On January 10, 1993, Adam Aston (actually Adolf Loewinsohn), a Pole of Jewish origin, one of the most popular actors and singers in pre-war Poland, died in London.\u00a0He sang in Polish, French, Hebrew, Yiddish and twice fought for the independence of Poland.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Adolf Loewinsohn was born in 1902 and spent his childhood in Warsaw.\u00a0Interested in singing already\u00a0at the beginning of his education, he could not continue his studies, due to the war between Poland and Soviet Russia in 1919.\u00a0Loewinsohn had to stop his education and fight the Red Army, which wanted to conquer Poland. In 1920, the Poles miraculously managed to stop the Bolsheviks\u2019 march and thus saved Europe from the felonious communist regime.<\/p>\n
In search of the right path\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Adolf Loewinsohn was looking for his professional path as a lawyer, dentist, as well as a sales manager.\u00a0Being successful in the latter occupation, he was still attracted to music.\u00a0He recorded music and took lessons from famous artists of the Polish scene: Jan Kiepura and Wac\u0142aw Brzezi\u0144ski. Soon he was invited to the Wars\u2019s Choir which was extremely respected in pre-war Poland; he was given the nickname “Astoni” (the ace of the tone) and he adopted it as his own surname in 1935.<\/p>\n
A great career<\/b><\/p>\n
Having an absolute pitch Aston was also extraordinarily talented at playing the piano.\u00a0He dreamed of becoming an opera singer.\u00a0The artist was considered an extremely warm and gallant man.<\/p>\n
He grabbed the Polish audience that could hear him not only on stage, but also on the radio or in the cinema, singing the tango.\u00a0Aston performed with the most famous Polish actors of that time.\u00a0He did not forget about his Jewish roots – he also sang in Hebrew and Yiddish.<\/p>\n
After being saved from starvation, he fought for his homeland<\/b><\/p>\n
Following the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and WWII began, he was evacuated to the East.\u00a0He performed in the USSR and ended up in Soviet Kirghizia\u0431 where he and his wife almost starved to death.\u00a0They were rescued by a musician friend from the Kyrgyz Philharmonic Orchestra.<\/p>\n
Later, he joined the 2nd Army Corps of General W\u0142adys\u0142aw Anders, which is one of the formations of the Polish Armed Forces created outside the occupied Polish territories, on many battlefronts.\u00a0They were made up of Poles living in different parts of the world that wanted to fight the German Nazis.<\/p>\n
Singing and playing occasionally, Aston with this army crossed the Middle East and reached Italy.\u00a0There, Polish troops took part in many battles against the Germans and their allies. Aniston with other Polish soldiers fought heroically in the Battle of Monte Cassino (1944).\u00a0After the ferocious combat he performed a song, “Red Poppies at Monte Cassino”.<\/p>\n
After the war, he emigrated to London, and later to South Africa, where he took a job at an alcohol factory and then worked in a paper mill.\u00a0Retired, he returned to Great Britain.\u00a0Adam Aniston visited Poland, but he rarely gave concerts anymore.\u00a0He died in London on January 10, 1993.<\/p>\n