Melchior Wańkowicz and the experience of war

The article examines the role of the Second World War in the life and writings of Melchior Wańkowicz, a popular journalist and author of the iconic account of the Battle of Monte Cassino (January-May 1944). What is special about his preoccupation with the war, which recurs as a prominent theme in virtually all of his work, is his approach, unique both in the context of Polish and world literature. It can be demonstrated by an analysis of his war narratives and the argument of his last book "Wojna i pióro" [The War and the Pen], published in 1974. They show the complexity and the dynamic nature of war, which cannot be subsumed under any ideological or aesthetic scheme.