Letters of Ludwik Solski to his daughter, Anna Sosnowska: 1945-1954

Janusz Degler

Uniwersytet Wrocławski (prof. emerit.) (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4823-8432

Wojciech Sztaba

Pädagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg (Germany)

Abstract

Ludwik Solski's published letters to his daughter - Anna Sosnowska (1905-1997) - come from 1945-1954. Most of them were sent by the actor from Krakow, where he lived at that time, from several of the cities where he stayed during guest performances (Warsaw, Bielsko) or rested (Krynica, Morawin). Anna lived abroad after 1945. In Paris, she had trouble finding a permanent job; she was studying shorthand. Solski writes about living conditions in Poland, his deteriorating health, money transfers for his daughter and parcels from her, which he begged her not to send him. He expresses constant care for his daughter. Letters and postcards concern primarily private affairs, but we also learn a lot about the actor's work, tours with Bałucki’s Grube ryby (Big Shots) around the country and audience reactions, jubilee celebrations in 1951 and 1954. The correspondence shows the work of a theatre artist and the functioning of the theatre in Poland in the first post-war years. Solska’s letters - mother to daughter, were published by Lidia Kuchtówna (Irena Solska’s Letters, Warsaw, 1984). Now it is possible to read the letters of both parents to Anna, sent to Paris. We include 61 letters. The originals (manuscripts, mostly with envelopes) are at Henryk Tomaszewski Museum of the Theatre in Wrocław. In 2015, souvenirs of Ludwik and Irena Solski, among them letters, were donated to the Museum by Mathias von Poswik, grandson of Solska’s brother, who came into their possession after the death of Anna Sosnowska.

Keywords:

Polish theatre, theatre history, Polish actors, Ludwik Solski