On the far-flung frontiers of Mars
Almost everywhere there was fighting – on the distant fronts of the East and West, on the burning sands of Tobruk, or on the freezing fjords of Narvik – the Polish language could be heard. This included not only everyday slang, but also literary expression. There was also a more-or-less professional stage version, found in off-road conditions and inevitably close to enemy lines.
And in Aquafondata, I unexpectedly came across an upcoming sensation – the presentation of the Czołówka. Recently, only on the edge of the world did a woman’s foot have the right to stand. Before this male and Martian world stood a wagon of our thespians carrying the most precious of cargo – a woman. With her smile or a movement of her hand or foot, we lived more happily. And even the most cynical of the Czołówka checked in, like a platoon for disarming mines – girlfriends.
Trans. LD
So Melchior Wańkowicz joked in a chapter titled ‘A Column of “Devils”’ in his epic Battle at Monte Cassino. In the next chapter, ‘Melo-Declamation: One Piano, One Violin, Two Batteries’, he even tried his hand at a miniature review:
The Czołówka’s presentation is as great a success as ever. Yesterday, when another Czołówka played, two German missiles were fired several dozen metres away; in the English battery, one was killed and another wounded. All the while, [Adam] Aston was singing in a velvet baritone and didn’t budge in the least. Those from today’s Czołówka declare that, having learned about the adventures of their colleagues, they also want to… And indeed, they play to the accompaniment of cannons – this time, their own. Two batteries, from two sides, flash and roar so much that the blast hits the audience. And they’re off, with a poem declaimed by [Elżbieta] Niewadomska about Maciek, who fought for Poland. As for the poem itself – I don’t know, because I listened to it under unusual circumstances: when the first heavy-cannon shot rang out, the actress raised her voice, and thus, amid the thunder of war, a bronze, woman’s voice rang out, calling for the defence of our native land. I thought the second-line commander seated next to me – the host of this place, Major Chodźko – may have even shed a tear . He said he was irritated by the after-hours shooting, but with no regrets: the accompaniment was first-rate. The ‘distinctive’ Helcia [Nina Oleńska], whom the ship captain assured he would respect, even if he were to find himself with her on a desert island, curtsied at each thundering, saying ‘thank you!’ and causing peals of laughter.
Trans. LD