Shortly after his birth, his family moved to
Bydgoszcz, where he spent his childhood and youth. He wrote one of the best books on the town, and more broadly on Polish–German relations there, in the form of
Pamiętnik gapia. Bydgoszcz, jaką pamiętam z lat 1930–1945 Wyd. Pomorze Bydgoszcz., a compendium of memoirs. From 1945 to 1949, he studied Polish at the University of Poznań (now
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, later becoming an assistant at the university. He moved to
Warsaw and was involved with the
Institute of Contemporary Art at the
Polish Academy of Sciences, as well as becoming a professor at the
Warsaw Theater School in
Zelwerowicza. ==Works==