Jerzy Broszkiewicz

{{Short description|Polish prose writer, playwright, essayist and publicist}}

{{Infobox artist

| image = Jerzy Broszkiewicz.jpg

| caption = Photograph from c. 1948

| birth_date = {{birth date|1922|06|06}}

| birth_place = Lviv

| death_date = {{death date and age|1993|10|04|1922|06|06}}

| death_place = Kraków

| nationality = Polish

| known_for = Novels, dramas, science fiction

| notable_works = Wielka, większa i największa
Ci z Dziesiątego Tysiąca

| awards = Order of Polonia Restituta
Warsaw Uprising Cross
Medal of the 40th Anniversary of People's Poland
Order of the Smile

}}

Jerzy Broszkiewicz (6 June 1922 – 4 October 1993) was a Polish prose writer, playwright, essayist, and publicist.

He is best known for his dramas and young-adult literature. The young-adult literature usually took the form of historical or science-fiction novels. The dramas were performed in Poland and abroad, and his works were translated into at least 20 languages, with total print runs exceeding a million copies.

He wrote plays for theatre, radio, and television, as well as screenplays, essays, and critical writings on music and culture.

His most acclaimed works include Kształt miłości (1950–51), a novelized biography of Frédéric Chopin, and Wielka, większa i największa (1960), a widely-read youth novel that was adapted into a feature film and was included in Polish school curricula during the People's Republic period.

He was active in editorial work for the cultural periodicals {{Interlanguage link|Nowa Kultura|lt=|pl|Nowa Kultura (1950–1963)}} and {{Interlanguage link|Przegląd Kulturalny|lt=|pl|Przegląd Kulturalny}}.

He received many state awards and honors, including the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Life

He was born on 6 June 1922 in Lviv; his father, Adam, was an officer in the Polish Armed Forces.{{cite web |date=2003 |editor=Jadwiga Czachowska |others=Alicja Szałagan (red.) |title=Współcześni polscy pisarze i badacze literatury. Słownik biobibliograficzny. T. 1, A – B |trans-title=Contemporary Polish Writers and Literary Scholars: A Biobibliographical Dictionary. Vol. 1, A – B |url=https://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/publication/80114 |access-date=2023-10-12 |page=289 |language=pl}}{{Cite book |last=Brzeska-Smerek |first=Teresa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xSjzAAAAMAAJ&q=S%C5%82ownik+literatury+dzieci%C4%99cej+i+m%C5%82odzie%C5%BCowej |title=Słownik literatury dziecięcej i młodzieżowej |date=2002 |publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolinskich |isbn=978-83-04-04606-1 |editor-last=Baluch |editor-first=Alicja |pages=50–51 |language=pl |trans-title=Dictionary of Children's and Young Adult Literature |chapter=Broszkiewicz, Jerzy |editor-last2=Leszczyński |editor-first2=Grzegorz |editor-last3=Tylicka |editor-first3=Barbara}}{{Cite journal |last=Oramus |first=Marek |author-link=Marek Oramus |year=1993 |title=Jerzy Broszkiewicz |url= |journal=Nowa Fantastyka |language=pl |volume=12 |issue=135 |page=75 |issn=0867-132X}} From 1934, he was a student at the {{Interlanguage link|Jan Długosz Gymnasium|pl|IV Państwowe Gimnazjum im. Jana Długosza we Lwowie}} in Lviv. In 1940, after finishing the Gymnasium and music school, he entered the Lviv National Music Academy. During the German occupation of Lviv (from 1941 to 1944), he participated in underground cultural activities (e.g., literary evenings, concerts); he was also a louse-feeder at the Lviv Institute for Typhus and Virus Research under Professor Rudolf Weigl.{{Cite web |title=Alphabetical list of 507 persons employed in Prof. Rudolf Stefan Weigl Institute (1939 – 1944) and professions of some of them after WWII |url=https://www.lwow.com.pl/weigl/weiglowcy.html |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=www.lwow.com.pl |language=en, pl |archive-date=2024-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815113426/https://lwow.com.pl/weigl/weiglowcy.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Jerzy Broszkiewicz {{!}} Życie i twórczość {{!}} Artysta |trans-title=Jerzy Broszkiewicz {{!}} Life and Work {{!}} Artist |url=https://culture.pl/pl/tworca/jerzy-broszkiewicz |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=Culture.pl |language=pl}}

In 1944, he married Ewa Łomnicka and moved to Kraków, where he lived in the famous {{Interlanguage link|Literary House|pl|Dom Literatów w Krakowie}} at 22 Krupnicza Street. For some time, he studied at the Academy of Music, described by {{Interlanguage link|Stanisław Frycie|pl|Stanisław Frycie}} and {{Interlanguage link|Tadeusz Kwiatkowski|pl|Tadeusz Kwiatkowski (prozaik)}} as a "promising pianist",{{Cite book |last=Frycie |first=Stanisław |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=509OygAACAAJ&q=Leksykon+literatury+dla+dzieci+i+m%C5%82odziezy |title=Leksykon literatury dla dzieci i młodzieży |date=2007 |publisher=Naukowe Wydawnictwo Piotrkowskie |isbn=978-83-89935-24-3 |pages=85–88 |language=pl |trans-title=Lexicon of Children's and Young Adult Literature}} but he discontinued his studies in 1945. From that year, he was a member of the Polish Writers' Union (from 1957 to 1958, he was vice-president of the main board; from 1973, he was a member of the Kraków branch board of the union, and in 1975, its vice-president). From 1945 to 1947, he collaborated with the editorial office of the weekly {{Interlanguage link|Odrodzenie (magazine)|lt=Odrodzenie|pl|Odrodzenie (tygodnik)}} (including a job as a proofreader and theater critic) and the journal {{Interlanguage link|Teatr (magazine)|lt=Teatr|pl|Teatr (czasopismo)}}. He also worked with the newspapers {{Interlanguage link|Nowiny (magazine)|lt=Nowiny|pl|Nowiny (dziennik rzeszowski)}} and Dziennik Polski (from 1945 to 1946).{{Cite book |last=Chmielewska |first=Małgorzata |title=Leksykon polskich pisarzy muzycznych XX wieku |date=2008 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Polskie |isbn=978-83-922684-2-0 |location=Wołomin |language=pl |trans-title=Lexicon of 20th-Century Polish Music Writers |chapter=Broszkiewicz Jerzy Stefan}} From 1947 to 1949, he co-edited the magazine {{Interlanguage link|Ruch Muzyczny|lt=|pl|Ruch Muzyczny}}, and from 1948 to 1951, he was an editor for the monthly {{Interlanguage link|Muzyka (magazine)|lt=Muzyka|pl|Muzyka (miesięcznik)}}.

In 1948, he moved to Warsaw. From 1950 to 1951, he hosted a weekly cultural program on the radio and later was a writer for radio plays. From 1950 to 1963, he published in {{Interlanguage link|Nowa Kultura|lt=|pl|Nowa Kultura (1950–1963)}} and {{Interlanguage link|Przegląd Kulturalny|lt=|pl|Przegląd Kulturalny}} (where he was a member of the editorial board from 1953). From 1953 to 1954, he edited the artistic-literary supplement in Sztandar Młodych called Przedpole. In 1953, he joined the Polish United Workers' Party,{{Cite book |title=Kto jest kim w Polsce 1984: informator biograficzny |date=1984 |publisher=Interpress |isbn=978-83-223-2073-0 |editor-last=Becela |editor-first=Lidia |edition=1 |location=Warsaw |language=pl |trans-title=Who’s Who in Poland 1984: Biographical Directory}} and in the same year, he became a member of the editorial board of Przegląd Kulturalny, where he was a co-editor until 1963. From 1955 to 1956, he was the artistic director of the Estrada Theatre. In 1959, he returned to Kraków taking a job as a literary manager of the Ludowy Theatre in Nowa Huta until 1971. In 1960, he wrote for Gazeta Krakówska. In 1975, he became a member of the Kraków Polish United Workers' Party Committee and a member of the presidium of the Kraków club {{ill|Kuźnica (club)|pl|Kuźnica (stowarzyszenie)|lt=Kuźnica}}.

= Private life =

Broszkiewicz lived in Kraków's Krowodrza district. He was married to psychiatrist Ewa Broszkiewicz (1920–2000), daughter of mathematician Antoni Łomnicki.{{Cite web |title=Dr hab. Ewa Broszkiewicz |url=https://nauka-polska.pl/ |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=nauka-polska.pl |language=pl |archive-date=2020-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105044607/https://nauka-polska.pl/ |url-status=live }} They had a daughter, Irena Broszkiewicz (1954–2021), a mathematician associated with {{Interlanguage link|Piotr Ferster|lt=|pl|Piotr Ferster}}, director of the literary cabaret Piwnica pod Baranami. Irena was her father's inspiration for the character Ika in the novel Wielka, większa i największa (Great, Greater, and Greatest).

File:Grób_Jerzego_Broszkiewicza.jpg's Rakowicki Cemetery]]

Broszkiewicz suffered from schizophrenia. He died on 4 October 1993 in Kraków and was interred in the aleja zasłuźonych at the Rakowicki Cemetery (section LXIX, row B-2-2).{{Cite web |title=Lokalizator Grobów - Zarząd Cmentarzy Komunalnych |trans-title=Grave Locator - Municipal Cemetery Management |url=https://zck-krakow.pl/locator |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=zck-krakow.pl |language=pl |archive-date=2019-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127144121/http://rakowice.eu/ |url-status=live }}

Career

His literary work was diverse, and Frycie described Broszkiewicz as "an exceptionally talented and versatile writer". In 1945, he made his debut simultaneously as a music critic{{Cite book |last=Frycie |first=Stanisław |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4wYAAAAMAAJ&q=Nowy+s%C5%82ownik+literatury+dla+dzieci+i+mlodziezy |title=Nowy słownik literatury dla dzieci i młodzieży: pisarze, książki, serie, ilustratorzy, przegląd bibliograficzny |date=1979 |publisher=Wiedza Powszechna |isbn=978-83-214-0018-1 |editor-last=Kuliczkowska |editor-first=Krystyna |pages=52–53 |language=pl |trans-title=New Dictionary of Children's and Young Adult Literature: Writers, Books, Series, Illustrators, Bibliographic Review |chapter=Broszkiewicz, Jerzy |editor-last2=Tylicka |editor-first2=Barbara}} and as a writer with the short story Monika, published in the weekly Odrodzenie (No. 18). His book debut was the novel Oczekiwanie (Expectation) set in the ghetto, for which he received the Kraków Land Award.

Another significant work was the repeatedly reissued novel Kształt miłości (The Shape of Love) about Frédéric Chopin, for which he received the State Award of the 2nd degree in 1951. In 1971, the novel Długo i szczęśliwie (Happily Ever After) won the Association of Trade Unions Award. {{Interlanguage link|Kluska, Kefir i Tutejszy|lt=|pl|Kluska, Kefir i Tutejszy}} (Dumpling, Kefir, and the Local) was distinguished at the IV Premio Europeo in 1968.

He authored 14 novels for young readers, debuting with Opowieść olimpijska (Olympic Tale) in 1948, although most of his novels for younger audiences were written in the 1960s and 1970s. His earlier works in this genre were often biographical. Many of his later works belong to the science fiction genre, which Frycie considered the most significant part of his oeuvre. In particular, Wielka, większa i największa (The Great, Greater, and Greatest) from 1960 received high praise from critics{{Cite journal |last=Kuliczkowska |first=Krystyna |year=1967 |title=W świecie fantazji, marzeń i iluzji |trans-title=In the World of Fantasy, Dreams, and Illusions |journal=Miesięcznik Literacki |language=pl |volume=12}} and became a compulsory reading book for fifth grade.{{Cite book |last=Leszczyński |first=Grzegorz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xSjzAAAAMAAJ&q=S%C5%82ownik+literatury+dzieci%C4%99cej+i+m%C5%82odzie%C5%BCowej |title=Słownik literatury dziecięcej i młodzieżowej |date=2002 |publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolinskich |isbn=978-83-04-04606-1 |editor-last=Baluch |editor-first=Alicja |pages=412–413 |language=pl |trans-title=Dictionary of Children's and Young Adult Literature |chapter=Wielka, większa i największa |trans-chapter=The Great, Greater, and the Greatest |editor-last2=Leszczyński |editor-first2=Grzegorz |editor-last3=Tylicka |editor-first3=Barbara}}{{Cite book |last=Jędrych |first=Karolina |url=https://core.ac.uk/reader/197745251 |title=Lektury w programach dla szkoły podstawowej z lat 1949–1989 |publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego |year=2014 |isbn=978-83-226-2209-4 |location=Katowice |page=217 |language=pl |trans-title=Reading Lists in Primary School Programs from 1949–1989 |archive-date=2025-01-20 |access-date=2024-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120174853/https://core.ac.uk/reader/197745251 |url-status=live }} According to Frycie, in his works for young adults Broszkiewicz "exposed moral values such as resourcefulness, wisdom, nobility, and courage, and combined various narrative techniques, genres, and literary conventions".

Moreover, he wrote well-received dramas, being a multiple winner of drama competitions. He penned over 20 theatrical, television, and radio plays. He also wrote collections of essays, television{{Cite web |title=Jerzy Broszkiewicz |url=https://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?osoba=118902 |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=FilmPolski |language=pl |archive-date=2025-01-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124023119/https://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?osoba=118902 |url-status=live }} and film scripts (e.g., Kopernik [Copernicus]), and publications on music. Some of his plays were produced abroad, including in France, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, New Zealand, and the US. Broszkiewicz's works have been translated into at least 20 languages, and the total print run of his novels exceeded 1 million copies.

Broszkiewicz also helped in writing the debut novels of Sat-Okh: Ziemia słonych skał (Land of Salty Rocks, 1958) and Biały mustang (White Mustang, 1959). According to {{Interlanguage link|Dariusz Rosiak|lt=|pl|Dariusz Rosiak}}, Broszkiewicz was even their actual undisclosed author based on Sat-Okh's stories.{{Cite web |last=Podsiadło |first=Jacek |date=27 August 2024 |title=Polski Indianin Sat-Okh. Nie ma drugiej takiej ściemy |trans-title=The Polish Native American Sat-Okh. There’s No Other Hoax Like It |url=https://wyborcza.pl/7,75517,31223557,uszy-otwarte-na-lenina-czyli-jak-zrobic-wszystkich-w-mustanga.html#S.others-K.C-B.2-L.6.maly |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=wyborcza.pl |language=pl |archive-date=2024-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909001956/https://wyborcza.pl/7,75517,31223557,uszy-otwarte-na-lenina-czyli-jak-zrobic-wszystkich-w-mustanga.html#S.others-K.C-B.2-L.6.maly |url-status=live }}

Selected works

= Young adult novels =

Opowieść olimpijska (The Olympic Tale) – 1948
Opowieść o Chopinie (The Tale of Chopin) – 1950; adaptation of Kształt miłości (Shape of Love)
Jacek Kula – 1952
Powrót do jasnej polany (Return to the Sunny Meadow) – 1953
Emil! Emil! – 1954
Wielka, większa i największa (The Great, Greater, and Greatest) – Nasza Księgarnia, 1960; reading for fifth grade during the Polish People's Republic era; based on which a feature film was made
Ci z Dziesiątego Tysiąca (Those from the Tenth Thousand) – Nasza Księgarnia, 1962; science fiction
Oko Centaura (The Eye of the Centaur) – Nasza Księgarnia, 1964; science fiction; sequel to Those from the Tenth Thousand
{{ill|Długi deszczowy tydzień|lt=|pl|Długi deszczowy tydzień}} (A Long Rainy Week) – Nasza Księgarnia, 1966; sequel to Great, Greater, and Greatest; published in the {{ill|Biblioteka Młodych|lt=|pl|Biblioteka Młodych (seria międzywydawnicza)}} (Young Readers' Library) collection
{{Interlanguage link|Kluska, Kefir i Tutejszy|lt=|pl|Kluska, Kefir i Tutejszy}} (Dumpling, Kefir, and the Local) – Nasza Księgarnia, 1967
{{Interlanguage link|Mój księżycowy pech|lt=|pl|Mój księżycowy pech}} (My Lunar Misfortune) – science fiction; Nasza Księgarnia, 1970, in the {{Interlanguage link|Klub Siedmiu Przygód|lt=|pl|Klub Siedmiu Przygód}} (Seven Adventures Club) series and Nasza Księgarnia, 1976, in the Biblioteka Młodych collection
{{Interlanguage link|Mister Di|lt=|pl|Mister Di}} – Nasza Księgarnia, 1972
Samotny podróżny (The Lonely Traveler) – 1973; provided the basis for the series Kopernik (Copernicus) with Andrzej Kopiczyński; 19 February 1973 marked the 500th anniversary of the astronomer's birth
Bracia Koszmarek, magister i ja (The Koszmarek Brothers, the Master, and I) – 1980

= Other novels =

Oczekiwanie (Expectation) – 1948
Kształt miłości (The Shape of Love) – Part I, 1950, Part II, 1951; based on which the feature film Youth of Chopin was made
Imiona władzy (Names of Power) – 1957
Długo i szczęśliwie (Happily Ever After) – 1970
Dziesięć rozdziałów (Ten Chapters) – 1971–1974
Doktor Twardowski (Doctor Twardowski) – 1977–1979

= Dramas =

Imiona władzy (Names of Power) – 1957
Jonasz i błazen (Jonah and the Jester) – 1958
Dwie przygody Lemuela Gulliwera (Two Adventures of Lemuel Gulliver)
Dziejowa rola Pigwy (The Historical Role of Pigwa) – 1960
Skandal w Hellbergu (Scandal in Hellberg) – 1961
Głupiec i inni (The Fool and Others)
Koniec księgi VI (The End of Book VI)

= Non-fiction =

{{Cite book |title=Pożegnanie z katechizmem |publisher=Iskry |year=1958 |volume=III |location=Warsaw |language=pl |trans-title=Farewell to the Catechism}}

Orders and decorations

Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1975)
Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1954 or 11 July 1955){{Cite web |title=M.P. z 1955 r. nr 91, poz. 1144 |trans-title=Journal of Laws of 1955, No. 91, item 1144 |url=https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WMP19550911144 |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=isap.sejm.gov.pl |language=pl |archive-date=2024-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126160238/https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WMP19550911144 |url-status=live }}
Warsaw Uprising Cross{{Cite web |title=Jerzy Broszkiewicz |url=https://nekrologi.wyborcza.pl/0,11,,424753,Jerzy-Broszkiewicz-inne.html |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=nekrologi.wyborcza.pl |language=pl}}
Medal of the 40th Anniversary of People's Poland (1984){{Cite journal |date=19 July 1984 |title=Uznanie dla twórców kultury |trans-title=Recognition for Cultural Creators |journal=Trybuna Robotnicza |language=pl |issue=170 |pages=1–2}}
Medal of the 10th Anniversary of People's Poland (19 January 1955){{Cite web |date=19 January 1955 |title=M.P. z 1955 r. nr 101, poz. 1400 |trans-title=Official Journal of the Polish People's Republic from 1955, No. 101, Item 1400 |url=https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WMP19551011400 |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=isap.sejm.gov.pl |language=pl}}
Order of the Smile{{Cite web |title=Broszkiewicz Jerzy |url=http://orderusmiechu.pl/broszkiewicz-jerzy/ |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=www.orderusmiechu.pl |language=pl-PL}}

Awards

1948 – Kraków Land Award – for the novel Oczekiwanie
1951 – {{Interlanguage link|State Award Badge|pl|Odznaka Nagrody Państwowej}}, Second Class in the field of Literature and Art – for the novel Kształt miłości
1960 – Artistic Award of Nowa Huta – for promoting culture and overall dramaturgical activity
1961 – Minister of National Education Award in Kraków
1961 – Second Prize in the Kraków City Dramatic Competition – for the play Skandal w Hellbergu
1962 – Second Prize in the National Council Dramatic Competition in Bydgoszcz – for the play Niepokój przed podróżą (Unease Before the Journey)
1964 – First Prize in the Competition for Contemporary Television Drama – for the play Ta wieś, Mogiła (That Village, Grave)
1965 – Golden Screen Award for 1964 – for the play Ta wieś, Mogiła
1968 – Città di Caorle Award – for the young adult book Kluska, Kefir i Tutejszy
1971 – Association of Trade Unions Award – for the novel Długo i szczęśliwie
1974 – Prime Minister's Award – for work for children and youth
1979 – Prime Minister's First-Class Award for work for children and youth in the field of literature on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Polish People's Republic – for overall literary output
1982 – State First-Class Award for overall literary output
1984 – Kraków City Award