Szymon Szurmiej

Szymon Symcha Szurmiej (18 June 1923 − 16 July 2014) was a Polish actor, director, and general manager of the Ester Rachel Kamińska and Ida Kamińska State Jewish Theater in Warsaw. He was a director of the Yiddish Theater of Warsaw.^[1] Since July 2004, he has been an honorary citizen of Warsaw.^[2] Member of the World Jewish Congress.

Szymon Szurmiej
Szymon Szurmiej celebrating Purim in 2009
Born	(1923-06-18)18 June 1923 Lutsk, Poland (now Ukraine)
Died	16 July 2014(2014-07-16) (aged 91) Warsaw, Poland
Nationality	Polish
Occupation(s)	Actor, director
Years active	1951-2014
Spouse	Gołda Tencer
Children	Dawid Szurmiej, Jan Szurmiej, Lena Szurmiej, Małgorzata Szurmiej
Parent(s)	Jan Szurmiej Ryfka Biterman
Awards	For Merits to Culture - Gloria Artis Grand Cross Order of Polonia Restituta Commander's Cross with Star of Polonia Restituta Officer's Cross of Polonia Restituta Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta Gold Cross of Merit Officer's Cross of the Order Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Biography

Szymon Szurmiej was born on 18 June 1923 in Lutsk, Volhynian Voivodeship as a son of Polish father Jan Szurmiej and Jewish mother, Rebeka (Ryfka) née Biterman. Szurmiej debuted as an actor in 1951 at the Polish Theater in Wrocław. In 1969 he moved to Warsaw, where he has become a general manager of the Jewish Theater.^[3] Szymon Szurmiej was a member and activist of different Jewish organizations in Poland and world.^[4]

In 2007 Polish writer Krystyna Gucewicz-Przybora wrote a Szurmiej's biography. Szymon Szurmiej died on 16 July 2014 in Warsaw.^[5]