Mieczysława Ćwiklińska was already 54 years old and – like The first operetta singer and star of the capital's stages – she was a favorite in Warsaw, When director Michał Waszyński, at the express request of Eugeniusz Bodo, who was fascinated by the actress, cast her in the role of Idalia Porecka in the comedy “His Excellency Subiekt”.
On September 1, 1939, Express Burani announced that the artist had begun rehearsals for the play Fredro at the Ateneum Theater on that day, where she had been rehearsing for years. She first appeared on stage as Ćwiklińska, and not as before under her family name Trapszo. Historical events thwarted the actress's artistic plans, so she decided to flee the capital. She was stuck in a small village between Minsk and Kalushin, and after a few days in the hay, she decided she had to go back.
The sight of a destroyed Warsaw disappointed her. Fortunately, the house on Aleja 3 Maja, where she had an apartment, and the villa in Podkowa Leśna, to which she was planning to move at any moment, survived.
Mieczysława Ćwiklińska, looking for something to do, She got a job with several unemployed actresses as a waitress at the “Bodo Café” run by Eugenius Bodo. A few months later, the active stars opened their own cafe “U Gwiazdek”. Working in the building allowed Mieczysława to obtain information that was very useful to members of intelligence organizations. She happened to be a friend of one of them – the leader of the Knights spy network Stefan Witkowski – and when he offered her cooperation, she agreed to join the organization without hesitation.
Mieczysława Ćwiklińska met Stefan Witkowski in October 1939. She had had two failed marriages and was on the verge of divorce from her third husband – the publisher and bookseller Marian Steinsberg, Which I considered terribly boring. Barely forty at the time, Witkowski, an engineer, inventor, and Polish intelligence collaborator, was just setting up a spy organization. Thanks to his relationship with Ignacy Paderewski, he had extensive contacts in governmental and cultural spheres, and was He was a charming man, so he easily won Mieczysława's sympathy and became her friend, And then he got involved in the conspiracy.
When the former husband of the actress in 1940 He got into big trouble and had to sell his library. Ćwiklińska cashed in her jewelry and very valuable porcelain collection to buy him papers allowing him to leave Poland and settle in Switzerland. Unfortunately, Swiss border guards discovered that the documents were forged and extradited Steinsberg. With Stefan Witkowski's help, she tried to help her ex-husband, but he did not want to put her in danger and refused when she offered to hide him in her villa in Budkovice. He died in 1943.
A year earlier – in May 1942 – Mieczysława Ćwiklińska buried Witkowski, who was accused of treason. Although Witkowski's guilt was never proven, and members of the spy organization he headed were never proven to have collaborated with the enemy, most of the “Knights” were targeted by the AKP and the NKVD.
Mieczysława Ćwiklińska did not brag to anyone about her connections with the “Knights”. As historian Jerzy Rostkowski claims in his book “Świat Musketeers”, she survived a difficult period only because she was able to keep her mouth shut. None of her friends had any idea that her house contained a radio station enabling knights to communicate with London, an armory and an enemy alert system.
Star of very popular comedies – including: “Antek policmajster”, “Is Lucina a girl?” And “The Minister is Dancing” – she regularly provided the “Knights” with valuable information that she heard in the “Yu Goyazdik” cafe. She ended her espionage activities only two years after the death of Stefan Witkowski.
Mieczysława Ćwiklińska moved to Krakow and on 22 March 1945, she stood on stage to play Podstolina in a production intended for the Municipal Theater. Juliusz Słowacki by Teofil Trzecinski “Zemście”.
Before returning to the capital in 1950, she appeared in several premieres in Krakow theaters and in the film “Border Street”. Warsaw fans gave their former favorite a standing ovation. She played in Polish, new and classical theaters until the end of 1962, until she decided to retire. However, she could not survive for long without work.
Mieczysława Ćwiklińska decided that the role of the grandmother in the play “Trees Die Standing”, which she played for the first time on December 1, 1958, on the stage of the Warsaw Classical Theater, was ideal as a farewell to the audience.
A month later, she signed a contract with Szczecińska Estrada and set off for Poland.
“Success follows success. Success is everywhere!” I'm so glad people still want to see me. But I only have the strength to play on stage“- she said in an interview after one of the performances.
“I do not give up. I would rather play and die on stage than live longer and live at home“- she added.
Mieczysława Ćwiklińska: She fought against time and her weaknesses
The actress was 92 years old when at the beginning of April 1971 she played for the last time in the play “Trees Die Standing.” She has performed in the show more than 1,500 times, touring across the country and making a triumphant tour of the United States.
Mieczysława Ćwiklińska decided for herself when she would bow before her audience for the last time. She left because she did not want to be seen carried on stage and realize that she could no longer see much and that they could not hear that she was very ill.
On July 26, 1972, the actress entered the Ministry of Health clinic due to acute cholecystitis. The next day, she underwent surgery, but she did not wake up from the anesthesia.
She died at noon on July 28. Three days later, countless crowds bid farewell to her at the Boyzki Cemetery.
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Aleksandra Poplavska talks about her relationship with her sister. “I was born completely unnecessary”
