Gustaw Herling-Grudziński was a leading Polish writer and public intellectual after World War II. He was also arguably the most prominent literary witness to the Gulag before Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Little is known about his childhood. Even the place of his birth, on May 20, 1919, is not entirely certain. His birth certificate identifies it as Skrzelczyce, near Kielce in south-central Poland, where his father Jakób owned and managed a farm. The writer himself, however, always maintained that he was born in Kielce where his mother, Dorota (née Bryczkowska), spent much time with his three older siblings. The religious and cultural background informing Herling-Grudziński's upbringing at home also raises some questions. Although his parents were Jewish (he was given a Jewish name, Gecel,
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Citation: Tolczyk, Dariusz. "Gustaw Herling-Grudziński". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 March 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13615, accessed 26 November 2024.]
