The only daughter of the legendary actor lived in his shadow for years. “I found out about my father’s death from the radio”

Anna Jaraczówna was born on May 28, 1916 in Moscow as the only daughter of Jadwiga Daniłowicz and Stefan Jaracz. When she was only 2 years old, her father was already considered a big star in Poland, so the whole family moved to Warsaw. Growing up Anna, called Hanna by many, often accompanied her parents during rehearsals and performances. She watched from hiding as they made the audience cry or laugh and wanted to follow in their footsteps.

Stefan Jaracz introduced his daughter to salons when she was a child. Because of the war, Anna lost her long-awaited child

It seemed that he had a straight path to his career. Her father introduced her to the artistic bohemia of the capital and thanks to him, at the age of 16, she made her debut on the stage of the Ateneum Theater, of which he was the director at that time. Then she performed in performances of other institutions in the capital, for which she received many favorable reviews. Jaracz, however, did not want such a talent to be wasted, as he had great hopes for her, so he decided to take her under his wing. This is how she joined the permanent cast of Ateneum, in which she performed, among others, in “School Wives” or “The Sixth Floor”.

At the same time, she also found love with Maksymilian Górkiewicz, with whom she fell head over heels in love. The couple got married at the end of February 1938, and only a few months later they announced that they were expecting a child. The joyful time was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, which initiated a series of real tragedies in the actress’s life. When she was mobilized, she went to Lublin with her father and grandfather, where her daughter was born. She did not enjoy motherhood for long, because a few weeks later the girl died on the way back to the capital.

She was sent to Pawiak, and her father to Auschwitz. Jaraczówna learned about his death from the radio

In March 1941, both Jaracz and his daughter were arrested in connection with the repression of Polish actors. Jaraczówna was released from Pawiak after less than a month, but her father was transported to Auschwitz. Although he managed to regain his freedom, the damage to his health, including loss of hearing in one ear, turned out to be irreversible. Desperate by the situation, she abandoned acting to earn money as a waitress. At the beginning of 1945, like a bolt from the blue, she received the news that she had become a widow. Górkiewicz died in the Sachsenhausen camp. When she had partially coped with her grief, her father also passed away during her stay in the sanatorium due to tuberculosis. – I learned about my father’s death from the radio megaphones, because I was at the swimming pool in Lublin on that hot August day in 1945 – many years later.

Jaracz’s daughter returned to her profession only at the end of the war. How did her fate turn out?

Jaraczówna refused to play for the occupier, but finally, in October 1944, she stood on the stage of the Powszechny Theater in Krakow, supervised by the Germans. After the war, she became involved with the New Theater and later the Ateneum. She also appeared on screen more and more often in productions such as “Brunet in the Evening”, “The Passenger” and “Agnieszka”. Although her talent was undeniable and she was often compared to her father, she did not have a great career and usually appeared in the background or in episodes.

She inherited from him a great talent which, unfortunately, was not used until the end, especially after the war

– said actor and publicist Witold Sadowy with regret.

In 1951, Jaraczówna fulfilled her dream and became a mother for the second time. Her daughter Magdalena immediately became the apple of her eye and they were inseparable. From an early age, she “fed” her with art, reading Słowacki’s works to her at bedtime, and also took her to rehearsals and film sets. It’s no wonder that she decided to continue the family tradition and became involved with the world of film and theater. Anna Jaraczówna died on May 4, 1979. – I didn’t have the opportunity to admire her in any extraordinary role, but everything she did, she did very well. Except that she was absolutely in her father’s shadow – about her mother, Magdalena.