Stanislaw Wygodzki signing his book’s

This is a picture of my husband, Stanislaw Wygodzki. In the picture he is signing his books. I’m not sure which book it was, but something published in the 1960s, when the picture was taken.

My husband started writing in the 1920s. His first book was published in 1935 in Moscow, it was poetry [the 'Apel' ('Assembly') volume of poetry was published in Moscow in 1933].

Later more volumes of poetry were published in Poland ['Chleb powszedni' ('Daily Bread'), Cracow 1934]. He cooperated with leftist literary journals [publications in 'Miesiecznik Literacki' edited by Aleksander Wat, numbers 11, 9, September 1930].

After the war my husband was working at the Ministry of Culture for some time, later only at home. All he'd do was write. I don't remember when he stopped working at the Ministry.

He wrote by hand, later typed it on a typewriter. He asked me to proofread his writing, I did the editing, later typed it on the typewriter.

And after he submitted it at the publishing house, I'd do the subsequent revisions, which he checked. He usually agreed with me. I often threw out lots of things, because he sometimes repeated some things.

I wasn't involved politically. I wasn't in the Party, but I didn't rebel against the authorities either. I didn't go to all those discussions at the writers' club. That was my husband's domain. My husband was in the Party.

After Khrushchev's declaration at the Twentieth Party Congress his eyes were opened. He didn't return his party membership card, but he openly spoke his mind during meetings.

He wrote the book 'Zatrzymany do wyjasnienia' ['Detained until explanation,' novel published by 'Kultura' in Paris in 1968 and in London in 1979].

It was also translated into Hebrew [Israel, 1968, Maariv publishing house] and into German [Germany, 1969, Piper Verlag].

Photos from this interviewee