Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, (;

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

: Jan Bugaj; 22 January 1921 – 4 August 1944) was a Polish poet and

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

soldier, one of the most well known of the Generation of Columbuses, the young generation of Polish poets, of whom several perished in 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 during the German occupation of Poland.

Biography

Baczyński was born 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 ...

into the family of renowned literary critic and soldier of the

Polish Legions in World War I The Polish Legions () was a name of the Polish military force (the first active Polish army in generations) established in August 1914 in Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Trip ...

, Stanisław Baczyński and school teacher Stefania Zieleńczyk. His mother was

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

with

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish roots and was therefore treated as Jewish by the Germans. His uncle, Dr. Adam Zieleńczyk, escaped from the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...

and was killed by Germans in 1943. Baczynski was baptized on 7 September 1922 in Warsaw. As a child, he suffered from

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

, his heart was very weak and he was in constant threat of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. In 1933, he began education at Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Stefana Batorego, he graduated in May 1939. In his class there were future heroes of the Szare Szeregi - Jan Bytnar (''Rudy'') and Tadeusz Zawadzki (''Zośka''). Baczynski debuted as a poet some time in 1938 in ''Strzała'' - a magazine published by the Organization of

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Youth ''Spartakus'', to which he belonged himself. After graduation, he wished to continue his education at Warsaw's Academy of Fine Arts, but the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

ended these plans. During the German and Soviet (until 1941) occupation of Poland, he continued to work with the left-wing underground press, most notably with the "Płomienie" (''Flames'') and " Droga" (''Way'') magazines. At the same time he was a student of

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

at the secret underground Warsaw University and the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

's "Agricola" NCOs School. He took up several jobs, and in 1943 joined Batalion Zośka, after which he gave up studies, committing himself to the Polish resistance activities. In his apartment, he hid several pieces of weaponry, including

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...

s and grenades. On 3rd June 1942, he married Barbara Drapczyńska, a university colleague. The marriage resulted in a set of erotica written by Baczyński, reputedly one of the most notable in the Polish language. In 1942, he gave his wife a hand-made volume of poetry '' In Purest Sorrow'' as a wedding gift. Shortly before the

Baczyński gave a copy of all his poems to one of his friends, to hide in Żoliborz. Because of that, they survived the war. As a member 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 ...

Assault Groups ('' Harcerskie Grupy Szturmowe''), Baczyński took part in many sabotage actions throughout the occupation. One of them was derailment of a German military train in August 1944, which resulted in a 26-hour delay of traffic on the strategic connection Warsaw-

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

. After the

broke out, he joined the " Parasol" battalion. He was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

by a German

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

at approximately 4pm on 4 August 1944 in the Blanka Palace in the Warsaw Old Town. He is buried in the Powązki Military Cemetery, together with his pregnant wife, who was killed on 1 September 1944. He was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

awarded the Armia Krajowa Cross and in 1947 the Medal for Warsaw 1939-1945 ( pl). In his poems and short novels, Baczyński demonstrated both romantic traditions and

catastrophism In geology, catastrophism is the theory that the Earth has largely been shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope. This contrasts with uniformitarianism (sometimes called gradualism), according to which slow inc ...

. His poems depict the brutality of war, and suggest that love is the only force that can effectively defend a human being against it. His talent was highly appreciated by his contemporaries, Stanisław Pigon, upon hearing news of Baczynski joining the Szare Szeregi, said to Kazimierz Wyka: ''We belong to a nation, whose fate is to shoot at the enemy with diamonds''.

Baczyński in Polish culture

* The 1984 film ''The Fourth Day'' (''Dzień czwarty'') tells the story of the last four days of his life. * In 1965, Polish singer Ewa Demarczyk sang Baczyński poems on the LP "Wiersze wojenne" (eng. "War Poems") * 1990 Jacek Kaczmarski: Kosmopolak – "Barykada (Śmierć Baczyńskiego)" * 1991 Grzegorz Turnau: "Naprawdę nie dzieje się nic" * 2005 Lao Che: Powstanie Warszawskie – "Godzina W" * 2007 Zbigniew Hołdys - "Pocałunek" * 2012 Tadek (FIRMA) - "Elegia o chłopcu polskim" * The 2013 film " Baczyński" * 2020 "Astronomia Poety. Baczyński." − Album by Kwadrofonik and Mela Koteluk * 2022 Sanah - Baczyński (pisz do mnie listy)

Published works

*''White Magic and Other Poems'' trans. by Bill Johnston (Los Angeles: Green Integer, 2005).

References

Levine, Madeline G. ''Contemporary Polish Poetry'', 1925-1975 (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1981).

External links

Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński
at Culture.pl
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński
s poems at poezja.org
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński
biography and poems {{DEFAULTSORT:Baczynski, Krzysztof Kamil 1921 births 1944 deaths Warsaw Uprising insurgents Writers from Warsaw Home Army members Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Recipients of the Armia Krajowa Cross Polish Scouts and Guides Polish socialists Polish people of Jewish descent Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany University of Warsaw alumni 20th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish male writers Jewish resistance members during the Holocaust Polish civilians killed in World War II Deaths by firearm in Poland

Biography

Baczyński in Polish culture

Published works

References

Further reading

External links