Content area
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, nom de plume “Jan Bugaj” (22 January 1921, Warsaw–4 August 1944, Warsaw) was a Polish poet. In his short life Baczyński, who was killed at the age of 23 during the first days of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, had proven to be an individual of great talent and poetic maturity. After the war, the legend of Baczyński steadily grew. Today, he is recognized in Poland to be the greatest poet of the war generation. In the case of Baczyński, however, it needs to be acknowledged that many elements of his life have been manipulated by Poland’s post-war Communist regime as well as by nationalist circles, and a falsified image of Baczyński remains in Poland today.
Through a careful examination of archival documents, including Baczyński’s poems, letters, and illustrations as well as personal recollections of the poet’s family and friends, this dissertation aims to provide a more authentic portrait of Baczyński than is now available, free of Communist and nationalistic framing of his life and work. In particular, this dissertation focuses on elements of the poet’s life and work that have previously escaped attention and proves many of the prevailing views on Baczyński to be based on superficial or even false criteria.