Jakubowska, Wanda (1907–1998)

Polish film director. Name variations: Jacubowska. Pronunciation: Ya-koo-BOV-ska. Born Nov 10, 1907, in Warsaw, Poland, then a part of the Russian empire; died Feb 25, 1998, in Warsaw; studied art history at University of Warsaw.

One of Poland's most important film directors, whose films were influential in advancement of post-WWII Polish cinema, was a founding member of left-wing START, the "Organization for the Promotion of Artistic Films" (1929); completed 1st documentary, Report One (1930); completed 1st feature film, On the Banks of the Niemen (1939), but negative was lost during WWII; captured by Nazis in Poland (1942), was sent to Auschwitz (1943); returned to Auschwitz to make the highly successful The Last Stop (also known as The Last Stage or in Poland Ostatni etap), depicting life in that German concentration camp (1945–47); other films include Report Two (1931), Impressions, The Sea (1932), We Build (1934), The Atlantic Story (1955), Soldier of Victory (1953), Farewell to the Devil (1956), King Matthew I (1958), Encounter in the Shadows (Encounters in the Dark, 1960), It Happened Yesterday (1960), The End of Our World (1964), The Hot Line (1965), At 150 Kilometers Per Hour (1971), Ludwik Warynski (1978), Dance in Chains (The Mazurka Danced at Dawn, 1979), Invitation to Dance (Invitation, 1986) and Colors of Love (1987). Won International Peace Prize for The Last Stop (1951).

See also (in German) Danuta Karcz, Wanda Jakubowska (Henschelverlag, 1967); and Women in World History.