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He
was a German-Silesian. His father was a railwayman, and his mother (Valeska
nee Piontek) the piano teacher.
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Their house in the Gliwice Zatorze district stands to this day. |
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As
most of the Gliwice inhabitants, he was displaced after the World War II
to arrive at the Soviet Occupation Zone beyond the Odra river. He found
work in the Berliner Ensemble Brecht theatre. In 1951 under the order of
the GDR (German Democratic Republic) he was arrested under the pretext of
espionage and anti-Soviet incitement. The Soviet military court sentenced
him to 15 years of hard labour. Bienek worked 14 hours a day in the
Workuta mine. He was lucky to be released in 1955 together with other
prisoners under the GDR and USSR Governments agreement. Then he settled in
Munich.
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He
gained the world-wide fame with his four books telling the story of the
war lot of Silesians: „The Journey to the Land of Childhood”.
„ The September Light”, „The First Polka”, and
„The Time Without Bells”. In 1990 the Gliwice municipal
authorities meant to award Bienek with the honorary citizenship, however
it was already too late. Nowadays, the street where he lived bears his
name. |
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The
house where he lived can be distinguished by the plaque dedicated to him. |
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"The birch forest – the
most beautiful in the world..." |
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