Jerzy Andrzejewski (born Aug. 19, 1909,Warsaw,Russian Empire [now in Pol.]—died April 19, 1983, Warsaw,Poland) was a Polish novelist, short-story writer, and political dissident noted for his attention tomoral issues important in 20th-century Poland and for his realistic fiction.

Andrzejewski was born into a middle-class family, and the young writer studiedPolish language andliterature at the University of Warsaw. The stories published in his first book,Drogi nieuniknione (1936; “Unavoidable Ways”), originally appeared in a right-wingperiodical, with whom he soon severed relations. That volume was followed by thenovelŁad serca(1938; “Heart’s Harmony”), in which Andrzejewski tried to find in Roman Catholic teachings solutions to the problems of contemporary life. During the German occupation ofWorld War II, he participated in the Polish underground.

After World War II, Andrzejewski wroteNoc(1945; “Night”), a collection of wartime stories, and, together with Jerzy Zagórski, a satiricaldrama,Swięto Winkelrida (1946; “Winkelried’s Feast”). Contemporary political problems are projected inPopiół i diament (1948;Ashes and Diamonds), translated into 27 languages and generally considered his finest novel. It presents a dramatic conflict between young Polish patriots and the communist regime during the last days of World War II. In 1958Andrzej Wajda, the leading director of the Polish cinema, directed a movie based on the book and bearing the same title.

In 1949 Andrzejewski joined theCommunist Party, and for the next seven years he supported itsideology in his essays, but in 1956 he gave up membership and established himself as one of the principal critics of the party’s policies, both in his creative writings and in his activities. In 1976 he became one of the cofounders of theWorkers’ Defense Committee (KOR), from which eventually grew the anticommunisttrade unionSolidarity, outlawed in 1981. Andrzejewski also coeditedZapis (1977–81), a literary magazine publishing dissident writers. Andrzejewski’s novelsCiemności kryją ziemię (1957;The Inquisitors) andBramy raju (1960;The Gates of Paradise) present modern problems disguised as historical novels, whileApelacja (1968;The Appeal) andMiazga (1981; “The Pulp”) directly address the issues of contemporary society.

Andrzejewski’s life and work seem to be emblematic for many Polishintellectuals of his generation—from hisardent Catholicism before the war to his heroic involvement with the Resistance during the Nazi occupation, through his subsequentskepticism, to his total acceptance of the Marxist ideology after the war, and, finally, to his disillusionment with and open dissent against communism. His short stories and novels,Ashes and Diamonds in particular, can be read as a moving testimony to his development.