Henryk Sienkiewicz

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Henryk Sienkiewicz Signature of Henryk Sienkiewicz.jpg

Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz [ ɕɛnˈkʲevʲit͡ʂ ], pseudonym: Litwos , (born May 5, 1846 in Wola Okrzejska , Lublin Voivodeship , Congress Poland ; † November 15, 1916 in Vevey , Switzerland ) was a Polish writer and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature .

Origin and family

Sienkiewicz was in the Russian Empire relevant part of Poland in today's rural community Krzywda of łuków county born, the eldest of five children of the simple country nobles Józef Sienkiewicz (1813-1896) and also the Polish nobility entstamme ends Stefania Cieciszowska († 1873). Through his maternal great-great-grandmother, Constance Jauch (1722–1802), Sienkiewicz is involved in a literary relationship that is also significant in other branches: His second cousin was the Polish romantic poet Jadwiga Łuszczewska (1834–1908), his more distant uncle was the historian and freedom fighter Joachim Lelewel (1786–1861), important for romantic literature in Poland , his nephew Ignacy Chrzanowski (1866–1940), professor of literary history, who was killed in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp .

Maria Babska

Sienkiewicz was married three times, in 1881 with Maria Szetkiewicz († 1885) and in 1893 with Maria Romanowska, who left him after only two months (divorced in 1895, marriage annulled in 1896). In 1903 he married Maria Babska, his second-degree niece, to whom he had first promised marriage in 1888 and who had meanwhile entered a monastery, but left it again for him. He had two children from his first marriage, Henryk Józef and Jadwiga Sienkiewicz. His daughter was married to Colonel Tadeusz Korniłowicz (1880-1940), who was murdered by the Soviet secret service in Katyn .

Writing

Sienkiewicz's childhood was shaped by tradition and involvement in rural life, but also by the patriotism of his father, who had taken part in the struggle for Polish independence. The family later moved to Warsaw , where the young Sienkiewicz attended school and studied history and literature at the university. He initially earned his living as a tutor.

From 1872 on he published short satirical texts and wrote feature articles for the newspaper Gazeta Polska. In 1876 he made a long trip to the USA , from which he was supposed to send reports to Gazeta Polska . These Listy z podróży do Ameryki (letters from the trip to America) enjoyed great popularity. For a long time he stayed with the actress Helena Modrzejewska, who emigrated to California at the same time . He kept this rhythm of traveling, writing and traveling again throughout his life. Most of the time he traveled within Europe, but in 1891 he traveled to Africa , which became the setting for his teenage novel Through Desert and Wilderness .

Sienkiewicz's early work is literarily assigned to Polish positivism , from which he broke away at the latest when he turned to the historical novel with Ogniem i mieczem (With Fire and Sword), which appeared as a serial from May 1883 . This novel, part of a trilogy dealing with events from 17th century Polish history , established Sienkiewicz's fame in Polish literature .

Bust of Henryk Sienkiewicz 'in the Domine Quo Vadis church? on the Via Appia Antica in Rome

Sienkiewicz subsequently became famous around the world with the historical novel Quo Vadis from 1896, which addresses the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Nero . The novel was published in German in 1898. Mervyn LeRoy 's film version of the same name from 1951 with Peter Ustinov as Nero is known to a wide audience . A remake by the old master director Jerzy Kawalerowicz from 2001 tried to emphasize the Polish character of the material.

Sienkiewicz received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905 “because of his great achievements as an epic writer” - not, as is often wrongly assumed, because of the novel “Quo vadis”.

Sienkiewicz, who left for Vevey, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, after the beginning of World War I and died there in 1916, is buried in the crypt of St. John's Cathedral in Warsaw , where he was reburied in 1924.

Other work

In 1900 he received the country house in Oblęgorek from the Polish nation who adored him, which today houses the most important Sienkiewicz museum. From his exile in Vevey , Switzerland, he organized (with the help of Antoni Osuchowski and Ignacy Jan Paderewski ) the Swiss General Committee for Aid to War Victims in Poland. He was the founder of the Foundation for the Adam Mickiewicz Monument in Warsaw , co-organizer of the Mianowski Fund and President of the Warsaw Caution Fund for Writers and Journalists (1899–1900). Several times he supported patriotic operations with his authority. He protested against the persecution of Polish children in Września , during the revolution in 1905 he demanded autonomy for the Polish Kingdom in appeals and articles. He was a supporter of national democracy . In 1889 he founded the Maria Sienkiewicz grant.

Commemoration

Works

Splintered : German edition of Na marne , Leipzig 1918
  • Na marne ( fragmented , novella 1872)
  • Humoreski z teki Worszyły ( The Comedy of Errors , novella 1872, contained in Ums liebe Brot and 10 other novellas 1901)
  • Stary sługa (novella 1875)
  • Hania ( The beautiful Hania , novella 1876, contained in Ums liebe Brot and 10 other novellas 1901)
  • Selim Mirza (Novella 1877)
  • Szkice węglem ( charcoal pencil drawings . Novella 1877)
  • Listy z podróży do Ameryki ( Letters from America, 1878)
  • Janko Muzykant ( Janko the musician , novella 1879, contained in Ums liebe Brot and 10 other novellas 1901)
  • Z pamiętnika poznańskiego nauczyciela ( From the diary of a Poznan teacher. Novella 1879)
  • Niewola tatarska ( Tartar captivity , novella, 1880, contained in Ums liebe Brot and 10 other novellas 1901)
  • Orso ( Orso , novella, 1880, contained in Ums liebe Brot and 10 other novellas 1901)
  • Nowele amerykańskie (American stories)
    • Za chlebem ( Ums liebe Brot. 1880, contained in Ums liebe Brot and 10 other novellas 1901)
    • Latarnik ( The lighthouse keeper. 1882, contained in Ums liebe Brot and 10 other novellas 1901)
  • Bartek Zwycięzca ( Winner Bartek. Short novel 1882)
  • Jamioł (novella, 1882)
Sienkiewicz's house, now the Sienkiewicz Museum, in Oblęgorek, Powiat Kielecki , 18 km northwest of Kielce

Film adaptations

Web links

Commons : Henryk Sienkiewicz  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Literary work and literature

Wikisource: Henryk Sienkiewicz  - Sources and full texts (Polish)
Wikisource: Henryk Sienkiewicz  - Sources and full texts
Wikiquote: Henryk Sienkiewicz  - Quotes

Museums

genealogy

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ knerger.de: The grave of Henryk Sienkiewicz
personal data
SURNAME Sienkiewicz, Henryk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sienkiewicz, Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius (full name); Litwos (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish writer and Nobel Prize Winner for Literature 1905
DATE OF BIRTH May 5, 1846
PLACE OF BIRTH Wola Okrzejska , Lublin Voivodeship , Congress Poland
DATE OF DEATH November 15, 1916
Place of death Vevey , Switzerland