Jerzy Kosinski
| Jerzy Kosiński | |
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Jerzy Kosiński (1969)
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| Born |
Józef Lewinkopf June 14, 1933 Łódź, Poland |
| Died | May 3, 1991 (aged 57) Manhattan, United States |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Spouse(s) | 1) Mary Hayward Weir (1962–1966) 2) Katherina "Kiki" von Fraunhofer (?–1991; his death) |
Jerzy Kosiński (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjɛʐɨ kɔˈɕiɲskʲi]; June 14, 1933 – May 3, 1991), born Józef Lewinkopf, was an award-winning Polish-American novelist and two-time President of the American Chapter of P.E.N., who wrote primarily in English. Born in Poland, he survived World War II and, as a young man, emigrated to the U.S., where he became a citizen.
He was known for various novels, among them The Painted Bird (1965) and Being There (1971), which was adapted as an Academy Award-winning film (1979).
Kosiński was born Józef Lewinkopf to Jewish parents in Łódź, Poland. As a child during World War II, he lived in central Poland under a false identity, Jerzy Kosiński, which his father gave to him. A Roman Catholic priest issued him a forged baptismal certificate, and the Lewinkopf family survived the Holocaust thanks to local villagers who offered assistance to Polish Jews, often at great risk. (The penalty for helping Jews in Nazi- Germany-occupied Poland was death for all members of a family and sometimes for the inhabitants of the village). Kosiński's father was assisted not only by town leaders and clergymen, but also by individuals such as Marianna Pasiowa, a member of an underground network that helped Jews evade capture. The family lived openly in Dąbrowa Rzeczycka, near Stalowa Wola, and attended church in nearby Wola Rzeczycka, with the support of villagers in Kępa Rzeczycka. For a time, they were sheltered by a Catholic family in Rzeczyca Okrągła. Jerzy even served as an altar boy in the local church.
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