Erna Rosenstein (17 May 1913 – 10 November 2004) was a surrealist painter and poet. Biography She was the daughter of an Austrian-Jewish judge and Ukrainian mom. She was born in the town of Lemberg, Austria-Hungary. In 1918 they moved to Kraków. In November 1918 Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic. Her father wanted her to take up in the family business of law. She however studied at (1932–1934) and Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (1934–1936). She was a Communist and belonged to a group of artists known as the , which she had met at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Her works were evoked by her experiences as a Jew in Nazi-occupied Poland. She and her parents went to Warsaw, but her parents were murdered by a Polish bandit, while they were trying to find a safe place. She was severely wounded in the attack, but survived. After the war she was confronted with the reality of Communism. Having idealized it earlier, she ran into conflict with it. In later life Rosenstein published a book of her memoirs and several volumes of poetry. Rosenstein's brother, the Austrian professor Paul N. Rosenstein-Rodan went on to become a Boston University professor and economist. He coined the term "underdeveloped countries". She was married to Polish-Jewish literary critic Artur Sandauer. She died of arterial sclerosis in 2004. External links Erna Rosenstein Bio Obituary from the Los Angeles Times 1913 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Polish painters Jewish women painters Jewish painters Polish surrealist artists Polish contemporary artists Women surrealist artists Polish women painters Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Artists from Kraków Polish communists Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Surrealist artists 20th-century Polish women Polish people of Austrian-Jewish descent Polish people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent