Leading Polish writer, intellectual, and anti-communist activist has died
One of Poland's most celebrated writers and fervent anti-communists, Gustaw
Herling-Grudzinski, has died of a stroke at the age of 81 in Naples.
Herling-Grudzinski was best known for his political novels, such as the
highly acclaimed Inny Swiat (A World Apart). The book is a shocking account
of his experiences in gulags and in various Soviet prisons. It is an
extremely penetrating analysis and strongly criticizes the Soviet political
system. In 1942, Herling-Grudzinsk joined the Polish armed forces in Western
Europe and was awarded an important military honor, the Virtuti Militari
Cross, for his service at the Battle of Monte Casino. Recently, he continued
his influence on the cultural, intellectual and political life of Poland
with his book Dziennik Pisany Noca (A Diary Written At Night). "I am always
doing everything to tell the truth and serve the truth," he wrote of
himself. (Rzeczpospolita, page 1, Reuters) P.S.
