She outwitted the Gestapo. Later, with a death sentence, she was sent to the camp. Hanuszkiewicz left his wife for her

Zofia Rysiówna is considered the first lady of Polish theatre. She performed, among others on the stage of the Theatre. Juliusz Słowacki or the Stary Theater in Krakow, she was also associated with many institutions in the capital. She gained the greatest popularity by appearing in almost 70 TV Theater performances.

Rysiówna belonged to the resistance movement. After one of the actions, she went to Pawiak

Rysiówna was born on May 17, 1920, as the youngest of seven siblings. She spent her entire adolescence in Nowy Sącz, where the family moved after the death of her father. Art has been her passion from an early age. After completing compulsory education, she left for the capital to begin her studies at the State Institute of Theater Arts. She did not interrupt her studies, even when World War II broke out a year later.

Then, persuaded by her brother, she joined the resistance movement, but she was not aware that she was active in the underground. “It was all based on my guesses. My brother was right on the assumption that if you don’t know, you’ll never say it—years later. The actress took part in many actions, which she often initiated herself. This was also the case when Jan “Witold” Karski was captured by the Gestapo. After numerous tortures, a courier of the Polish Underground tried to commit suicide. When he was in the Nowy Sącz hospital, Rysiówna was sent dressed as a nun to bribe the guards guarding him and enable him to escape. The action was successful, but the activities of the young woman did not escape the attention of the Germans. Wanted letters were immediately sent out for her, and after a few weeks, Rysiówna was detained by .

During her stay in Pawiak, she underwent numerous tortures, and then was sent to the concentration camp in Ravensbrück. “I was starving, overworked, and witnessed cruel medical experiments on female prisoners,” she recalled. Although she received a death sentence, she managed to survive until the end of the war. After leaving the camp, she took an extramural exam, which she successfully passed and started her career.

Hanuszkiewicz was the love of her life. He left Rysiówna for another actress

The first husband was a colleague, Adam Hanuszkiewicz, who was 4 years younger. They met in Kraków, but at that time the man had a wife and they were expecting a child. This did not prevent Rysiówna from seeking his favor. In the end, the actor succumbed to her charm and abandoned his family. They got married soon after, in 1948. — My fascination with Rysiówna began with verbal duels — . “I owe her a lot. For example, she taught me to listen to the interlocutor and articulate my thoughts precisely. For almost the entire time of our relationship, she was constantly scolding me, saying, “You’re babbling,” he said. Soon after, their fruit, Katarzyna, appeared in the world, and a few years later, their son, Piotr. They lived a happy and peaceful life until the mid-1970s. After moving to Warsaw, Hanuszkiewicz had an affair with another woman, which ultimately put an end to this marriage.

Rysiówna could not come to terms with the breakup of this relationship for a long time, she considered it her greatest failure. Only when she met the cinematographer Sergei Sprudin did she believe in love again. The couple got married and lived together for 30 years. Zofia Rysiówna died on November 17, 2003 at the age of 83. She was buried at the Municipal Cemetery in Nowy Sącz.