Zofia Romanowiczowa
Encyclopedia
Zofia Romanowiczowa (born Zofia Górska; 18 October 1922 — 28 March 2010) was a Polish writer and translator.
When World War II
broke out, she first stayed in Radom, where she participated in the Polish resistance (Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej
) as a liaison officer. Arrested together with her father by the Gestapo in January 1941, she was imprisoned and spent the rest of the war in concentration camps at Ravensbrück and Neu-Rohlau, near Karlsbad, where she worked in a porcelain factory. After liberation of the camp by the US Army, she resumed her secondary studies in Italy, where she graduated in 1946 from the high school established in Porto San Giorgio by the Polish Army's II-nd Corpus.
She then studied romance philology in Paris, where she met her husband, Kazimierz Romanowicz, director of the bookstore and publishing company Libella
, on the Ile Saint Louis, from 1946 to 1993. Together they founded Galerie Lambert in 1959, one of the most important centers of polish culture abroad after World War II. She received the Kościelski Award
in 1964. In 1976 she signed the Letter of 59
.
In addition to poems written while in concentration camp, her literary contributions include twelve novels, a collection of translations of Troubadour poems into Polish, and numerous short stories and articles which she published over the years in the journals Wiadomosci (London), Kultura (Paris), and in Poland in "Tygodnik Powszechny", "Nowa Kultura", and "Odra". She wrote in Polish. Three of her novels were translated into French: Przejscie przez Morze Czerwone" (1960, in French: "Le Passage de la Mer Rouge"), was also translated into English ("Passage through the Red Sea"), German and Hebrew; "Lagodne oko blekitu" (1968 in French: "Le Chandail Bleu") and "Na Wyspie (1984, in french: "Ile Saint Louis").
She belonged to the Union of Polish Writers in Exile, and, since 1989, to the Union of Polish Writers. The archives of her work can be found in the Emigration Archive of the University of Torun Library.
She died in Lailly en Val, near Orleans (France) in 2010, aged 87.
When 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...
broke out, she first stayed in Radom, where she participated in the Polish resistance (Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej
Zwiazek Walki Zbrojnej
Związek Walki Zbrojnej was an underground army formed in Poland following its invasion in September 1939 by Germany and the Soviet Union that opened World War II.The precursor to the ZWZ was the Service...
) as a liaison officer. Arrested together with her father by the Gestapo in January 1941, she was imprisoned and spent the rest of the war in concentration camps at Ravensbrück and Neu-Rohlau, near Karlsbad, where she worked in a porcelain factory. After liberation of the camp by the US Army, she resumed her secondary studies in Italy, where she graduated in 1946 from the high school established in Porto San Giorgio by the Polish Army's II-nd Corpus.
She then studied romance philology in Paris, where she met her husband, Kazimierz Romanowicz, director of the bookstore and publishing company Libella
Libella
Libella is a soft drink that was widely consumed in Germany in the 1950s and 60s. It was developed by Rudolf Wild, an entrepreneur from Heidelberg who sought to make a fruit-favored drink without artificial ingredients...
, on the Ile Saint Louis, from 1946 to 1993. Together they founded Galerie Lambert in 1959, one of the most important centers of polish culture abroad after World War II. She received the Kościelski Award
Koscielski Award
The Kościelski Award is an independent Polish literary award, awarded since 1962 by the Geneva-based Kościelski Foundation. The jury issues annual awards to "promising writers" 40 years of age or younger...
in 1964. In 1976 she signed the Letter of 59
Letter of 59
The Letter of 59 was an open letter signed by 66 Polish intellectuals who protested against the changes of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland that were made by the communist party of Poland in 1975...
.
In addition to poems written while in concentration camp, her literary contributions include twelve novels, a collection of translations of Troubadour poems into Polish, and numerous short stories and articles which she published over the years in the journals Wiadomosci (London), Kultura (Paris), and in Poland in "Tygodnik Powszechny", "Nowa Kultura", and "Odra". She wrote in Polish. Three of her novels were translated into French: Przejscie przez Morze Czerwone" (1960, in French: "Le Passage de la Mer Rouge"), was also translated into English ("Passage through the Red Sea"), German and Hebrew; "Lagodne oko blekitu" (1968 in French: "Le Chandail Bleu") and "Na Wyspie (1984, in french: "Ile Saint Louis").
She belonged to the Union of Polish Writers in Exile, and, since 1989, to the Union of Polish Writers. The archives of her work can be found in the Emigration Archive of the University of Torun Library.
She died in Lailly en Val, near Orleans (France) in 2010, aged 87.