This presentation provides an overview of the life and legacy of Polish-Jewish writer Bruno Schulz. [1] Schulz spent most of his life in the town of Drohobych, which heavily influenced both his graphic and literary works. [2] He published two short story collections, The Street of Crocodiles and Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, before being murdered by a Nazi officer in 1942 at the age of 50. [3] Schulz is now recognized as one of the most original yet forgotten artists of the 20th century, known for his vivid imagination and unique atmospheric style of writing.

1. THE LIFE AND LEGACY
OF BRUNO SCHULZ
By Paulina Juszczak and Karolina Zarzycka

2. INTRODUCTION
 This presentation gives an insight into the life and legacy of Bruno Schulz,
a writer and fine artist. The year 2012 marked the 70th anniversary of Schulz's
death and the 120th anniversary of his birth. He was one of the most
interesting and unfortunately one of the most forgotten artists of the 20th
century. Schulz, a Polish writer of Jewish origin, lived and worked in the town
of Drohobych (now in Ukraine), which was a powerful inspiration for his
graphical and literary works. The aim of this presentation is to present a
profile of the artist and encourage the audience to familiarize themselves with
his works.

3. The year 2012 marks the
120th anniversary of
Schulz’s birth and the 70th
anniversary of his death.
BRUNO SCHULZ

4.  He was born and spent most of his life in Drohobych in today’s
western Ukraine. His parents, Jakub and Henrietta Schulz were Polish
Jews. The Schulz family owned a cloth store in Drohobych.

5. SCHULZ’S HOUSE

6. Schulz studied architecture at the Lviv
Polytechnic and the University of Vienna.
After his graduation he was employed as
an arts teacher in a school in Drohobych
though he is said not to have liked the job.
What is more, his adult life was often
perceived by outsiders as that of a hermit;
uneventful and enclosed.

7. In 1939, after the Nazi–Soviet invasion of
Poland in World War II, Drohobych was
occupied by the Soviet Union. Following the
German invasion of the Soviet Union, as a
Jew, he was forced to live in the ghetto of
Drohobych, but was temporarily protected
by Felix Landau, a Nazi Gestapo officer who
admired his drawings.

8. During the last weeks of his life, Schulz painted a mural in Landau's
home in Drohobych. Shortly after completing the work, Schulz was
walking home through the "Aryan quarter" with a loaf of bread when
he was shot and killed by another Gestapo officer, Karl Günther.
Subsequently, Schulz's mural was painted over and forgotten for a
long time to come.

9. SHULZ’S WRITINGS

10. The Street of Crocodiles was the first published work by Schulz. It is a
collection of short stories set before the First World War. It tells the
story of the life of a merchant family from a small town which in
many respects resembles Drohobych. One of the most interesting
observations Schulz makes in the collection is the clash between the
19th and 20th century which is slowly getting to Drohobych,
portrayed in the story entitled "The Street of Crocodiles".

11. The Street of Crocodiles was an inspiration for the filmmakers, brothers Quay to
shoot a short animated movie under the same title. The movie perfectly
resembles the atmosphere of the stories, which is somewhat dark and as if
verging on a dream. And it is essentially the atmosphere that makes Schulz’s
prose so unusual and fascinating.

13. Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass is the second collection of
Schulz’s stories and it is again set in a town that resembles
Drohobych, and tells the story of a Jewish merchant family. What is
interesting in this case is that Schulz himself created illustrations for
this volume.

17. Bruno Schulz is considered one of the most original and forgotten artists of
the 20th century. His vivid imagination, a special atmosphere of his writings,
as well as his graphic works could earn him a place among the most widely
admired artists. To popularize and give justice to his work a joint project was
organized in Poland and Ukraine in 2012: W strone Schulza - Towards Schulz. It
was a series of events and exhibitions organized across Poland and Ukraine.

18. T OWA R D S S C H U L Z

19. T H E S T R E E T O F C RO C O D I L E S
―Among the houses the crowds stream by. The street is as broad as a city
boulevard, but the roadway is made, like village squares, of beaten clay, full of
puddles and overgrown with grass. The street traffic of that area is a byword in
the city; all its inhabitants speak about it with pride and a knowing look. That
gray, impersonal crowd is rather self-conscious of its role, eager to live up to its
metropolitan aspirations

20. All the same, despite the bustle and sense of purpose, one has the impression
of a monotonous aimless wandering, of a sleepy procession of puppets. An
atmosphere of strange insignificance pervades the scene. The crowd flows
lazily by and, strange to say, one can see it only indistinctly; the figures pass in
gentle disarray, never reaching complete sharpness of outline. Only at times do
we catch among the turmoil of many heads a dark vivacious look, a black
bowler hat worn at an angle, half a face split by a smile formed by lips which
had just finished speaking, a foot thrust forward to take a step and fixed
forever in that position.‖ .— Bruno Schulz, The Street of Crocodiles

21. DISCUSSION
How would you characterize the atmosphere of the
town described by Schulz?
How would you describe the people and their daily
actions?
Do you think this passage, written almost eighty years
ago, could describe a contemporary town? Why?