Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm Explained

Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm (born 15 April 1949) is a Polish-born United States–based writer and academic. She obtained her Ph.D. in humanistic studies at the Warsaw University. Her works include historical biographies,^{[1] [2]} the current outlook of Native Americans, autobiographical stories of her travels, Ingrid Bergman (a relative of Ziółkowska-Boehm's husband, Norman Boehm), and cats.

Biography

Ziółkowska-Boehm is the daughter Henryk Ziółkowski (1916–1992) and Antonina (née Laśkiewicz; 1922–2009). She has two brothers, Henryk (born 1946) and Krzysztof (born 1950).

She attended the V Liceum ogólnokształcące im. W. Reymonta in her native Łódź. After this she studied five years of Polish language and literature at the University of Łódź. After her master's degree, she completed a Ph.D in humanistic studies in Warsaw University. As a university student, she published her short stories and articles in Łódź and Warsaw newspapers and periodicals. She began her writing career as an assistant to Melchior Wańkowicz, a prominent Polish writer.^[3] For her help and research with his latest book, Wańkowicz dedicated that book to her, and in his will, he bequeathed all his archives to her. From 1977–81, she was a member of the Repertoire of the Polish Television Theater. She created the scenario for 2 Korpus w piosenkach Ref-Rena, a musical, for Warsaw TV in 1991. She appeared in four documentaries dedicated to: Zbigniew Brzezinski, Stanley Haidasz, Melchior Wańkowicz, and her own uncle, Korczak Ziółkowski. From 1989, she resided in Toronto, Canada as the recipient of three writing scholarships. Since April 1990, Ziółkowska-Boehm has lived permanently in the United States, in Wilmington, Delaware, spending nine years in Texas (Houston and Dallas).

Personal life

From 1990 until his death in 2016, she was married to Norman Boehm.^[4]

Ziółkowska-Boehm has one son, Thomas Tomczyk, who is a journalist, photographer, and architect. He founded Bay Islands Voice, Motmot Magazine, and PAYA Magazine, and is the author of Roatan Magic Hidden Jewel of the Western Caribbean .^[5]

Education and professional memberships

• Master's Degree in Literature from the University of Łódź (1973)
• Doctor's Degree in Humanities from the University of Warsaw (1979)

Affiliations

Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm is a member of a number of professional associations in Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, including:

• Polish Writers Association Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich, SPP (Warsaw; 1990–)
• ZAIKS, Polish Society of Authors and Composers (Warsaw; 1976–)
• Zwiazek Pisarzy Polskich Na Obczyznie/Polish Writers Union Abroad, ZPPnO (London; 1990–)
• Polish American Historical Association (Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT; 2012–)
• Józef Piłsudski Institute of America (New York; 2012–)
• Polish Heritage Society of Philadelphia (2019–)
• Kosciuszko Foundation (New York; 1990–)
• Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (New York; 1991–)
• PEN America (New York; 1998–)
• Fulbright Association (Washington D.C.; 2007–)

Awards

• Oxford Language Center in England (1975)
• Canadian Polish Research Institute (1982)
• Adam Mickiewicz Foundation (Toronto, 1983)
• Ministry of Culture (Ontario) (1983)
• Institute of International Education in Washington, D.C. (1985)
• The Kosciuszko Foundation (NYC; 1990)
• Recipient Kontrasty award (Warsaw-Białystok, 1980)
• Zloty Exlibris award, Książnica Pomorska, Szczecin (2001)
• The Union of Polish Writers Abroad, London award (2007)
• Fellowship in literature by the Delaware Division of Arts ("for Artistic Excellence in Creative Nonfiction"; 2006)
• Fulbright scholarship (2006–07), and award (2008)
• Ignacy Paderewski medal by the Polish Army Veterans Association of America (2014)
• Gold Cross of Merit (20 June 2014)
• Gold Award by the Polish Booksellers Association (Warsaw, 20 October 2014)
• Skalny Civic Achievement Award, The Polish American Historical Association (PAHA), Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, Connecticut (2014)^[6]
• Honorary citizenship of the Gmina Sławno, Łódź Voivodeship (2014)
• Gloria Artis award (Warsaw, 2015)
• Turzanski Foundation Literary Award, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2015)
• Polish Heritage Society of Philadelphia Award ("in recognition for outstanding literary achievements"; 2018)
• Polish Armenian Culture and Heritage Foundation - Expressions of Recognition and Admiration (Warsaw, 2019)
• Witness to History/Świadek Historii award ("in recognition of the special merits in commemorating the History of the Polish Nation"; IPN-Institute of National Remembrance, Warsaw, 2019)
• Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who (2020)^[7]
• Outstanding Pole Abroad Award (New York 2020; Pangea Network USA, Polish Promotional Emblem Foundation "Teraz Polska")
• Title of "VIP Alumni of University of Łódź", 2021
• Title of Honorary Member of the "Major Hubal Family" Association ("For the author of many books about the fate of soldiers of the Polish Army Major" Hubal, including about Romuald Rodziewicz"), 2022
• Janusz Kurtyka Award (for books promoting Polish History; 2022)

Works

In Poland:

• Blisko Wańkowicza (Near Wańkowicz); Wyd. Literackie Kraków 1975, 1978, 1988;
• Z miejsca na miejsce (From One Place to Another); Kraków 1983, Warsaw 1986, 1997; ; ;
• Kanada, Kanada (Canada, Canada...); Warsaw 1986;
• Diecezja Łódzka i jej biskupi (Diocese in Łódź and its bishops); Łódź 1987;
• Moje i zasłyszane (Mine and Overheard Stories); Warsaw 1988;
• Kanadyjski senator (Canadian Senator); Warsaw 1989;
• Na tropach Wańkowicza (On Wańkowicz Footsteps); Warsaw 1989, 1999; / ; Expanded Edition: Na tropach Wańkowicza po latach (In Wańkowicz's Footsteps - After the Years); Warsaw 2009;
• M. Wańkowicza 1964 (The Trial of M. Wańkowicz 1964); Warsaw 1990;
• Nie tylko Ameryka (Not only America); Dom Ksiazki, Warsaw 1992;
• Korzenie sa polskie (The Roots Are Polish); Warsaw 1992;
• Ulica Żółwiego Strumienia (Turtle Creek Boulevard); Dom Ksiazki, Warsaw 1995, Wyd. Twoj Styl 2004; ;
• Amerykanie z wyboru i inni (American by Choice; Dom Ksiazki, Warsa] 1998;)
• Podróże z moją kotką (Travels with My Cat); Warsaw 2002, 2004; / (awarded "Book of the Year" by Polish bookstores, 23–29 December 2002)
• Nie minelo nic, procz lat (Nothing Changed, Only the Years Passed By); Warsaw 2003 (with Szymon Kobyliński;)
• Kaja od Radosława czyli historia hubalowego krzyza (Kaia, Heroine of the 1944 Warsaw Rising); Muza, Warsaw 2006,, 2014,)
  The Union of Polish Writers Abroad (London) awarded it Best Book of the Year, 2007.^[8]
• Otwarta rana Ameryki (America's Open Wound); Bielsko Biała 2007;
• Dwór w Kraśnicy i Hubalowy Demon (The Krasnica Estate and Hubal's Demon); PIW Warsaw 2009, 2015; . For the book, she received honorary citizenship of County Slawno.
• Lepszy dzien nie przyszedl juz (A Better Day Has Not Come Yet); Iskry, Warsaw 2012;
• Ingrid Bergman prywatnie (Ingrid Bergman In Private); Prószynski i S-ka, Warsaw 2013;
• Druga bitwa o Monte Cassino i inne opowiesci, (Second Battle of Monte Cassino and other stories); Iskry, Warsaw 2014; ^[9]
• Wokół Wańkowicza (Around Wankowicz); Warsaw PIW 2019;
• Pisarskie delicje (Writing Delicious); Warsaw Bellona 2019;
• Melchior Wańkowicz przypominany (Melchior Wańkowicz Remembered); Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, Toruń 2024;

In CANADA:

• Senator Haidasz (Toronto 1983;)
• Dreams and Reality Polish Canadian Identities (Toronto 1984;)^[10]
• The Roots Are Polish (Toronto 2000, 2004;)
• Senator Stanley Haidasz - A Statesman for All Canadians (Montreal 2014;)^[11]

In USA:

• Open Wounds - A Native American Heritage (Nemsi Books, Pierpont, S.D. 2009;)^{[12] [13]}
• On the Road With Suzy From Cat to Companion (2010 by Purdue University Press, West Lafayette, Indiana;)^{[14] [15]}
• Kaia Heroine of the 1944 Warsaw Rising (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2012;) / 2014, ^{[16] [17]})
• The Polish Experience Through World War II: A Better Day Has Not Come (Lanham MD: Lexington Books, 2013;) / 2015; ^[18])
• Melchior Wańkowicz Poland's Master of the Written Word (Lanham MD: Lexington Books, 2013; ^{[19] [20] [21] [22] [23]} 2017,)
• Polish Hero Roman Rodziewicz Fate of a Hubal Soldier in Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Postwar England (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013;)^{[24] [25]} 2017,)
• Ingrid Bergman and Her American Relatives (Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books, 2013;)^[26]
• Love for Family, Friends, and Books (Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books, 2015;)^{[27] [28]}
• Untold Stories of Polish Heroes From World War II (Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books, 2018; ^[29])

Sources

• James S. Pula, The Polish American Encyclopedia, McFarland, Jefferson, NC 2011, pg 564,
• Who Is Who In Polish America (ed. Boleslaw Wierzbianski). Bicentennial Publishing Corp. New York City 1996,
• Kto jest kim w Polsce (Who Is Who in Poland), Interpress, Warsaw 1989,
• International Who's Who of Intellectuals, Cambridge, England 1999–2000,
• Five Thousand Personalities of the World, Raleigh, North Carolina 1992,
• Polscy pisarze współcześni (Polish Contemporary Writers), (ed. Lesław Bartelski), Warsaw 1995,
• Agata i Zbigniew Judyccy: Polonia. Słownik biograficzny, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2000,,
• Encyklopedia polskiej emigracji (ed. Kazimierz Dopierala), Volume 5, Oficyna Wydawnicza Kucharski Toruñ 2005, pp.425–26,
• Wielka Encyklopedia Polonii Swiata (ed. Professor Zbigniew Piasek. In English and Polish). Instytut Edukacji i Rozwoju w Częstochowie oraz Wydawnictwo Akademii Polonijnej Educator, Częstochowa, 2014, pp. 371-373;
• Encyclopaedia of World Polonia Heritage Ambassadors of World Polonia. Edited by Zbigniew S. Piasek, Wydawnictwo Politechniki Krakowskiej, Kraków 2020;
• Marquis Who's Who in the East, New Providence, NJ, 1998 (USA, since 27th edition)
• Marquis Who's Who in the World 2000, New Providence, NJ. (USA, since 17th edition)
• Marquis Who's Who in America, New Providence, NJ (USA, since 54th edition)
• Marquis Who's Who of American Women, New Providence, NJ (USA, since 22nd edition)
• Contemporary Writers of Poland (ed. Danuta Blaszak), 2005;
• Krzysztof Narutowicz / Alicja Grajewska, Konstelacje, IW PAX, Warsaw 1980, pp. 142–50;
• Krzysztof Maslon, Nie uciec nam od losu, Prószynski i S-ka, Warsaw 2006, pp. 29–37;
• Jan Nowak-Jezioranski, Poland's Road to NATO, Towarzystwo Przyjaciól Ossolineum, Wrocław 2006;

Notes and References

1. Web site: Results for 'aleksandra ziolkowska-boehm' [WorldCat.org]]. Worldcat.org. 12 August 2017.
2. Dr Christoph Mick, review of Kaia, Heroine of the 1944 Warsaw Rising by Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm.
3. Prof. Charles S. Kraszewski, King’s College, Pennsylvania, Review / Recenzja: Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm, Na tropach Wańkowicza (PDF file, direct download) at THE POLISH REVIEW, New York, No 2, 2010, pp. 249-254.
4. Book: From-a-Small-Town-to-the-Big-World. 978-0-7618-6877-4. December 2016.
5. Web site: ROATAN MAGIC: Hidden Jewel of the Western Caribbean. Thomas. Tomczyk. 21 January 2018. Bay Islands Voice. The Open Library.
6. Web site: PAHA News: Amicus/Skalny. Pahanews.blogspot.com. 12 August 2017.
7. Web site: Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who.
8. Regina Wasiak-Taylor, Dzieje nagrody literackiej 1951-2011, London 2011;
9. Web site: Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm: Jacek Siminski TAPESTRY OF POLISH LIVES. Aleksandra. Ziolkowska-Boehm. 2017.
10. Web site: Blogger. Blogger.com. 12 August 2017.
11. Web site: SENATOR STANLEY HAIDASZ: A STATESMAN FOR ALL CANADIANS. Aleksandra. Ziolkowska-Boehm. 1 December 2014. Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in Canada. Montreal. 12 August 2017. The Open Library.
12. Web site: Open Wounds - A Native American Heritage - Open Library. OpenLibrary.org. Open Library. 12 August 2017.
13. Web site: Open Wounds – A Native American Heritage – Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm. Nemsi-books.com. 12 August 2017.
14. Web site: On the Road with Suzy: From Cat to Companion - Purdue University Press. Thepress.purdue.edu. 12 August 2017.
15. Web site: Home Page. Purdue University Press. 30 April 2023.
16. Web site: Kaia, heroine of the 1944 Warsaw Rising. Aleksandra. Ziolkowska-Boehm. 1 March 2012. Lexington Books. 12 August 2017. The Open Library.
17. Web site: Kaia, Heroine of the 1944 Warsaw Rising - Reviews in History. History.ac.uk. 12 August 2017.
18. Web site: The Polish Experience through World War II A Better Day Has Not Come: A Better Day Has Not Come. Aleksandra. Ziolkowska-Boehm. 12 August 2015. Lexington Books. 12 August 2017. The Open Library.
19. Book: Melchior Wankowicz: Poland's Master of the Written Word.
20. Web site: Melchior Wańkowicz – Poland's Master of the Written Word. Cosmopolitanreview.com. 12 August 2017.
21. Web site: MELCHIOR WANKOWICZ POLAND'S MASTER OF THE WRITTEN WORD. 2013. Open Library. 30 April 2023.
22. Book: Melchior-Wankowicz-Poland's-Master-of-the-Written-Word. Openlibrary.org. 12 August 2017.
23. Web site: Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm: Melchior Wankowicz Poland's Master of the Written Word. Aleksandra. Ziolkowska-boehm. Aleksandraziolkowskaboehm.blogspot.com. 12 August 2017.
24. Web site: Polish Hero Roman Rodziewicz: Fate of a Hubal Soldier in Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Postwar England. Aleksandra. Ziolkowska-Boehm. 12 August 2017. Lexington Books. 12 August 2017. The Open Library.
25. Web site: Polish-Hero-Roman-Rodziewicz-Fate-of-a-Hubal-Soldier-in-Auschwitz-Buchenwald-and-Postwar-England. Rowman.com. 12 August 2017.
26. Web site: Ingrid Bergman and Her American Relatives. Aleksandra. Ziolkowska-Boehm. 12 August 2017. Hamilton Books. The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. 12 August 2017. The Open Library.
27. Web site: Love-for-Family-Friends-and-Books. Rowman.com. 12 August 2017.
28. Book: Ziolkowska-Boehm, Aleksandra. Love for Family, Friends, and Books. 12 August 2017. Hamilton Books An Imprint of Rowman & Littlefiedl. 25675471M.
29. Web site: Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm: UNTOLD STORIES OF POLISH HEROES FROM WORLD WAR II. 2017.