Biography

Kazimierz Brandys (27 October 1916 – 11 March 2000) was a Polish essayist and writer of film scripts. Brandys was born in Łódź. He was the brother of the writer Marian Brandys and husband of the translator Maria Zenowicz. He graduated in law from the University of Warsaw. He was first published in 1935 as a theatre critic, in the literary monthly Kuźnia Młodych (Anvil of Youth). Between 1945 and 1950 he was a member of the editorial board of the weekly Kuźnica (The Smithy).

In 1946 he joined the Polish Workers' Party. His literary career took off with the publication of his account of the two Warsaw uprisings during World War II.

From 1956 onwards he was the spokesman for the Polish communist party's programme of "renewal" and "moral cleansing". Between 1956 and 1960 he was on the editorial board of the weekly Nowa Kultura (New Culture).

In 1966 he left the communist party as a protest against the political persecution of Leszek Kołakowski. In 1970 and 1971 he taught Slavonics at the Sorbonne. In 1976 he signed the Letter of 59, protesting against changes to the constitution of the People's Republic of Poland. Between 1977 and 1980 he was on the editorial board of Zapis (The Record).

After 1981 he lived outside of Poland. He died in 2000, in Paris.