Augustyn Suski | |
---|---|
Born |
Szaflary |
8 November 1907
Died | 26 May 1942 Auschwitz concentration camp |
(aged 34)
Nationality | Polish |
Notable works | Poezja Młodego Podhala (1937) |
Augustyn Suski (November 8, 1907 – May 26, 1942), was a Polish poet, pedagogue in the interwar period, and underground activist during World War II. Under the German occupation, Suski (nom-de-guerre Stefan Borusa) became a founder of the Polish resistance organization called Tatra Confederation (Polish: Konfederacja Tatrzańska), a.k.a. Confederation of the Tatra Mountains, operating in the Nowy Targ area of Podhale. He died at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Augustyn Suski was born in Szaflary near Nowy Targ, one of six children of bakery owner Ludwik Suski and Marianna née Haschir of Hungarian background. He finished high school in Nowy Targ, and enrolled at the Philosophy Department of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Suski interrupted his studies with the military training between 1929–1930, and continued university courses till June 1935. However, he did not receive master's due to financial difficulties. Suski worked as a tutor, joined the board of Student Folk Society (Akademicka Młodzież Ludowa), performed at readings and published his poetry at the Gazeta Podhalańska and the Marchołt quarterly. In spite of having mastered the rules of Polish grammar, he wrote in heavy regional dialect in order to capture the essence of his Goral characters. His use of local speech was influenced by the Suski's lifelong devotion to Podhale and its people, best exemplified in his poem "Do gwary mojej" (To my Dialect).