Biography

Anatol Leszczynski was born as Natan Lichtenstein in Choroszcz near Bialystok, Poland to Polish-Jewish family. His father Jakub Lichtenstein was a pharmacist and, in the years 1931-1935, also the mayor of the town. His mother Ida, nee Goldstein, was a dentist. During Second World War he served in the Soviet's Red Army and fought against Germans. His parents and his brother were killed in the holocaust. In 1944 Leszczynski was transferred from Red Army to People's Polish Army (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie).

He received a master's degree at the Faculty of Diplomacy at the Central School of Foreign Service in Warsaw (Szkola Glówna Sluzby Zagranicznej) in 1957. In 1960 he made his debut as a prose writer. He wrote five sensational novels and one screenplay (based on one of his books) - "Spotkanie ze szpiegiem" (Meeting with a spy), directed by Jan Batory in 1964.

In 1967, after 26 years in a military service, he was forced into retirement from the army (during the anti-Jewish personnel purges known as anti-Zionist campaign) with the rank of colonel.

For the rest of his life, he became known as the historical researcher at the Jewish Historical institute in Warsaw (Zydowski Instytut Historyczny) where he earned his doctorate degree for his research in the history of the Jewish society of Podlachia region in the eastern part of Poland.

He died on September 15, 1996.
- IMDb mini biography by: Tomasz Zelazko