Feliks Szenwic (1891-1936), son of Izydor and Ryfka Łaja (Róża) née Holcberger, was a Romanesque scholar and lawyer, from 1928 a professor of the history of Roman law at the Free Polish University in Warsaw. He dealt with the issues of the reception of Roman law in various legal orders. He ran a law firm in Warsaw at 40 Nowogrodzka Street, one of the most prestigious addresses in pre-war Warsaw.
Feliks Szenwic married Emilia Feinkind (1889-1972), daughter of Majer Salomon Feinkind, entrepreneur, owner of, among others, Joint Stock Society of the Curtains and Lace Products Factory “M.S. Feinkind”, and Rajzla née Osser.
Emilia Szenwic received a thorough education and was fluent in six foreign languages. She was a translator and publicist. In 1923, she published two volumes of poetry: Those who love and Melodies of the soul, and in 1930 she published a book of poetry entitled Die ewig lieben. In 1928, she translated a collection of sketches from a trip to Italy by Vicente Blasc Ibáñez, a Spanish writer and publicist, In the land of art. As a translator, she also translated literary works from Polish into German and Italian.
Emilia Szenwic was very successful in the field of journalism. She collaborated, among others with “Tygodnik Ilustrowany” and “Kobieta Współczesna” magazines, and her texts appeared in “Nasz Przegląd”, “Architektura i Budownictwo”, “Przegląd Współczesny”, “Głos Prawdy” and “Bluszcz”.
In 1927, Feliks and Emilia acquired a summer residence in Positano. After Felix’s death, Emilia settled permanently in Italy, dividing her time between Rome, where her adult children, studying at universities, lived, and Positano.
After the war, Emilia Szenwic worked as a literary, theater and film agent as well as a journalist. She hosted Sunday talks about art for “Głos Polski” of the Roman Radio.
The children of Feliks and Emilia were Roman (1917-1977) and Aniela Stella Klara (1913-1986).
