During the 1974–75 school year, our elementary school announced that an actor would be coming to visit. It turned out to be the Egyptian actor Ahmed Hegazi (1935–2002).
The film for which he is best known internationally is Al-Mummia (The Mummy, released in English as Night of Counting the Years), now regarded as one of the masterpieces of Egyptian cinema. He also appeared in several Polish productions, including the film and television adaptations of In Desert and Wilderness (W pustyni i w puszczy), where he played Gebhr, as well as a film about King Casimir the Great.
He was a very friendly and outgoing man, and what impressed me most was that he spoke Polish. According to him, he had learned the language while working on a film set. Whether that was entirely true, I do not know. Somehow, I find it difficult to imagine anyone learning a completely different language—such as Arabic, for example—simply while making a movie. Nevertheless, his command of Polish was impressive.
During the meeting, he shared various anecdotes about In Desert and Wilderness and his role in the production. He then announced that he would be giving out autographs.
The clever fellow was not particularly eager to sign random scraps of paper, however. Instead, he had brought along his own publicity photographs, which he conveniently sold for 10 złotys apiece before signing them. A fine example of entrepreneurial and Arabic spirit! 😄
I no longer remember exactly how I managed it, but somehow I persuaded him to sign my autograph book as well, adding yet another signature to my growing collection.
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COMING SOON!
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Some time ago, I started writing about my memories of elementary school. At first, I thought it would be a relatively short piece, focusing mainly on the school itself, my teachers and classmates, and various school events.
It quickly became clear, however, that memories have a way of taking on a life of their own… One memory led to another, and the story gradually began to reach far beyond the school walls and my school years. As a result, the text grew to such a length that I had to divide it into four parts. The first two parts will be devoted to school topics, and the remaining ones will cover, among others, the pre-war Polish Communist Party and the times of German occupation.
Part One of “ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NO. 221 AND THE SURROUNDING AREA — THE HISTORY OF A SMALL PART OF WARSAW” will be published on September 1, 2026 — exactly 57 years after I started elementary school. Amazingly, I still remember this day quite clearly.
If you remember school life from those days, Warsaw as it looked years ago, and everyday life in communist-era Poland, you may find something here that brings back memories of your own childhood.
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Blogi są również dostępne w języku polskim/blogs are also available in the Polish language
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More from the author
This entry is part of a broader collection of personal research and historical documentation across multiple blogs:
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