Sonja Ziemann and Marek Hłasko

Brief biographies
 

Sonja Ziemann was born on 8th February 1926 in Eichwalde near Berlin. Her talent as a dancer and actress was recognised as an early age. At the age of 10 she began taking ballet lessons and three years later she was accepted into the dance school run by Tatjana Gsovsky. Later she attended the Ufa drama school in Berlin. She made her stage debut in 1941. In the same year she stood before the camera for the first time. Sonja Ziemann appeared in over 80 films.

Marek Hłasko was born in Warsaw on the 14th January 1934. He lived with his mother in Warsaw until 1944. After the repression of the Warsaw uprising and the complete destruction of Warsaw the family moved to Częstochowa, and later moved on to Breslau. Hłasko finished school here and in 1949 started a course in stage management in Warsaw, that he later broke off. He kept his head above water with odd jobs until he was able to earn enough money from writing. His literary debut“Baza Sokołowska” (The Service Area in Sokołowska Street) appeared in 1954. His most important works include “The Eighth Day of the Week” (Ósmy dzień tygdonia), “Next Stop Paradise” (Następny do raju), “Everyone turned their Backs” (Wszyscy byli odwróceni), “Dirty Deeds” (Brudne czyny), and “The Beautiful Girls in their Twenties” (Piękni dwudziestoletni). Marek Hłasko died on 14th June 1969 in Wiesbaden. He was buried in the Powązki cemetery in Warsaw.

Adam Gusowski, March 2016