 With the censorship of Polish theater ( and the virtual end of the Polish radio and film industry ) , underground theaters were created , primarily in Warsaw and Kraków , with shows presented in various underground venues . Beginning in 1940 the theaters were coordinated by the Secret Theatrical Council . Four large companies and more than 40 smaller groups were active throughout the war , even in the Gestapo 's Pawiak prison in Warsaw and in Auschwitz ; underground acting schools were also created . Underground actors , many of whom officially worked mundane jobs , included Karol Adwentowicz , Elżbieta Barszczewska , Henryk Borowski , Wojciech Brydziński , Władysław Hańcza , Stefan Jaracz , Tadeusz Kantor , Mieczysław Kotlarczyk , Bohdan Korzeniowski , Jan Kreczmar , Adam Mularczyk , Andrzej Pronaszko , Leon Schiller , Arnold Szyfman , Stanisława Umińska , Edmund Wierciński , Maria Wiercińska , Karol Wojtyła ( who later became Pope John Paul II ) , Marian Wyrzykowski , Jerzy Zawieyski and others . Theater was also active in the Jewish ghettos and in the camps for Polish war prisoners . 
