Student. Konstanty Puzyna

The article recounts the student years of Konstanty Puzyna (1948-1952) at the Faculty of Humanities of the Jagiellonian University. It also portrays a group of his friends, namely Jan Błoński, Ludwik Flaszen and Andrzej Kijowski, who attended Kazimierz Wyka’s seminar together with him. In later years, this group would be known as the Krakow School of Criticism. The article describes the fates of these four individuals and the socio-political background of their studies. It raises questions about the impact of the intensifying Stalinism on the structure of their studies, the associated problems, and the influence of significant events on personal experiences. Special attention is given to Konstanty Puzyna. The article addresses questions about why he chose these studies, how they unfolded, and also describes his professional work during this time, i.e. publishing reviews, working at the Ministry of Culture, and serving as the artistic manager at the Polish Theatre in Bielsko-Biała and Cieszyn. The article is primarily based on archival materials collected at the Archives of the Jagiellonian University, the Jagiellonian Library, and Konstanty Puzyna’s Private Archive.