Prominent Poles
Stefan Zeromski (aka Maurycy Zych, Józef Katerla) novelist, playwright, candidate for Nobel Prize
Born: October 14, 1864, Strawczyn, Russian partition of Poland (presently Poland)
Died: November 20, 1925, Warsaw, Poland
Summary. He voiced his opinions on all the important matters concerning Polish culture and thought; his expressive style and his tendencies towards naturalism gained him many opponents, as did broaching topics which were considered morally sensitive by society. the polemics and arguments which have lasted to this day, and also subsequent film adaptations of his works (including Dzieje grzechu – 1933, directed by H. Szaro, and in 1975, directed by W. Borowczyk; Popioły 1965, directed by A. Wajda) constitute tangible proof of the significance of his ideas. The prime issue of his creativity is the fate of the nation and of individuals who sacrifice themselves for the people. He was admired for the deep compassion about social problems that he expressed in naturalistic, yet lyrical, novels.
Early days. He was born to an impoverished noble family (coat of arms: Jelita). His father, Wincenty Zeromski, participated in the January Rising, after which he lost his estate His mother was Jozefa nee Katerla. In 1873 he attended primary school in Psary, then in 1874 started studying at the high school (gimnazjum) in Kielce which he finished in 1886. However his difficulties with mathematics prevented him from passing the high school final test (matura). He worked as a family tutor, he gave private lessons, and kept a diary. In autumn 1886 he entered the Veterinary College in Warsaw (because they didn’t require a high school final test) and took part in the activities of secret organizations, including the Union of Polish Youth.
Literary career. After a year he had to abandon his veterinary studies owing to the lack of financial resources; he started working as a resident tutor in the houses of the gentry in the regions of Kielce, Mazovia, Podlasie, and Naleczow. In Naleczow he met Oktawia Radziwiłłowicz Rodkiewicz; they married in 1892 and had in 1899 a son, Adam, who died in 1918. In autumn 1892 he became assistant librarian in the Polish Museum in Rapeswill, Switzerland. His four-year stay in Switzerland enabled him, among other things, to become acquainted with archival materials concerning the history of Polish nineteenth-century emigration, he also established close contacts with politicians who were connected with the socialist movement at that time. He met among others a PPS (Polish Socialist Party) activist, Gabriel Narutowicz, future President of Poland, murdered by a right-wing ND (National Democracy) fanatic. His first books appeared during this period: Rozdzióbią nas kruki i wrony (“Ravens and Crows will pich Us up to Pieces”) (1895), Opowiadania (1895), Syzyfowe prace (“Sisyphean Labors”) (1897). In 1899 appeared Ludzie bezdomni and in 1904 Popioly (“The Ashes”), a great Napolean epics. Successes of these novels considerably improved Zeromski’s financial situation. During 1897-1904 he worked in the Zamoyski Estate Library in Warsaw. After 1904 his financial conditions allowed him to concentrate exclusively on his literary work; he stayed in Naleczow, Zakopane and in Italy, then in 1909 he moved for three years to Paris. In 1908 he published Dzieje grzechu After coming back to Poland in 1912 he settled down in Zakopane where he spent the years of the First World War. In 1912 he published, maybe his best book about January Rising, Wierna rzeka (The Faithful River). In 1913 he divorced Oktawia Żeromska, and established a relationship with a painter Anna Zawadzka with who he had a daughter Monika. In autumn 1918 he moved to Warsaw. During the plebiscite in Warmia and Mazuria, Żeromski, together with Jan Kasprowicz, took part in the agitation in favor of incorporating these lands into Poland. In 1920 he set up The Society of Friends of Pomerania. He acted as a war correspondent during the war between the Poles and the Bolsheviks. In an article Na probostwie w Wyszkowie he called the Soviet commissars of Polish descent „traitors” and the Red Army „dzicz soldacka” (barbarian soldiers). He spoke in public about public matters and was attacked by right-wing politicians. In 1920 he bought a villa in Kostancin. In 1922 he received a state literary prize for his novel Wiatr od morza. In 1924 his Przedwiosnie was published. In 1924 the President of Poland, Stanislaw Wojciechowski awarded Zeromski an appartment in the Royal Castle. It is now a museum. He was the initiator of the Academy of Literature project and established The Guardians of Polish Writing and the Polish division of the PEN-Club (1924); he was the co-founder and the first chairman of the Union of Polish Professional Writers. He died on 20 November 1925 in Warsaw. His funeral on 23 November 1925 became a national manifestation despite of protestations of his foes; the writer was buried at the Evangelical Reformed Cemetery in Warsaw.
In 1928 a Zeromski museum was opened in Naleczow.
In addtion to novels Zeromski also authored several plays. Among them: Sen o szpadzie (1906), Róża (1909), Sułkowski (1910), Ponad śnieg bielszy się stanę (1920), Biała rękawiczka (1921), Turoń (1923), Uciekła mi przepióreczka... (1924).
Based on a biography published in:
Virtual Library of Polish Literature by Dr.Marek Adamiec.
Other sources used:
Wikipedia (in Polish)
Polska Bibliografia Literacka (in Polish)
English translations of some of his works see:
Constance J. Ostrowski
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Prominent Poles
