Marian Hemar

Marian Hemar was a Polish poet, satirist, playwright, comedy writer, and songwriter. He was born in Lwów, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to a Jewish family. He studied medicine and philosophy at the Jan Kazimierz University and took part in the defense of Lwów during the Polish-Ukrainian War. He moved to Warsaw in 1925 and became a prominent figure in the Polish literary and artistic scene. He worked with many famous cabarets, such as Qui Pro Quo, Banda, and Cyrulik Warszawski, and wrote over 3000 songs, many of which became hits. He also wrote shmontses, Jewish jokes and sketches, and collaborated with poets Julian Tuwim and Antoni Słonimski. He was a director of the Nowa Komedia theater and a contributor to Wiadomości Literackie and Wiadomości. He converted to Catholicism in 1935. After the outbreak of World War II, he escaped to Romania and then to the Middle East, where he joined the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade. He fought in Libya and organized cultural activities for the Polish troops. He also ran the Polish radio broadcasts in Cairo and wrote the march of the Carpathian Brigade and the song Myśmy tutaj szli z Narwiku. He moved to London in 1942 and became one of the most influential figures in the Polish diaspora. He continued to write poems, satires, and radio sketches, and hosted a weekly program for the Radio Free Europe. He died of a heart attack in Dorking in 1972. He was buried at the Dorking Cemetery with his wife Cai. He is remembered as one of the greatest Polish poets and songwriters of the 20th century.