THE FRIENDSHIP OF WITOLD FRIEMANN AND ADAM MITSCHA WITH KAZIMIERZ BROCZYK RECORDED IN CORRESPONDENCE
Authors: Wardęcka-Gościńska Alicja 
Published: June 2023

In their youth in Lviv, Kazimierz Broczyk, a writer, and two musicians, Witold Friemann and Adam Mitscha, made an acquaintance that in time turned into a devoted lifelong friendship. Even though their fates were separated because of the WW II hardships, and they found themselves in different cities, this is how we have their correspondence kept up among them and uncovering a wide variety of different topics. Its main body is the existentialism related to their lives and moral choices. The letters exchanged by Broczyk and Friemann date back to the period of 1954 and 1967, whereas the letters of Broczyk and Mitscha are from 1962-1967.Broczyk and Friemanns friendship was of a literary and musical nature as Broczyk was the librettist of Giewont Friemanns first, unfinished operatic piece; unfortunately, the work has not survived except for small fragments in the form of songs. Mitscha was in turn Friemanns student in the Lviv period, and with time he became his faithful friend and first biographer. The Broczyks, even though not professionally connected with music, proved to be fond of it (his wife Eugenia sang in a choir) and fascinated by Friemanns compositions presented on the Polish Radio.The three friends and their families constantly suffered from health problems, which undoubtedly resulted from their war experiences and everyday hardships, as well as poor housing conditions in case of the Friemanns, whereas in case of Broczyk, also his stays in prison and deportation. Apart from that, in the letters we read about the moral dilemma they had, their attitudes and deliberations pertaining to religious beliefs. The artists also shared their creative achievements and the differences they noticed between music and words while expressing themselves (censorship issues). To that we should add diligent teaching work plus editing and translation activity, which are the essence of the epistolography referred to here. All three of them were also authors of Memoirs, which still today constitute a testimony to the bygone era as well as their personal fate and the fates of their loved ones and other people significant in their lives, all of which were part of that era too.Holiday and nameday greetings and the very touching tone of the letters and mutual concerns for each other fully show the notion of a true friendship the friendship that was strengthened by their meetings in person in Cracow, which occurred during the Friemanns holiday trips to that city.In all three houses like protective spirits our heroes wives appear full of dedication, self-sacrifice, and devotion, often adding their names to what their husbands wrote, and also their sons, who frequently caused their parents a lot of worry and trouble. Their dilemmas and dramas like in reference to Broczyks only son Szczsny are also depicted in the letters presented here in a very heartrending way.Broczyk dedicated a significant part of his letters to his fascination by nature, which he admired together with his wife, and deep reflection on evanescence, he rebuked himself for no creative fever as compared to the always creative Friemann, and for being torn, which bothered him ([...] Everything Ive done in my life has been loomed over by this curse of incompletion. Ive never properly finished anything because Ive never been exclusively devoted to anything [...]). He also had to face the passing of his beloved wife.