Bender Edward, *ca. 1905, †August 1944 Warsaw, Polish singer (bass). He was a student of Cz. Zaremba. In 1928–30, he performed with the Opera Lwowska (Lviv National Opera), and in 1931 he made his debut at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, where he was hired on a permanent basis in 1935. In 1938, together with Chaliapin, he took part in the Warsaw production of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov (as Pimen). He also made guest appearances on foreign stages, creating roles in Verdi’s Aida (Bucharest, 1938) and in Wagner’s music dramas Das Rheingold and Siegfried (La Scala, 1938, 1939). He was twice a laureate of the international singing competition in Vienna, winning second prize in 1932 and first prize in 1938. During the occupation, he took part in public and secret concerts, gaining recognition for his interpretation of romantic songs (especially Schubert and Brahms). He was killed on the first day of the Warsaw Uprising, murdered by the Vlasovtsy (Russian ROA troops).
