Kazimierz Przerwa Tetmajer

Historical approach

• Kazimierz Przerwa Tetmajer was born on February 12 1865 in Ludźmierz in Podhale. It was the territory of Galicia- a part of Austrian Empire.

• Kazimierz was the son of Adolf and Julia from the Grabowski family. His father was a participant of November Uprising in1830. The son- Kazimierz was brought up in the spirit of patriotism and duty to his nation.

The Tatra mountains were his beloved region. He was brought up there. It was his family site where he would return to take rest and create.

Having lost the whole fortune in Ludźmierz, the Tetmajer family moved to Kracow. Kazimierz graduated from junior high school there. He began writing poems while studying philosophy at Jagiellonian University. It was also the time when he took up journalism.

The turn of XIX/XX century was very difficult for the Poles. Poland had already been divided among three countries –Germany, Russia and Austria for over a hundred years. Only the Poles who lived in the Austrian province had some civil freedoms, others were oppressed by dividing powers.

• World War I brought hope to Polish nation for regaining freedom. Tetmajer was at that time ideologically connected with Legions. He also worked as an editor of ‘National Job’ published in Zakopane. Moreover, he was an organizer of a Defense Commity of Spisz, Orawa and Podhale.

• Poland regained freedom after the World War I. Kazimierz Przerwa Tetmajer moved from Cracow to Warsaw where in 1921 he became a chairman of Writers and Journalists Society, and in 1928 was awarded a literary prize of Warsaw city. In 1934 he was appointed an honourable member of Polish Literature Academy.

• In 1931 a 45-year jubilee of Tetmajer’s artistic work was celebrated.

Kazimierz Przerwa Tetmajer was never lucky with women. Although he was engaged a few times, he never married. He had, however, a son named Kazimierz Stanisław whose mother was an unknown actress. The child was born out of wedlock.

In 1939 Germany attacked Poland. World War II began. The time of war was particularly destructive to Warsaw. In the final stage in his life, Kazimierz PrzerwaTetmajer was a witness of the fall of Poland and the beginning of German occupation.

Unfortunately, illness made it impossible for Kazimierz Przerwa Tetmajer to continue writing in last years of his life. What was worse, he lost his sight just before he died. He basically lived off charity. In January 1940 he was transported from European Hotel to the Hospital of Baby Jesus in Warsaw where he died after a few days.