Kaden-Bandrowski, Julius

Originally studied music at conservatories in Krakow , Lviv , Leipzig and Brussels . Having broken his hand in two places, he abandoned the career of a musician.

In 1905-1913 he lived in Germany and Belgium, where he graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Brussels. Since 1907 he took up journalism, published in Warsaw newspapers. Member of the struggle for independence of Poland, was associated with nationalist emigre circles close to Yu. Pilsudski and the PPS - the revolutionary faction .

During the First World War in August 1914 he entered the Polish Legions in Krakow. He was adjutant of Pilsudski , later - a chronicler of the First Brigade of Legionnaires. Since 1918 - a member of the Polish military organization .

Member of the Polish-Ukrainian war of 1918-1919 . He wrote articles and military correspondence from battlefields, in particular, the battle for Lviv (1918) . In December 1918 he became the first editor-in-chief of the weekly Polish Warrior (Żołnierz Polski), but soon resigned and went as a reporter to cover events from the fronts of the Soviet-Polish war .

In 1923-1926 and 1933 - led the trade union of Polish writers. In 1933-1939 - General Secretary of the Polish Academy of Literature . After the outbreak of World War II, he remained in Warsaw. He participated in the work of a secret university, gave lectures on literature and music.

He died during the Warsaw uprising of 1944 , having been mortally wounded by an explosion of an enemy shell.

He was awarded the Cross of the Brave .

He was buried in the Calvinist cemetery of Warsaw .

The first work of the Word (Słowa), written in rhythmic prose, was published in 1909. The ideology of Pilsudczyna was reflected in his essay-memoir books: Pilsudchiki (Piłsudczycy, 1915), The Battle of Konar (Bitwa pod Konarami, 1915) and the novel General Barch (Generał Barcz, ed. . 1923), which was based on genuine events related to the coming of Pilsudski to power (he was a prototype of Barch).

The most significant works of J. Kaden-Bandrowski are the series of novels “Black Wings” (“Czarne skrzydła”, 1925-26, ed. 1929), where poverty and exploitation of miners in bourgeois Poland are painted with great artistic force.

In the 1920-1930s. the prose writer wrote autobiographical stories about his childhood: “The City of My Mother” (“Miasto mojej matki”, 1925) and “Under the Shade of a Forgotten Grove” (“W cieniu zapomnianej olszyny”, 1926), worked on novels completing the Black Wings cycle: Mateusz Bigda (Mateusz Bigda, 1933) and Silk Knot (Jedwabny węzeł), which he completed during the fascist occupation. However, the manuscript (with the exception of fragments of the draft version published in the journal Twórczość, 1959, No. 11) burned down during the Warsaw Uprising.

Polish critic, analyzing the expressionist - naturalistic manner of Yu. Kaden-Bandrovsky-novelist, notes some pretentiousness of his style, lack of simplicity. At the same time, she recognizes the merits of his best books, in which a true picture of the era is given.

His works are characterized by reliability and a deep understanding of the facts. In the writer's work, the presence of elements of behaviorism and expressionism, as well as unusual contrasting compounds of various literary styles and techniques, are noticeable.

• 1911 - Niezguła (novel), Zawody (collection of short stories)
• 1913 - Proch
• 1914 - Zbytki (storybook)
• 1915 - Piłsudczycy , Bitwa pod Konarami (book of memoirs), Iskry (short stories)
• 1916 - Mogiły
• 1919 - Łuk
• 1920 - Jesień (drama)
• 1922 - Generał Barcz
• 1923 - Karty w tas (drama), Wakacje moich dzieci (storybook)
• 1924 - Przymierze serc (short stories)
• 1925 - Miasto mojej matki (storybook), Czarne skrzydła (novel)
• 1926 - Europa zbiera siano (reporting)
• 1927 - Nad brzegiem wielkiej rzeki (stories for the youth)
• 1932 - Aciaki z I-szej (storybook)
• 1932 - Mateusz Bigda
• 1939-1942 - Białe skrzydła

Several works of the writer are filmed (“ Hatred ” (1930), “ Black Wings ” (1962), “Over the years, over the course of days ...” (TV series, 1980), “ The Cupid 's Bow ” (1987), “The Bigd is Coming ! ”(TV, 1999)).

• Encyclopædia Britannica. Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski