Andrzej Włast
Encyclopedia
Andrzej Włast (1885, Łódź - 1942, Warsaw
) was a Polish
Jewish songwriter
. He wrote the lyrics for the 1929 hit song "Tango Milonga". He died in the Warsaw Ghetto
during World War II
.
army attacked Poland in 1920 he fought for Warsaw with the Red Army
in Pilsudski's Legion.
After 1921 he worked with the Stanczyk (The Jester) theater and then the famous Qui Pro Quo. In 1927 he founded his own revue, the Morskie Oko theater, which he directed until 1931. After this he directed the Rex revue and Wielka Rewia (The Grand Revue), each considered to be Polish versions of the Folies-Bergere.
He was a prolific lyricist, sometimes called "The King of Shmira (cheap mass production)" but there were
His 1929 international hit was the Tango Milonga. Bob Rothstein writes:
In 1940, Andrzej Włast was in the Warsaw Ghetto
. Some say that he was dragged out, like thousands of others, during a 1942 Nazi action, to the Umschlagplatz
and transported to Treblinka. Others say:
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
) was a Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
Jewish songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. He wrote the lyrics for the 1929 hit song "Tango Milonga". He died in the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Biography
He studied law at Warsaw University, began writing for the Warsaw stage before 1920 at Mirage, Czarny Kot, Sfinks and others. When the BolshevikBolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
army attacked Poland in 1920 he fought for Warsaw with the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in Pilsudski's Legion.
After 1921 he worked with the Stanczyk (The Jester) theater and then the famous Qui Pro Quo. In 1927 he founded his own revue, the Morskie Oko theater, which he directed until 1931. After this he directed the Rex revue and Wielka Rewia (The Grand Revue), each considered to be Polish versions of the Folies-Bergere.
He was a prolific lyricist, sometimes called "The King of Shmira (cheap mass production)" but there were
"also pearls of pure poetry, as well as innumerable examples of sophisticated Jewish humor and gems of shmonces (shmontses), Jewish Polish self-mockery, albeit resting upon many stereotypes."
His 1929 international hit was the Tango Milonga. Bob Rothstein writes:
"One of the most successful of the Polish Jewish composers was Jerzy PetersburskiJerzy PetersburskiJerzy Petersburski was a Polish pianist and composer of popular music, renowned mostly for his Tangos, some of which were milestones in popularization of the musical genre in Poland and are still widely known today, more than half a century after their creation.Jerzy Petersburski was born April...
(born Jerzy Melodysta, 1897–1979), whose 1929 hit Tango Milonga, renamed Oh, Donna Clara, swept Europe ... and the United States ... sung by Al JolsonAl JolsonAl Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
in the 1931 Broadway show The Wonder Bar. ... The original Polish text of Tango Milonga was written by Andrzej Włast (born Gustaw Baumritter, 1885–1941), one of the best-known lyricists of the interwar period, who wrote other hit tunes with melodies by Petersburski [such as] Już nigdy (Never Again) and Ja się boję sama spać (I’m Afraid to Sleep Alone), and by other Jewish composers, such as Henryk GoldHenryk GoldHenryk Gold was a Polish Jewish composer, arranger, and orchestra director born in Warsaw to a musical family...
(1899–1977; Szkoda twoich łez (Don’t Waste Your Tears)), Artur GoldArtur GoldArtur Gold was a Polish Jewish violinist and dance-music composer. He was the second son of Michał Gold, a musician in the Warsaw Opera; when Michał died an uncle took him to England, where he received his musical education. He later returned to Warsaw and played there in various nightclubs...
(1897–1943; Przy kominku (By the Fireplace)), Zygmunt BiałostockiZygmunt BiałostockiZygmunt Białostocki was a Polish Jewish musician, born in Białystok, died in Warsaw, Poland. He was a Jewish composer of many popular songs, a conductor, and a première pianist in Warsaw between the World Wars....
(1897–1942; Rebeka), and Fanny GordonFanny GordonFanny Gordon was the only female laykhte-muzik composer in pre-war Poland.-Life and career:...
(pseudonym of Faina Markovna Kviatkovskaia, 1904–1991; Pod samowarem (By the Samovar))."
In 1940, Andrzej Włast was in the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
. Some say that he was dragged out, like thousands of others, during a 1942 Nazi action, to the Umschlagplatz
Umschlagplatz
In the Holocaust, the Umschlagplatz in the Warsaw Ghetto was where Jews gathered for deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp.During the Grossaktion Warsaw, beginning on July 22, 1942, Jews were deported in crowded freight cars to Treblinka. On some days as many as 7,000 Jews were deported...
and transported to Treblinka. Others say:
...that he hid on the "Aryan" side, in the flat of one of the Polish actresses he knew from his theatre. Being unable to stay most of the time alone in that microscopic shelter, and panicking at the slightest sign of the approaching steps, he finally ran out to the street, where he was immediately identified as a Jew and shot.