From Polish ghetto to Oscar-winning director

ROMAN Polanski grew up in the Krakow ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland.

In his early 20s, he appeared in Andrzej Wajda’s film, A Generation (1954), about Polish resistance against the Nazis.

He studied at the Polish film school in Lodz, winning awards for his short films, including Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958).