Grocholska-Kurkowiak Barbara (born 1927)

The Wonderful Years of Barbara Grocholska-Kurkowiak

article by Ms. Halina Zdebska

Barbara Grocholska was born on August 24, 1927, in Falenty near Warsaw, into the family of Barbara from Czetwertyński Grocholska and Col. Adam Remigiusz Grocholski (an officer in the Polish Army). They were quite a large family, as she had nine siblings (Mikołaj, Remigian, Michał, Anna, Ignacy, Franciszek, Włodzimierz, Piotr, Elżbieta). – I had wonderful parents, we were a happy, loving family. Everything that is best in me, I owe to them – says Barbara Grocholska today.

She was interested in sports from childhood; she rode horses very well, ran, but she did not think at that time that she would take up skiing.

When World War II broke out, she was staying with her aunt in the Lublin region.

After the arrest of her grandfather and aunt by the Germans (they were imprisoned in the camps in Ravensbruck and Buchenwald), in 1940 she returned to Warsaw, where she lived with her mother and siblings at 7 Ikara Street.

Adam Remigiusz Grocholski, right after the September defeat, got involved in underground activities (he had, among others, the pseudonym “Waligóra”). In 1942, Barbara Grocholska passed her small matriculation in secret education, in the so-called Completes with the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. In the same year, she joined the underground formation of the 1st Regiment of Chevau-légers. Her brother Mikołaj was also in the Chevau-légers, while Remigian was in the “Zośka” battalion, and Michał was in the Gray Ranks.

During the Warsaw Uprising, Barbara Grocholska participated as a nurse (pseudonym “Kuczerawa” – due to her very curly hair). Three of her siblings also fought. They felt the fall of the uprising painfully, but still, they were very lucky, as they all survived. However, they had to leave Warsaw, and since Barbara suffered from bronchial asthma, her parents decided that Zakopane would be the best place for her. This is how she ended up in the Tatra Mountains. Right after the war, she started studying at the Economic High School in Kuźnice, which she graduated from in 1947. The mountains completely captivated Barbara. She spent every free moment there.

She was very well received in the Zakopane community. Probably due to her personality traits: always smiling, cheerful, cordial, open to people. Her friendly attitude towards the surrounding reality, inner warmth, and joy of life made the people she met after the wartime nightmare repay her with great sympathy.

It was also in Zakopane that her skiing began. – Reflecting on the period of competitions, I think that my complete entry into skiing was based on my enchantment with the mountains and a certain sporting temperament with which I was born – she recalls today.

Her first ski runs showed she had great talent. She debuted in 1948, during the Cable Car Cup competition.

She took third place at that time and was immediately noticed. Barbara Grocholska (SNPTT Zakopane), who competed for the first time in PKL downhill races, shows promise as an outstanding downhill talent. In her first start, she ranked among the top group of Polish skiers. Grocholska possesses a bold male style of skiing and is in excellent physical condition (“Sport i Wczasy”, March 4, 1948).

The start in this competition marked the beginning of a long and extremely interesting sports career. She began representing the colors of SNPTT Zakopane, later she was also an athlete of WKS Legia, WKN Warsaw, and “Start” Zakopane. It is worth remembering that after the ski season ended, she successfully practiced athletics (high jump – best result 163 cm, she also ran hurdles).

She honed her skills under the guidance of coaches: Jan Lipowski, Tomasz Gluziński, Stefan Dziedzic. Each of them helped her delve into the secrets of skiing excellence.

After graduating from the Economic High School, she took exams to the Higher School of Pedagogy in Krakow, but unfortunately without success. She did not make another attempt because skiing completely captivated her. And with a capital S. In 1950, she was called up to the Polish national team. She brought not only high skills there but also immense joy of life and a smile. – It was thanks to Basia that there was a wonderful atmosphere in the team – recalls Olympian Maria Szatkowska (née Gąsienica – Daniel). – She was someone special to all of us, someone we could always trust, confide in. She was like a sister to us, or maybe even more? Our friendship, initiated back then on skis, has stood the test of time and exists to this day…

Her sports career was not only about competing on the slopes for the best time but also about repeatedly struggling with health issues. Asthma attacks constantly troubled her. While she felt relatively well in Zakopane, competitions in Szczyrk were pure torture for her. Sometimes she felt she would suffocate before reaching the end of the course… She was also plagued by injuries, often before the most important competitions. Probably one of the reasons was her weak psychological resilience. – I experienced competitions not very consciously. I was always accompanied by enormous stress, which was paralyzing. I could ski well, at maximum speed through the most difficult slalom gates, and for completely unknown reasons fall on a flat section, a few meters before the finish line. Sometimes I wondered if I could see and avoid a concrete wall if someone placed it on the downhill course.

The greatest stress always accompanied her during international competitions. Patriotism, strengthened by the consciously experienced Second World War, was also fueled by officials deciding who could go abroad. – We were always told: remember, you are going for Poland, for Poland, etc. The effect was completely different from what was intended. We were so tense, and yet each of us did everything to show ourselves in the best light. When I first went to the Alps, I was simply dazzled by the conditions for skiing. I thought then – considering the conditions we train in at home – we are not doing too badly. I remember that during the Tatra Cup in Czechoslovakia, I fell off the course during a downhill run. The rules allowed me to continue the descent. When I was scrambling out of the snow, I was genuinely embarrassed that I, a representative of Poland, had been carried into the forest. So I covered the eagle on my sleeve just in case. I skied with the conviction that it was my work for Poland. It was certainly also an escape from all the horrors that were happening in Poland at that time…

The fifties were indeed a dark period in Polish history. Sport was an integral part of reality, so athletes, especially national representatives, also remained under the supervision of appropriate services. – During a camp at Kalatówki, before leaving for the Olympic Games in Oslo, gentlemen from Warsaw visited us. We were called for individual talks and encouraged to “rat” on each other. Of course, none of us agreed to this. When it turned out that several colleagues in a row received such proposals, we asked the next one who had just left the “talk” room if he had also received such a task. When he denied it, we shouted in unison “squealer, squealer”! We simply saved ourselves with laughter, although we knew perfectly well that these were serious matters. After all, we constantly heard about arrests, harassment, which also affected acquaintances, friends, and even members of our families. We escaped from this grim reality into the mountains, on skis…

Barbara Grocholska – Kurkowiak holds a special place in the history of Polish skiing. She is an absolute record holder, considering the number of Polish championship titles she has won.

She belongs to the generation that began skiing right after the war, in extremely difficult conditions. Therefore, her achievements should be viewed in a broader context.

She won Polish championship titles 24 times: in downhill (1951, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1968), slalom (1958, 1960-63), giant slalom (1956 – 1958, 1960, 1963) and combined (1951, 1961, 1963, 1965). She was also multiple times a national vice-champion. She represented Poland at the Olympic Games in Oslo (1952 – 13th place in downhill, 14th place in slalom) and in Cortina d’Ampezzo (1956 – 17th place in downhill and 20th in giant slalom) and at the World Championships (1958). She won medals four times in the academic world championships (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze). She also successfully competed in numerous international competitions, where she placed among the top ten athletes in the world. This was the case, for example, in Grindelwald (1957), where she took fourth place in slalom and giant slalom. Her performance was also commented on in the foreign press: – If there ever was a run in an absolutely perfect style, it was in Grindelwald. The skiing of Polish Barbara Grocholska in slalom and giant slalom was truly exemplary and in a style worthy of attention. From start to finish, tight ski control, textbook turns, a pleasure to watch. Unfortunately, due to the lack of training, the Poles gave up starting in the downhill. And yet Barbara Grocholska (as the fourth) could certainly have had a lot to say here too…(“Sport Bund” 1957, trans. E. Sierosławska).

Thanks to her success in Grindelwald, her photo appeared on the cover of the Swiss “Die Woche”. As the only Polish skier, she was noticed by the authors of the Sports Encyclopedia published in Monaco (Encyclopedie Universelle des Sport. Le Ski. Et les sports d’hiver. Lavail Union Europeenne d’Editions, Monaco 1960, vol. II, p. 102.), where her photo was placed and she was distinguished for particularly beautiful (in terms of style) slalom runs.

A great, unfulfilled sports dream remained the Olympic Games in Squaw Valley (1960). Due to financial difficulties, the Polish downhill team did not participate in them. She regrets this very much to this day. She felt that she was very well prepared at that time, she was fortunately avoiding injuries, and she was capable of a good result. She would also have the opportunity to meet her brother living in the United States after several years (he even volunteered as a “trampler” to have the opportunity to contact his sister). Unfortunately, she did not receive this chance.

It is worth mentioning here that while preparing for the Olympics, she was already a mother of two daughters. In 1956, she married Robert Kurkowiak, an architectural engineer, and WKS Legia athlete. In 1957, she gave birth to her daughter Barbara, in 1958 – Elżbieta (and later Anna – 1967 and Maria – 1969).

The desire to ski the Olympic routes of Squaw Valley was only fulfilled almost thirty years later, when, being privately in the United States, she visited this place…

Barbara Grocholska – Kurkowiak’s skiing career lasted a long time, even for those times. Her favorite discipline was primarily downhill skiing because speed always fascinated her (although she achieved great success in slalom and presented impeccable technique). – Often during a descent, I repeated in my thoughts: faster, faster! At the end of my adventure with competitive sports, sometimes funny situations occurred. After all, I competed with much younger athletes. Once, one of them asked: Basia, how old are you actually? Without hesitation, I replied: 41. And she said: Oh my, you’re already so old and still skiing? – recalls Mrs. Barbara laughing. – Those were wonderful years, fantastic people. Some of us have scattered around the world, some of us have already passed away, like Włodek Czarniak. He was so cheerful, a bit crazy, but very intelligent, sensitive. We liked each other very much… Well, we have experienced a lot thanks to skiing, we have a lot to remember now, our friendships with Marysia Szatkowska or Marysia Kowalska have survived…

After ending her adventure with competitive skiing, she dedicated many years to coaching (she completed coaching studies at the Higher School of Physical Education in Krakow). – It was the second half of my skiing life, the transition from the competitive stage to coaching. It started with working, for example, with a group of 30 children from Primary School No. 3 on Skibówki, which was cared for by “Start”, but 10 people remained, forming the core of the group, the most talented, those who liked skiing and mountains the most. Some gave up due to injuries, others were a bit too lazy, too weak. After all, it was hard work for them. Training regardless of the weather, in spring or autumn, searching for snow in the Świnica Kettle or Morskie Oko… The children bravely went to the high mountains, and after all, they still had exhausting training. In the summer, we had sports camps by the lakes. I tried to give them more than just good training. I taught them to notice the beauty of nature, mountains, or lakes, in the sun, in the fog… but also – another person… During trips, I taught them about the world, for example, when we were in the Caucasus, they got to know the mountains and the people living there, they learned by heart the names of the peaks visible from the cable car on Elbrus. I always also paid great attention to their school progress. I worked the longest with three cohorts: 1957 and younger, 1972 and 1979. Today my pupils are already adults… I remember them very warmly, we still like each other…

Barbara Grocholska – Kurkowiak is an extremely sensitive person to the beauty of the mountains, to other people, to the surrounding reality. The expression of these experiences is undoubtedly the poems she writes, which began to emerge when she was still a teenage girl. She also successfully attempted to write prose. In 1965, she participated in a competition for Olympic memories organized by the Polish Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Culture and Art. The jury, chaired by Stanisław Ryszard Dobrowolski, awarded her work “Giant Slalom” the first prize.

Barbara, however, remained faithful to poetry, mountains, and skiing. This year marks exactly fifty years since her debut on the ski slopes. Half a century ago, she competed for the first time in the Cable Car Cup competition. So she competed again now. In this way, she wanted to close her adventure with skiing. She competed in a group together with current athletes. She reached the finish line… This does not mean a definitive farewell to skiing, it was rather symbolic. Barbara Grocholska – Kurkowiak cannot imagine life without mountains and skis…

Barbara Grocholska-Kurkowiak in the Oral History Archive
My Kasprowy – interview with Bartek Solik
August 1944.
Our Kasprowy

Rolly Marchi “Quando parlai di alpinismo con il Papa” -“il Giornale” April 5, 2005