He was only 14 when he was tortured by the Gestapo. “I was squeaking like a woman.” Then he went to the cell after his father

On September 9, 2021, one of the greatest Polish, Wiesław Gołas, died at the age of 91. His filmography was dominated by comedy productions, thanks to which he gained the sympathy and recognition of the audience. This unique sense of humor, thanks to which he was able to outshine the other members of the cast, was a lifesaver for him in the most difficult moments of his life.

The war hit him hard. Tortured by the Gestapo, he did not betray his fellow prisoners

At first, life was idyllic. Everything changed with the advent of the war, during which his father, an officer, died. At that time, a 13-year-old boy reported to the Gray Ranks, taking a solemn oath and adopting the nickname “Wolf”. Only a year later he was caught by the Gestapo. He was tortured in prison.

They put me in the same cell my father had been in before. (…) The first time I was interrogated, I was squealing like a woman. My fellow inmates knew I didn’t screw anyone up, so they respected me and covered my blue back with wet rags

– he mentioned in the book “Na Gołasa”. His innate optimism helped him survive the most difficult moments, although before he left the prison walls, he seriously feared for his fate.

At school, they called him “the devil” because he shunned learning and often skipped lessons. Despite this, he was good at literature and willingly contributed to the arts. At the instigation of one of the teachers, he took the exams for the theater school. Much to the displeasure of his mother, who wanted him to become a priest or a forester, he was given an index. He made his debut in the theater in Jelenia Góra with the role of Papkin in “Zemsta”, which immediately opened the door to his career. “Each of us actors is a bit of Papkin, because we are funny and tragic at the same time, we sell ourselves for a bowl of soup,” he said. Although he felt like a fish in water on stage, he began to get stressed when he saw the cameras. Despite this, he successfully received roles. “Generation”, “Sketches with coal”, “Captain Owl on the trail”, “Wanted, Wanted”, “Alternatywy 4” are just a few of over a hundred productions in which he appeared.

Wiesław Gołasa was married twice. In the last years of his life, his health deteriorated seriously

Although he was successful on stage, he could not always count on luck in private. His first love was Elżbieta Szczepańska. When he fell in love with her, the girl had an admirer. This however was not a problem for me. He decided to do everything to defeat the competitor – successfully. The couple quickly got married, and the fruit of this relationship was a daughter, Agnieszka. After 15 years of living together, the marriage broke up.

For the second time, he stood on the wedding carpet at the side of Maria Krawczyk. Their first meeting happened by chance. The actor noticed his picture in one of the photo shops and necessarily wanted the person who made it. At that time, he did not know that the photographer would become his wife. “When I saw her, I simply fell in love with her like a schoolboy,” he recalled. They’ve been inseparable ever since. She stayed with him even when he was seriously ill. In the last years of his life, the actor became very ill. After suffering a myocardial infarction, he stopped appearing in public. He later suffered two strokes, and complications from the last one led to his death.