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| Top row - in the middle "Pan Doktor" - Janusz Korczak and three teachers/bursa students also called "Pan ...". On the right, standing, Korczak´s assistant "Pani Stefa" - Stefania Wilczyńska. Lower picture - Stefania Wilczyńska signature as a house mother. |
To start with, I have to conclude that there is an extreme variety of forms deployed when addressing people in Polish. Pan (“Sir”) and Pani (Madame) are the most popular.
By combining Pan with one’s first name. For example, the use of the Pan Jakub or Pani Stefa (Madam Stefa) form is more intimate than the use of Pan (“Sir”) or Pani and surname (Pani Wilczynska).
In "The King of Children: A Biography of Janusz Korczak" - Betty Jean Lifton uses the translation of Pani Stefa as Madame Stefa. Orphanage children were using Pan, Pani or Panna when addressing teachers and staff. Often it was used together with the name of the teacher. So, Korczak was called Pan Doktor. teachers were called Pan Misza, Pan Jakub, Pan Józek. It was more complicated on the female side with Pani Saba, Pani Nacia, Pani Rywka, and Panna Esterka.
By combining Pan with one’s first name. For example, the use of the Pan Jakub or Pani Stefa (Madam Stefa) form is more intimate than the use of Pan (“Sir”) or Pani and surname (Pani Wilczynska).
In "The King of Children: A Biography of Janusz Korczak" - Betty Jean Lifton uses the translation of Pani Stefa as Madame Stefa. Orphanage children were using Pan, Pani or Panna when addressing teachers and staff. Often it was used together with the name of the teacher. So, Korczak was called Pan Doktor. teachers were called Pan Misza, Pan Jakub, Pan Józek. It was more complicated on the female side with Pani Saba, Pani Nacia, Pani Rywka, and Panna Esterka.
When Korczak met and befriended Stefania (Stefa) Wilczynska, she was known and addressed as Panna Stefa. Not as Pani Stefa! Why?
In Polish, the feminine form of Pan (Mr.) is Pani (Mrs.) Panna - Miss (Ms) is a traditional title used for an unmarried woman (comparable to Fräulein in German, Mademoiselle in French, and Fröken in Swedish). However, the use of Panna is becoming less common nowadays. I remember that 100-year-old neighbor corrected me when I addressed her using Pani (Fru). She corrected me and said Panna (Fröken). With Stefa Wilczynska it was opposite. At a certain age, she decided that children should call her using Pani - Mrs. which is a traditional title used for a married woman.
None ever addressed Stefania Wilczynska as Madame!
„Panna Esterka nie chce żyć ani wesoło, ani łatwo. Chce żyć ładnie, piękne życie chce mieć...“ wrote Korczak about Estera Winogron in his "Ghetto Diary". Here Korczak used both Panna and Esterka, a diminitive form of Estera.
Addressing someone in Poland is rather formal, and not using Pan or Pani will be regarded as offensive. Using in the Swedish text "Madame Stefa" instead of Fru Stefa or Pani Stefa feels offensive as well and might more points on her studies at the University of Liège in Belgium than her status at the Orphanage.
„Panna Esterka nie chce żyć ani wesoło, ani łatwo. Chce żyć ładnie, piękne życie chce mieć...“ wrote Korczak about Estera Winogron in his "Ghetto Diary". Here Korczak used both Panna and Esterka, a diminitive form of Estera.
Addressing someone in Poland is rather formal, and not using Pan or Pani will be regarded as offensive. Using in the Swedish text "Madame Stefa" instead of Fru Stefa or Pani Stefa feels offensive as well and might more points on her studies at the University of Liège in Belgium than her status at the Orphanage.
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| "Panna Esterka" - Estera Winograd, educator at Korczak´s Orphanage. Produced "The Last Play in Warsaw Ghetto" - The Post Office" by Tagore. Murdered in Treblinka. |
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| Gunilla Lundgren uses "Madam" Stefa in her article about Janusz Korczak. |
