Stanisław Dygat and Jędrusik. Inside their unusual relationship

Written by Rory Thornfield

When Kalina Jędrusik met writer Stanisław Dygat in the mid-1950s, no one suspected their relationship would permanently change the image of Polish private life. The couple created a marriage based on mutual consent regarding sexual freedom. It was a social experiment in a country just emerging from the Stalinist terror period.

The Beginning of Romance in Gdańsk

The actress arrived in Gdańsk in 1954 to begin work at the Wybrzeże Theater. Dygat held the position of artistic director there. Their first meeting took place in Jerzy Ernz’s room at the Actors’ House. The writer came to a party organized by his theater colleague. Ernz later recalled seeing them lying together on a couch. They talked for hours. That evening initiated one of the most controversial relationships in Polish cultural history.

Dygat was then married to actress Władysława Nawrocka. He had a daughter, Magda, with her. The romance with his wife’s younger colleague quickly became the subject of gossip in artistic circles. However, the writer did not hide his interest in Jędrusik. Their relationship developed during a time when Polish culture was slowly recovering from the socialist realism period.

In 1955, the situation became even more complicated. Dygat returned to Warsaw with his wife, daughter, and mistress. For some time, they all lived under one roof. Such a living arrangement was unthinkable in the conservative society of Communist Poland. Tension grew with each passing day.

The writer ultimately decided to separate from Nawrocka. In mid-1958, he formalized his relationship with Jędrusik. Their marriage stirred enormous emotions from the start. The age difference was seventeen years. For many, it was a relationship doomed to failure.

Rules of an Open Marriage

The couple developed their own relationship model based on complete honesty. Jędrusik spoke openly about the need for a sex life. She believed its absence constituted a form of disability requiring treatment. Such declarations shocked public opinion in the 1950s and 1960s. Poland was a deeply Catholic country despite the official atheization by authorities.

Dygat accepted his wife’s flirtations and romances. He not only allowed them but actually understood them. Their home hosted numerous lovers of the actress. The writer later joked that he once returned early from a trip and found his wife sleeping alone. This anecdote showed their ability to maintain ironic distance toward their own lives.

Director Kazimierz Kutz called them the most authentic marriage he knew. He emphasized the lack of hypocrisy in their relationship. Janusz Morgenstern echoed him, recalling that Dygat sided with his wife even when she complained about one of her lovers. Such an attitude required extraordinary emotional maturity.

The writer’s daughter from his first marriage, Magda, regarded her father’s relationship with reservation. In her book, she wrote that young women often begin to yearn for younger men. She did not blame her father for separating from her mother but doubted his happiness with Jędrusik. Her words cast a shadow on the official image of the perfect couple.

Moral Scandal and Government Response

Jędrusik’s romance prompted intervention at the highest party level. Władysław Gomułka personally tried to remove the actress from television. He considered her behavior dangerous to socialist morality. Such interference showed how much authorities feared the liberalization of customs.

Jędrusik represented a new type of woman. She spoke about sexuality without inhibitions. Her stage image was based on consciously flaunting eroticism. In the conservative society of the 1960s, such behavior caused outrage. At the same time, it attracted media and public attention.

Some interpreted her behavior as a reaction to personal tragedy. When she became involved with Dygat, she became pregnant. The child died shortly after birth. Doctors declared she would not be able to have more children. This information had a profound impact on her psyche.

Agnieszka Osiecka noticed that Jędrusik seemed to perform her femininity. She did not feel it naturally. Such an observation suggested the actress’s public image was a carefully constructed mask. Perhaps that is why Dygat claimed he created his greatest literary work in her.

Life After Loss and Spiritual Transformation

Dygat died suddenly on January 29, 1978, from a heart attack. He was sixty-nine years old. For Jędrusik, his passing was the end of the world. The woman who had lived at the center of attention for years was suddenly alone. She could not find her place in the new reality.

The actress began seeking solace in faith. The turn toward religion was surprising for someone who had manifested nonconformism throughout her life. Perhaps the loss of her husband prompted her to reconsider her own choices. Her final years passed in solitude and contemplation.

Kutz recalled that Jędrusik was Dygat’s fulfilled dream of Hollywood. The writer was fascinated by American popular culture. He created a living film character from his wife. She was both his artistic and life project. Their relationship combined elements of love, social experiment, and artistic creation.

Jędrusik passed away on August 7, 1991. She outlived her husband by thirteen years. The story of their marriage remains one of the most interesting chapters in twentieth-century Polish culture. It shows how far one can go in building a relationship based on individual principles. At the same time, it raises questions about the limits of freedom and the price of nonconformism.

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Rory Thornfield

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Rory's grandfather left behind a wartime diary filled with accounts of a minor Burma skirmish that history books never mentioned. Reading it, Rory realized: behind every famous battle are dozens of forgotten struggles, each with its own human drama.

His preferred topics: The overlooked corners of military history – secondary campaigns, shadow battalions, local conflicts that never made headlines. From medieval sieges to twentieth-century expeditions, he focuses on the soldiers, not the generals. The people who faced impossible choices and carried those experiences forever.

Rory strips away the romanticism without losing respect for those who served. He combines tactical analysis with personal stories, examining human endurance and moral complexity rather than celebrating warfare. His writing is balanced, thoughtful, and deeply researched.

Outside work, Rory visits forgotten battlefields (now quiet farmland), photographs war memorials nobody tends anymore, and interviews veterans' families.