English Section

Tribute to Polish singer Mieczysław Fogg

03.09.2020 20:30
A plaque in tribute to Mieczysław Fogg has been unveiled on the wall of a block of flats in Warsaw’s Praga district, where the legendary Polish singer lived for the last four years of his life.
Mieczysław Fogg (1901-1990) was among the most popular Polish 20th-century singers. He started his career well before World War II and performed almost until his death, giving more than 16,000 concerts at home and abroad.
Mieczysław Fogg (1901-1990) was among the most popular Polish 20th-century singers. He started his career well before World War II and performed almost until his death, giving more than 16,000 concerts at home and abroad.Photo: Magdalena Kubicka

The event marked the 30th anniversary of Fogg’s death. He was among the most popular Polish 20th-century singers.

Fogg started his career well before World War II and performed almost until his death. He gave more than 16,000 concerts in both Poland and many other European countries as well as in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Israel.

Mieczysław Fogg, pictured in 1974. Photo: PAP/Zbigniew Wdowiński Mieczysław Fogg, pictured in 1974. Photo: PAP/Zbigniew Wdowiński

During World War II, Fogg joined Poland’s underground Home Army and sang in the few cafes that were available to Poles under German occupation. During the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, he gave concerts on the barricades and in hospitals to boost the morale of the insurgents and the city’s residents.

After the war he opened his own cafe, the first such venture in the destroyed city. The venue was soon closed down by the communists, and the same happened with his private record company.

Fogg’s numerous distinctions included the Righteous Among the Nations medal for offering shelter to a Jewish family during the war.

Fogg died on September 3, 1990, aged 89. He is buried at Warsaw’s Bródno cemetery on the right bank of the Vistula River, which bisects the Polish capital.

(mk/gs)

For more info (in Polish), see: polskieradio.pl