Early Life
Konarski was born in Kiev and attended a Polish school there. In 1921, he was able to get to Poland by foot. He passed his matura (final exams) in Warsaw. He began to study Polish at Warsaw University, but found his calling on stage. A deciding point was encountering Konrad Tom, who helped Konarski begin authoring poems and songs, as well as suggesting the "Ref-Ren" stage pseudonym. In addition to songs, Konarski also wrote satirical plays for theater groups. In 1931, he married the actress Nina Oleńska.
In 1934, Konarski moved to Lviv (Polish: Lwów) where he established a theatre group. He wrote many poems as well as words to what became numerous popular songs.
After Lwów was taken over by the Red Army, Konarski performed as part of a traveling orchestra in numerous cities in the Soviet Union. When Nazi Germany attacked, he was in Moscow. In 1941, he enlisted with the Polish Armed Forces in the East.
Read more about this topic: Feliks Konarski
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