Henryk Breit was a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 philologist and journalist. Born in Lwów (modern Lviv, Ukraine), he graduated from the philological faculty of the Jan Kazimierz University. Soon afterwards he received a doctorate at his alma mater and started professional career at the colleges in Stanisławów

Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....

 and then the prestigious 11th State Gymnasium in Lwów.

An active member of the Society of the Enthusiasts of the History of Lwów, he was also a tour guide and a journalist, prearing weekly broadcasts on Lwów and the Hutsuls

Hutsuls

Hutsuls are an ethno-cultural group of Ukrainian highlanders who for centuries have inhabited the Carpathian mountains, mainly in Ukraine, the northern extremity of Romania .-Etymology:...

. He was also the author of several books on his home town and a single ethnographic documentary on the Hutsul life (no copy survived the 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...

. Following the German and Soviet invasion of Poland, he was arrested and murdered in the Stanisławów prison, under unknown circumstances.