and Stefan Jaracz in 1935 Jaracz was born in
Stare Żukowice near
Tarnów during the
Partitions of Poland. He studied law, history of art, and literature at the
Jagiellonian University of
Kraków, but gave up his studies to join theatre. He moved to
Poznań for yet another contract, where he was drafted to the Austrian army in 1907. A year later he settled in
Łódź where he performed until 1911. He moved to Warsaw in the
Russian Partition and worked in
Teatr Mały and
Teatr Polski (1913). He was sent to Moscow by the Russians (1915). Upon his return to
sovereign Poland in 1918 he embarked upon an energetic career in emerging national and experimental theatre, with guest performances in over ninety cities and towns until 1928. In 1930, he took over the
Ateneum of Warsaw. He managed it until the Nazi-Soviet
invasion of Poland, sharing the responsibilities with
Leon Schiller in 1932–33 season. Following the
German occupation of Poland during
World War II, he became involved with the political and military Catholic underground organization Unia. After the assassination of actor and collaborator
Igo Sym in March 1941 by order of the
Polish Underground State, Jaracz, along with Leon Schiller and a number of other actors and filmmakers were arrested in acts of reprisals. He was imprisoned in Warsaw's
Pawiak prison in March 1941. On 5 April 1941, he was deported to the German concentration camp
Auschwitz-Birkenau. Jaracz was released after numerous interventions on 15 May 1941. He died in
Otwock, near
Warsaw in 1945 of
tuberculosis. The repertory
Stefan Jaracz Theatre in
Łódź, Poland is named after him, and so is the Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw since 1951. ==Acting technique==