Grazyna Szapolowska on hard times: “We brought salami and toilet paper”.

A star who had to fight for survival

Grażyna Szapołowska was associated with the National Theatre for years, and her film creations have gone down in the history of Polish cinema. She is currently preparing to take part in the 16th edition of ‘Dancing with the Stars’, where she will dance in a pair with Jan Kliment. Although today she is one of the most recognisable actresses in Poland, she has had to face many difficulties in the past. During the communist era, when the country was short of basic commodities, the actress did everything she could to ensure a decent life for herself and her daughter.

See also: Grazyna Szapolowska celebrates her 70th BIRTHDAY! (PHOTO!)

Smuggling tricks of Grażyna Szapołowska

In one interview, the artist revealed that in the 1980s she regularly travelled to Hungary, from where she smuggled hardly available products into Poland.

It was a difficult time, winter, with Jadzia Jankowska we were playing in Hungary at the time and we brought salami, this toilet paper and nappies from Hungary to our country – she recalled in the programme “Demakijaż”.

Such trips were the only way for many Poles to get basic goods, which were a luxury in Poland.

Style above all – luxury in times of scarcity

Despite the difficult conditions, Szapołowska did not give up elegance. Even when fuel was scarce, she made sure she looked impeccable.

I wore sable every day. It was a protest against the greyness that prevailed at the time. And then I would go back to the cottage in Pustelnik and burn the wood I had collected in the cooker –  she said in an interview for “Viva!”.