Jonasz Kofta, real name: Janusz Kofta (born 28 November 1942 in Mizocz, Volhynia, today Ukraine; died 19 April 1988 in Warsaw) was a Polish songwriter and a poet.
The Kofta family came to Warsaw after the Second World War and later lived in Wrocław and Poznań. Jonasz's father was a Jew. In 1961 Kofta received his Matura in High School of Arts in Poznań and began to study painting in Warsaw. By that time he had begun to write poetry and cabaret numbers. In 1962, together with Adam Kreczmar and Jan Pietrzak, he opened the student cabaret club Hybrydy in Warsaw. In 1964 he became the literary director of the cabaret.
Starting in 1966 his poems, satires and song lyrics were published in newspapers. From 1968 to 1980 he often worked with Kreczmar and Pietrzak at Pod Egida, one of the most popular Polish cabarets. There he gained a reputation for being one of the most poetic and most politically important songwriters in Poland. In the 1980s he had continued poor health, including cancer. He died after choking to death on his meal.
The Battle of the Bzura was the largest Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September. The battle took place west of Warsaw, near the Bzura River. It began as a Polish counter-offensive, which gained initial success, but the Germans outflanked the Polish forces with a concentrated counter-attack. That weakened Polish forces and the Poznań and Pomorze Armies were destroyed. Western Poland was now under German occupation. The battle has been described as "the bloodiest and most bitter battle of the entire Polish campaign". Winston Churchill called the battle an "ever-glorious struggle".
Royal elections in Poland were the elections of individual kings, rather than dynasties, to the Polish throne. Based on traditions dating to the very beginning of the Polish statehood, strengthened during the Piast and Jagiellon dynasties, they reached their final form in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth period between 1572 and 1791. The "free election" was abolished by the Constitution of 3 May 1791, which established a constitutional-parliamentary monarchy.
Greater Poland uprising of 1806 was a Polish military insurrection which occurred in the region of Wielkopolska, also known as Greater Poland, against the occupying Prussian forces after the Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1772–1795).
Marian Hemar (1901–1972), born Marian Hescheles, was a Polish poet, journalist, playwright, comedy writer, and songwriter. Hemar himself stated that before the outbreak of World War II he had already written 1,200 songs, including such widely popular hits as Może kiedyś innym razem and Upić się warto . Hemar was a final pen name adopted by Marian in his literary career. It was formed from the first two letters of his last name, Hescheles, and the first three letters of his given name, Marian.
Jerzy Petersburski was a Jewish Polish pianist and composer of popular music, renowned mostly for his Tangos, some of which were milestones in popularization of the musical genre in Poland and are still widely known today, more than half a century after their creation.
Jan Pietrzak is a Polish satirist, singer-songwriter, stage and film actor, and columnist for Tygodnik Solidarność.
Jarosław Kazimierz Kukulski was a Polish composer. He was the husband of late singer Anna Jantar and the father of singer Natalia Kukulska.
Kabaret TEY was one of the most popular Polish cabarets in the 1970s and 1980s. Its main performers included Zenon Laskowik and Bohdan Smoleń.
Janusz Szrom is a Polish jazz vocalist and composer.
Wojciech Młynarski was a Polish poet, singer, songwriter, translator and director. A well-known figure on the Polish musical scene, he was most famous for his ballads and what is known as sung poetry, as well as for his collaboration with numerous vocalists and cabarets. He wrote lyrics to more than 2,000 songs, a small fraction of which he sang himself. His songs received a total of 25 "Karolinkas", which are the main awards of the Polish Song Festival in Opole, the most important Polish song festival, occurring annually since 1963. He also composed music to some of his songs. He is considered an icon of Polish culture.
The reorganization of occupied dioceses during World War II was an issue faced by Pope Pius XII of whether to extend the apostolic authority of Catholic bishops from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to German-occupied Europe during World War II.
Lidia Wysocka was a Polish stage, film and voice actress, singer, cabaret performer and creative director, theatre director and costume designer, editorialist.
Andrzej Szczytko was a Polish actor and stage director. Szczytko is the recipient of multiple theatre awards and honours, including the 2016 Witkacy Prize - Critics' Circle Award. He was awarded the Decoration of Honor "Meritorious for Polish Culture" in 2012 for his contribution to Polish culture, and in 2017, the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.
"Żeby Polska była Polską" is one of the best-known Polish protest songs written in 1976 by the Polish singer-songwriter Jan Pietrzak, with music by Włodzimierz Korcz. The song became an informal anthem of the Solidarity period in the People's Republic of Poland. From June 1976 protests against the Soviet-style communism imposed in Poland, all the way to the collapse of the Warsaw Pact in the 1990s, it was the symbol of the political opposition to the Communist regime. The song was widely popular among the members of Solidarity, and won first-prize at the 1981 National Festival of Polish Song in Opole. It is one of Pietrzak's best-known works.
Włodzimierz Korcz is a Polish composer, pianist, music producer and author of many popular songs. He graduated from the Academy of Music in Łódź and debuted in 1965. In 1968–1970 Korcz worked as music editor for Polskie Radio in Łódź. In 1974–1977 he was the music director at Teatr na Targówku in Warsaw.
Pod Egidą is a Polish satirical cabaret. It has been created in 1967 on the initiative of singer-songwriter Jan Pietrzak, and is still active. "Under the aegis" was a politically charged cliché in the Soviet Union dominated Eastern Europe.
Jonah Gogol was an Orthodox and later an Uniate bishop of Pinsk-Turowski.
Łucja Weronika Prus was a Polish singer.
The General Sejm was the parliament of the Kingdom of Poland. It had evolved from the earlier institution of Curia Regis and was one of the primary elements of democratic governance in the Polish dominion.
Lili Larys was a Polish dancer.