition activist in the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

, and a political activist since 1989.

Biography

Both of Katarzyna Łaniewska's parents came from

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. Her father was an activist of the co-operative movement and a Polish legionnaire during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, who was considered a "dangerous element" by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and murdered at

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

after he was denounced by a colleague of Belarusian origin. Along with her mother and siblings, she survived the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

, and was sent to the transit camp in

Pruszków Pruszków is a city in east-central Poland, capital of Pruszków County in the Masovian Voivodeship. Pruszków is located along the western edge of the Warsaw metropolitan area. Pruszków is the largest city in the Warsaw metropolitan area outs ...

. Łaniewska and her family returned to Warsaw on 17 January 1945. After the war, she joined the "harcerstwo" (polish version of

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

). In 1955, she graduated from the Theatre Academy in Warsaw, and made her debut in the same year. She was president of the Warsaw branch of the Union of Polish Stage Artists (ZASP) and from 1992 to 2006 served on the Skolimowska Commission of ZASP Board. By September 2013, she was a columnist of the weekly "W Sieci".

Political activities

During her studies, she belonged to the socialist Union of Polish Youth, but as she said, "it is not true, as some are trying to insinuate that I managed the ZMP. It was not like

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

". She then belonged to the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...

. By the end of the seventies, she became involved with the anti-communist opposition. In 1980, she co-founded a branch of

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

at the

Ateneum Theatre The Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw () is a Polish dramatic theatre founded in 1928. It resides in a building erected a year earlier in the interwar Poland as headquarters for the Professional Union of PKP Railway Workers with offices upstairs. Afte ...

. She participated in organizing patriotic concerts and the distribution of underground publications. She worked with

Jerzy Popiełuszko Jerzy Popiełuszko ( born Alfons Popiełuszko; 14 September 1947 – 19 October 1984) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who became associated with the opposition Solidarity trade union in communist Poland. He was murdered in 1984 by three ...

during this period. In the Polish parliamentary elections in 2011, Łaniewska was a nonpartisan candidate to the Senate on behalf of the

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...

party in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. She received nearly 100 thousand votes (nearly 31%) and lost to the

Civic Platform The Civic Platform (, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a Centre-right politics, centre-right liberal conservative political party in Poland. Since ...

party's Barbara Borys-Damięcka with almost 197 thousand. She regularly engaged in activities supporting the Law and Justice Party, and was one of the main speakers on behalf of the organizers of the "March of Freedom and Justice" on 13 December 2015.

Personal life

After her third year of studies, she married Ignacy Gogolewski, with whom she had a daughter, Agnieszka. The marriage broke up after ten years. From 1984 until his death in 2018, her second husband was Andrzej Błaszczak.

Awards

* 1966 –

Cross of Merit (Poland) A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two intersecting lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a saltire in ...

* 1966 – Nagroda CRZZ * 1967 – Badge of the 1000th anniversary of the Polish State * 1970 – Badge for her services for Warsaw * 1970 –

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

* 1975 –

Medal of Merit for National Defence The Medal of Merit for National Defence () is a military decoration, decoration of the Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Ministry of National Defence of Poland. Established 21 April 1966 and revised in 1991, the medal recognizes meritorious s ...

* 1975 – Badge of Merit by the FJN * 1998 – Order of Polonia Restituta * 1999 – Cultural Activist of Merit for publishing the second circulation during the period of martial law* 2006 –

Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis The Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture () or Gloria Artis Medal, is a departmental decoration of Poland in arts awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland to persons and organizations for distinguish ...

* 2007 – Order of Polonia Restituta (for "outstanding achievements in business for democratic transformation in Poland, for her involvement in the struggle for freedom of expression and free media, for achievements undertaken for the benefit of the country and social work").

Theatres

* Polish Theatre in Warsaw – 1955–59 and 1983–95 * Drama Theatre in Warsaw – 1959–62 and 1966–77 *

National Theatre, Warsaw The National Theatre () in Warsaw, Poland, was founded in 1765, during the Polish Enlightenment, by that country's List of Polish monarchs, monarch, Stanisław August Poniatowski. The theatre shares the Grand Theatre, Warsaw, Grand Theatre compl ...

in Warszawie – 1962–66 *

– 1977–83

Filmography

Bibliography

Nota biograficzna w ''Encyklopedii Solidarności''