Alfred Szklarski

Alfred Szklarski [ ʃklarski ] (born January 21, 1912 in Chicago , † April 9, 1992 in Katowice ) was a Polish writer. He also published under the pseudonyms Alfred Bronowski , Fred Garland , Aleksander Gruda and Alfred Murawski .

Life and work

Alfred Szklarski was born in Chicago ( USA ) as the son of the journalist Andrzej Szklarski, who emigrated from Poland , and Maria Szklarska, born Markosik. In 1926 he left the USA and came to Poland. Initially he lived in Włocławek , where he graduated from high school in 1931, from 1932 in Warsaw , where he studied at the Academy of Political Science in the consular-diplomatic department from 1932 to 1938. During the occupation he published his first novels in collaborative writings (1942 - Żelazny pazur (The Iron Claw) , 1943 - Krwawe diamenty (Bloody Diamonds) , 1944 - Tajemnica grobowca (The Secret of the Tomb) ). These novels were published under a pseudonym. Szklarski was a soldier in the Armia Krajowa and took part in the Warsaw Uprising . After the war he lived in Krakow for a few months and then moved to Katowice. In 1949 he was accused of publishing in pro-German writings (including in Nowy Kurier Warszawski (Neuer Warschauer Kurier)) and he was sentenced by the communists to eight years in prison, but released in 1953. From 1954 to 1977 Szklarski worked as an editor at the Katowice Publishing House Śląsk. He made his debut in 1946 with the novel Gorący ślad (The Hot Trail).

The publisher finally convinced him to write youth literature under his own name. This is how his most famous novels came about, namely the series about Tomek Wilmowski, a boy who travels the world with his friends (Polish emigrants) and experiences great adventures. Tomek, the main character in these adventure novels, learns the value of friendship, knowledge and responsibility. The nine-volume series is full of geographical, historical, cultural, and biological descriptions, but also humorous and entertaining, aimed at adolescent and young adult readers.

Together with his wife Krystyna Szklarska he published a trilogy about the Sioux Indians with the title Złoto Gór Czarnych (The Gold of the Black Mountains ). The books describe the hunting of bison , the belief, conflicts between the individual tribes and the later first contact of the Indians with the whites as well as the resulting fights. It is said that Szklarski's books on the history and suffering of the indigenous peoples of America were inspired by his own wartime experiences as well as the tragic history of the Poles and the cruelty of the invaders. He believed that the history of the Native Americans was very similar to the history of Poland. The only difference is that the Poles ultimately managed to survive the invasions , the long years of occupation , the extermination camps , the Germanization and the Russification , whereas the tribes of America ended up having their homeland taken from them by the whites , have lost. He condemned racist violence and advocated the idea of ​​reconciliation between nations .

Alfred Szklarski has received many prestigious literary awards, including Orle Pióro (Eagle Feather) (1968), Order Uśmiechu ( Order of the Smile ) (1971) and the Prime Minister's Award for his work as an author of books for children and young people (1973, 1987). He was also a member of the Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich (Association of Polish Writers). His books have been translated into Russian and Bulgarian and published in Braille . The previous circulation reached 11 million copies.

Works

Szklarski and his wife Krystyna Szklarska published the Indian trilogy Złoto Gór Czarnych (The Gold of the Black Mountains) :

• Volume I - Orle Pióra (The Eagle's Feathers) (1974)
• Volume II - Przekleństwo złota (The Curse of Gold) (1977)
• Volume III - Ostatnia walka Dakotów (The Last Battle of the Dakota) (1979)

His best-known work is the eight-volume series with the adventures of Tomek Wilmowski:

• Tomek w krainie kangurów (Tomek in the Land of the Kangaroos) (1957)
• Tomek na Czarnym Lądzie (Tomek on the Black Continent) (1958)
• Tomek na wojennej ścieżce (Tomek on the Warpath) (1959)
• Tomek na tropach Yeti (Tomek on the Trail of the Yeti ) (1961)
• Tajemnicza wyprawa Tomka (Tomek's Secret Expedition) (1963)
• Tomek wśród łowców głów (Tomek with the Headhunters) (1965)
• Tomek u źródeł Amazonki (Tomek at the Sources of the Amazon) (1967)
• Tomek w Gran Chaco (Tomek in Gran Chaco) (1987)
• Tomek w grobowcach faraonów (Tomek at the Tombs of the Pharaohs) (1994, post-mortem, completed by Adam Zelga on the basis of notes left by the author)

Other works:

• Tornado (1943, under the pseudonym: Aleksander Gruda)
• Gorący ślad (The Hot Trail) (contemporary novel, 1946, under the pseudonym: Alfred Bronowski)
• Trzy Siostry (Three Sisters) (novel, 1946, under the pseudonym: Alfred Bronowski)
• Błędne ognie (will-o'-the-wisps) (contemporary story from the life of miners, 1947, under the pseudonym: Alfred Bronowski)
• Nie czekaj na mnie (Don't wait for me) (contemporary novel, 1947, under the pseudonym: Alfred Bronowski)
• Tomek w tarapatach (Tomek in Not) (Adventure novel for young readers, 1948, under the pseudonym: Fred Garland)
• Sobowtór profesora Rawy (The Doppelganger of Professor Rawa) (Science-Fiction Novel for Young Readers, 1963)

Web links

• Alfred Szklarski, dumnizpolski.pl (Polish)