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Aleksander Kulisiewicz

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Aleksander Kulisiewicz
Born(1918-08-07)August 7, 1918
DiedMarch 12, 1982(1982-03-12) (aged 63)
Resting placeSalwator Cemetery, Kraków
Occupation(s)Journalist, singer
Years active1939–1981
Known forCollection of music composed in Nazi concentration camps
AwardsMedal for Fighters Against Fascism (1965)

Aleksander Kulisiewicz (7 August 1918 – 12 March 1982) was a Polish singer, journalist and a political prisoner during the World War II occupation of Poland.[1][2]

Early life

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Kulisiewicz was born on 7 August 1918 in Kraków. He studied law in German-occupied Poland and worked as a journalist. In 1940, in reaction to his article "Heil butter! – Enough of Adolf Hitler!" he was deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.[3] In the camp, he sang and learned songs passed on to him by other inmates,[4] especially from fellow prisoner Martin Rosenberg (known as Rosebery d'Arguto), including his Tsen Brider-inspired "Jüdische Todessang" (Jewish Death Song), which d'Arguto had composed in 1942.[1][5]

Post War

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Following liberation and the end of World War II, he began to document the songs he had learned from other inmates. He dictated hundreds of songs in four languages to a nurse in Kraków.[6] Due to his extensive interpretations of camp songs, he was nicknamed the Singer from Hell.[7]

Kulisiewicz died on 12 March 1982 in Kraków.[8] He is buried at Salwator Cemetery.

References

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  1. ^ a b Barbara Milewski; Bret Werb. "Aleksander Kulisiewicz". Music and The Holocaust (biography, sources). ORT. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Heil, Sachsenhausen!". holocaustmusic.ort.org. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  3. ^ "Songs of the Holocaust: the music of Aleksander Kulisiewicz". HistoryExtra. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  4. ^ "Aleksander Kulisiewicz collection, 1939–1986". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  5. ^ Jacobson, J. (2000-09-01). "'Tsen Brider': a Jewish requiem". The Musical Quarterly. 84 (3): 452–474. doi:10.1093/mq/84.3.452. hdl:2047/d20000653. ISSN 0027-4631.
  6. ^ "Aleksander Kulisiewicz sound recordings – Cassette Tapes [TK]". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  7. ^ "Songs from the Depths of Hell". Smithsonian Folkways. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  8. ^ "Kulisiewicz, Aleksander Tytus, 1918-1982 – History – Social Networks and Archival Context". snaccooperative.org. Retrieved 2022-11-08.

Further reading

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