Quick Facts
Biography
Jan Pietrzak (pronounced [ˈjan ˈpʲɛtʃak]) (born 26 April 1937 in Warsaw) is a Polish satirist, singer song-writer, stage and film actor as well as essayist for Tygodnik Solidarność weekly among others. He is the recipient of the Order of Polonia Restituta in the field of culture and art, received on 3 May 2009 from the President of Poland.
Jan Pietrzak was the founder of Warsaw Pod Egidą in 1967, a subversive literary cabaret under the communist system. He also co-founded the earlier 'Hybrydy' student cabaret with Jonasz Kofta in existence between 1962–1967. Pietrzak was one of the more popular voices of anti-communist opposition in the People's Republic of Poland. He attained country-wide recognition during the Solidarity years especially for his protest song entitled "Żeby Polska była Polską" (For Poland to be Poland) with music by Włodzimierz Korcz. It became the informal though widely accepted hymn of the Solidarity period.
Notes and references
- "Prawda w żartach zawarta." Interview with Jan Pietrzak by Patrycja Gruszyńska-Ruman. PDF direct download. Bulletin of the Institute of National Remembrance, No 7 (90) July 2008; ISSN 1641-9561. Retrieved June 14, 2012. (Polish)