Bruno Schulz was a Polish prose writer, fine artist, literary critic, and art teacher. He died exactly 80 years ago killed by Germans.
Bruno Schulz, the Polish writer of Jewish origin, was born on July 12 in 1892 in Drohobych (today part of Ukraine). He spent almost his entire life there. He was reluctant to leave Drohobych. If he left his hometown, he did so sporadically and for a short time.
He considered it the centre of the world, was a diligent observer of it and proved to be an excellent “chronicler.” His work, both literary and visual, is saturated with Drohobych’s realities. On the pages of the stories, one can find descriptions of the main streets and characteristic buildings of the town, as well as images of its residents.
The distinctiveness of the world depicted by Schulz – whether in prose or the visual arts – has made his work not only unflagging but on the contrary, increasingly popular. Schulz’s artistic output is relatively modest in quantity, but extremely rich in quality.
Bruno Schulz became famous primarily for his two volumes of short stories “Cinnamon Shops” and “Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass,” as well as several works not included by the writer in the first editions of the aforementioned collections.
Bruno Schulz was shot by a Gestapo officer on November 19, 1942. He died while walking back home toward Drohobych Ghetto.
“On this day, 80 years ago, during WW2, the Polish prose writer of Jewish origin Bruno #Schulz was killed by Germans. His books, including the best-known one – „Cinnamon Shops”, have been translated into 30 languages, what makes him one of the most highly regarded Polish-language writers,” Chancellery of the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.