Jerzy Broszkiewicz (6 June 1922 â 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 Ksztaà Ât mià Âoà Âci (1950âÂÂ51), a novelized biography of Frédéric Chopin, and Wielka, wiÃÂksza i najwiÃÂksza (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 ' and '. He received multiple state awards and honors, including the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
He was born on 6 June 1922 in Lwów in the Second Polish Republic (now Lviv, Ukraine); his father, Adam, was an officer in the Polish Armed Forces. From 1934, he was a student at the 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 such as literary evenings and concerts, and was a louse-feeder at the Lviv Institute for Typhus and Virus Research under Professor Rudolf Weigl.
In 1944, he married Ewa à Âomnicka and moved to Kraków, where he lived in the famous at 22 Krupnicza Street. For some time, he studied at the Academy of Music, described by and as a "promising pianist", 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 ' (including a job as a proofreader and theater critic) and the journal '. He also worked with the newspapers ' and Dziennik Polski (from 1945 to 1946). From 1947 to 1949, he co-edited the magazine ', and from 1948 to 1951, he was an editor for the monthly '.
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 ' and ' (where he was a member of the editorial board from 1953). From 1953 to 1954, he edited the artistic-literary supplement in Sztandar Mà Âodych called Przedpole. In 1953, he joined the Polish United Workers' Party, and in the same year, he became a member of the editorial board of Przeglàd 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 .
Broszkiewicz lived in Kraków's Krowodrza district. He was married to psychiatrist Ewa Broszkiewicz (1920âÂÂ2000), daughter of mathematician Antoni à Âomnicki. They had a daughter, Irena Broszkiewicz (1954âÂÂ2021), a mathematician associated with , director of the literary cabaret Piwnica pod Baranami. Irena was her father's inspiration for the character Ika in the novel Wielka, wiÃÂksza i najwiÃÂksza (Great, Greater, and Greatest).
Broszkiewicz suffered from schizophrenia. He died on 4 October 1993 in Kraków and is interred in the aleja zasà Âuà ºonych at the Rakowicki Cemetery (section LXIX, row B-2-2).
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 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 Ksztaà Ât mià Âoà Âci (The Shape of Love) about Frédéric Chopin, for which he received the State Award of the 2nd degree in 1951. In 1971, the novel Dà Âugo i szczÃÂà Âliwie (Happily Ever After) won the Association of Trade Unions Award. ' (Dumpling, Kefir, and the Local) was distinguished at the IV Premio Europeo in 1968.
He authored 14 novels for young readers, debuting with Opowieà Âàolimpijska (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, wiÃÂksza i najwiÃÂksza (The Great, Greater, and Greatest) from 1960 received high praise from critics and became a compulsory reading book for fifth grade. 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 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 sà Âonych skaà  (Land of Salty Rocks, 1958) and Biaà Ây mustang (White Mustang, 1959). According to , Broszkiewicz was even their actual undisclosed author based on Sat-Okh's stories.