This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen, also known as Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Gas Chamber, is a collection of short stories by Tadeusz Borowski, which were inspired by the author's concentration camp experience. The original title in the Polish language was Pożegnanie z Marią (Farewell to Maria).[1] Following two year imprisonment at Auschwitz, Borowski had been liberated from the Dachau concentration camp in the spring of 1945, and went on to write his collection in the following years in Stalinist Poland.[2] The book, translated in 1959, was featured in the Penguin's series "Writers from the Other Europe" from the 1970s.[3]
Borowski was arrested by the Gestapo in 1942. He was not a part of the Polish resistance movement in World War II against the Nazis in Warsaw, but his fiancée was. She was captured after falling into a trap set by the Nazis, and sent to a concentration camp. When she did not return home for the night, Borowski became worried, and started looking for her, only to end up falling in the same trap. He was caught and subsequently incarcerated at Auschwitzdeath camp for two years. He was sent on a death march to the Dachau concentration camp ahead of the Soviet advance, and in the spring of 1945 liberated by the US Seventh Army.[2]
Borowski was not Jewish, but was detained at Auschwitz and Dachau as a political prisoner. His views were therefore different from the postwar narrations of the Jewish concentration camp survivors. In a searing and shockingly satirical prose Borowski detailed what life-and-death felt like in the German concentration camps,[4] including his revelations about the poisonous relationships between the prisoners themselves.[5]
The short stories in his collection are linked by the themes as well as the presence of the main character Tadek, who serves the role of the narrator as well as the book's focal point. To a large degree the narrations are autobiographical. Tadek is a condensed version of Tadeusz and there is a high likelihood that Borowski wrote only from his personal experience. However, the two personalities (the author, and the narrator) themselves are different. Tadek is a survivalist with a hard shell. Borowski, as described by his followers and people who knew him well, was a heart-centered leader and a man who nobly helped others and did not worry about himself.[5]
Literary structure of the collectionedit
The book was featured in Penguin's series "Writers from the Other Europe" from the 1970s. Philip Roth was the general editor, and the series included authors such as Danilo Kiš, Bruno Schulz, Jiří Weil, and Milan Kundera, among others.[3] The short stories contained in this volume include:
"Pożegnanie z Marią" ("Farewell to Maria")
"Dzień na Harmenzach" ("A Day in Harmenza")
"Proszę państwa do gazu" ("This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen")
"Śmierć powstańca" ("Death of an Insurrectionist")
"Bitwa pod Grunwaldem" ("Battle of Grunwald")
With the author's permission, the volume was expanded to include further stories:
"Chłopiec z Biblią" ("A Boy with a Bible")
"U nas, w Auschwitzu..." ("Among Us, in Auschwitz...")
"Ludzie, którzy szli" ("The People Who Walked By")
"Ojczyzna" ("The Motherland")
"Ofensywa styczniowa" ("The January Offensive")
In the stories Borowski takes a "behavioral" approach – he only describes the behavior and outward reactions of the characters without delving into inner emotions and motivations, or specifying any kind of obvious moral judgement.
Borowski's work attracted much attention, and his stories of the camps were highly acclaimed in Polish literary circles. Despite the deceptive simplicity of his style and his documentary technique, his writing carries a burden of meaning that far transcends the merely actual. — Penguin Books [6]
^Tadeusz Borowski, Barbara Vedder, This way for the gas, ladies and gentlemen, Penguin Classics at Google Books
^ abChris Power (2011-08-25), "A brief survey of the short story part 35: Tadeusz Borowski Books, The Guardian.
^ abCooper, Alan (1996). Philip Roth and the Jews. State University of New York. pp. 163. danilo kis writers from the other europe.
^Karen Bernardo (2014), This Way For The Gas by Tadeusz Borowski. 2015-10-30 at the Wayback Machine Summary & Analysis. Storybites.com.
^ abJoanna Lenartowicz (2011/11/30), This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen - Tadeusz Borowski. Literature at Culture.pl.
^Penguin Books: This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. Overview.
May 08, 2024
this, ladies, gentlemen, also, known, ladies, gentlemen, chamber, collection, short, stories, tadeusz, borowski, which, were, inspired, author, concentration, camp, experience, original, title, polish, language, pożegnanie, marią, farewell, maria, following, y. This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen also known as Ladies and Gentlemen to the Gas Chamber is a collection of short stories by Tadeusz Borowski which were inspired by the author s concentration camp experience The original title in the Polish language was Pozegnanie z Maria Farewell to Maria 1 Following two year imprisonment at Auschwitz Borowski had been liberated from the Dachau concentration camp in the spring of 1945 and went on to write his collection in the following years in Stalinist Poland 2 The book translated in 1959 was featured in the Penguin s series Writers from the Other Europe from the 1970s 3 This Way for the Gas Ladies and GentlemenAuthorTadeusz BorowskiOriginal titlePozegnanie z MariaCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreDocumentaryPublisherViking PenguinPublication date1946Published in English1967Media typePrint paperback Pages180ISBN0 14 018624 7OCLC2458688Dewey Decimal891 8 537 20LC ClassPG7158 B613 A28 1976 Contents 1 Overview 1 1 Literary structure of the collection 2 See also 3 Notes and referencesOverview editBorowski was arrested by the Gestapo in 1942 He was not a part of the Polish resistance movement in World War II against the Nazis in Warsaw but his fiancee was She was captured after falling into a trap set by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp When she did not return home for the night Borowski became worried and started looking for her only to end up falling in the same trap He was caught and subsequently incarcerated at Auschwitz death camp for two years He was sent on a death march to the Dachau concentration camp ahead of the Soviet advance and in the spring of 1945 liberated by the US Seventh Army 2 Borowski was not Jewish but was detained at Auschwitz and Dachau as a political prisoner His views were therefore different from the postwar narrations of the Jewish concentration camp survivors In a searing and shockingly satirical prose Borowski detailed what life and death felt like in the German concentration camps 4 including his revelations about the poisonous relationships between the prisoners themselves 5 The short stories in his collection are linked by the themes as well as the presence of the main character Tadek who serves the role of the narrator as well as the book s focal point To a large degree the narrations are autobiographical Tadek is a condensed version of Tadeusz and there is a high likelihood that Borowski wrote only from his personal experience However the two personalities the author and the narrator themselves are different Tadek is a survivalist with a hard shell Borowski as described by his followers and people who knew him well was a heart centered leader and a man who nobly helped others and did not worry about himself 5 Literary structure of the collection edit The book was featured in Penguin s series Writers from the Other Europe from the 1970s Philip Roth was the general editor and the series included authors such as Danilo Kis Bruno Schulz Jiri Weil and Milan Kundera among others 3 The short stories contained in this volume include Pozegnanie z Maria Farewell to Maria Dzien na Harmenzach A Day in Harmenza Prosze panstwa do gazu This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen Smierc powstanca Death of an Insurrectionist Bitwa pod Grunwaldem Battle of Grunwald With the author s permission the volume was expanded to include further stories Chlopiec z Biblia A Boy with a Bible U nas w Auschwitzu Among Us in Auschwitz Ludzie ktorzy szli The People Who Walked By Ojczyzna The Motherland Ofensywa styczniowa The January Offensive In the stories Borowski takes a behavioral approach he only describes the behavior and outward reactions of the characters without delving into inner emotions and motivations or specifying any kind of obvious moral judgement Borowski s work attracted much attention and his stories of the camps were highly acclaimed in Polish literary circles Despite the deceptive simplicity of his style and his documentary technique his writing carries a burden of meaning that far transcends the merely actual Penguin Books 6 See also editHanna Krall Zofia Nalkowska Polish literatureNotes and references edit Tadeusz Borowski Barbara Vedder This way for the gas ladies and gentlemen Penguin Classics at Google Books a b Chris Power 2011 08 25 A brief survey of the short story part 35 Tadeusz Borowski Books The Guardian a b Cooper Alan 1996 Philip Roth and the Jews State University of New York pp 163 danilo kis writers from the other europe Karen Bernardo 2014 This Way For The Gas by Tadeusz Borowski Archived 2015 10 30 at the Wayback Machine Summary amp Analysis Storybites com a b Joanna Lenartowicz 2011 11 30 This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen Tadeusz Borowski Literature at Culture pl Penguin Books This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen Overview Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen amp oldid 1163596732, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
