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Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 5-7
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Artykuły i Studia: Jednostki pomocnicze UB/SB na tle codziennego funkcjonowania aparatu represji PRL 
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Salaries of Security Apparatus Officers in 1944–1956. Selected Issues and Problems
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 15-52
The article discusses the salaries of security apparatus officers in 1944–1956. The starting point for considerations was an analysis of surviving payrolls from the WUBP (Voivodeship Security Departments) in Kielce and Wrocław. Data from these units allow us to conclude that by 1947 the average salary of an officer was lower than the average salary in Poland paid in cash. This began to change and in the 1950s average salaries in the Security Department began to exceed average salaries in Poland. In addition, until 1949, the salaries paid by the Security Department, as well as by the Citizens’ Militia and the army, were exempt from taxes.
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“Behind the Yellow Curtains”. MBP (Ministry of Public Security) Shops (1945– 1954). An Introduction to their Characteristics
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 53-77
The term “shops behind yellow curtains” has entered colloquial speech in Poland as a marker of the privileged position of groups in power. It refers to special shops for representatives of the political elite, which functioned (in various forms) during the communist period. In the case of the Ministry of Public Security, the network of such shops was operated by a separate unit, called Centrala Konsumów MBP (Ministry of Public Security Consumer Services Headquarters) (along with its field counterparts) since 1948. The Ministry Headquarters supervised not only the work of grocery, textile or industrial stores, but also canteens, buffets or various types of workshops and establishments (such as hairdressers and shoemakers) with its facilities. Although all of these facilities were special, and theoretically served only MBP officers (and their families), there were similar cases of embezzlement, negligence and irregularities there as elsewhere, characteristic of the communist “shortage economy”. The article briefly outlines three aspects of MBP shops: the structural evolution, the size of the establishments and the above-mentioned irregularities and embezzlements.
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Organisation and Forms of Employee Holidays and Leisure in the Public Security Apparatus (1945–1956)
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 78-123
This article is an attempt to describe “employee holidays” (employer-organised holidays for employees) and other forms of leisure activities of public security apparatus employees in 1945–1956. Given the scarcity of sources, especially reports and employees’ accounts, it has proved extremely difficult to provide a comprehensive account of this issue. However, based on the analysis of remaining documents, it was possible to shed light on several issues. First, this article presents the holiday organisation management schedule, and the rules, and procedures for distributing “holiday cards” (entitlement tickets). In the next step, the paper focuses on the leisure facilities and the characteristics of the staff, and the conditions of the holiday homes. The study also seeks to present the various forms of holidays offered to employees as well as other forms of employee leisure activities organised by the ministry.
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The Ministry of Public Security Cipher Service from 1945 to 1954
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 124-159
The article presents the origins of the Ministry of Public Security cipher service and the main problems associated with its functioning in 1945–1954. In this period, it operated as one of the divisions of Department II of the Ministry of Public Security and later it became the Ministry’s independent unit. Practically throughout the entire period of “People’s” Poland, it was one of the main auxiliary units of the Security Department and Security Service, and at the same time the most important unit of the repression apparatus in the broadly understood scope of ciphers, codes, encryption and decryption. Its influence was felt in the organisation and work of the cipher apparatus in the army, Citizens’ Militia, Internal Security Corps (Korpus Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego, KBW), Border Protection Troops (Wojska Ochrony Pogranicza, WOP), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreign missions, shipping as well as several other institutions and state enterprises of the Polish People’s Republic. The MBP cipher service was organised after the Soviet pattern and for the first decade of its work was based on cipher documents produced there. By training its own group of cipher specialists, the unit was able to develop its capabilities – both in terms of creating its own ciphers and decrypting the ciphers of foreign countries. Before that, however, it struggled with many organisational problems characteristic of the early stages of the “People’s” Poland security apparatus.
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The Origins, Organisational Structure, Tasks and Working Methods of the Political and Educational Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1981–1989)
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 160-177
The range of changes in the Ministry of Internal Affairs officer and employee attitudes, and beliefs in late 1980 and early 1981 as well as its profoudness, raised serious concerns among both the ministry’s leadership and people in power in general. In these circumstances, the establishment of the Political and Educational Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs became a kind of ideological rescue operation to save members of the formation guarding the achievements of socialism from the destructive influence of the Polish society’s growing awareness that the political system and socialist ideals imposed on it after 1945 had become a relic of the past. The Directorate was not able to counteract these tendencies and could not improve the Ministry of Internal Affairs image, nor raise adequate motivation or shape proper class consciousness among officers, soldiers and employees of the ministry. At the beginning of 1989, also in this professional group, few people believed in the effectiveness of socialist recipes for a life of prosperity and social order. The article discusses the circumstances of the establishment of the Directorate, its organisational structure and some aspects of its operation.
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Auxiliary Divisions of the Security Service in the Opole Voivodeship, Its Organisational and Personnel Potential, Sources and Transformations as Well as Selected Examples of Activities. Part I: “B”, “T” and “W” Divisions
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 178-224
The “B”, “T” and “W” divisions of the Voivodeship Headquarters of the Citizens’ Militia and the Voivodeship Office of Internal Affairs in Opole continued the activities of the“B”, IX and “W” divisions, as well as of the Independent “W” Section of the Voivodeship Public Security Department. While continuing the tasks of these structures, its organisational and personnel potential was also maintained by “B”, “T”, and “W” divisions, which was very different from the situation in other security apparatus divisions. The number of officers in the various units of the auxiliary divisions of the Security Department and Security Service in the Opole Voivodeship mostly remained at similar levels throughout the 1955–1989 period. The exception was the “W” division, whose crew doubled over time. The 1970s brought progressive changes in recruitment mechanisms and education levels. The number of officers with higher education was growing, especially of the graduates of civilian universities. The College of Engineering in Opole in this context became an important source of personnel.
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Inspectorate for the Protection of Officers, the Voivodeship Internal Affairs Office (WUSW) in Nowy Sącz as a Tool for Controlling Officers and Civilian Employees of the Nowy Sącz Garrison
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 225-256
The paper discusses the activities of the Inspectorate for the Protection of Officers of the WUSW in Nowy Sącz in 1985–1990. The results of the Inspectorate’s work were presented from a statistical perspective, considering the conducted investigations and its activity was analysed in terms of cases of “violations of the law” found, or “harmful acts” committed by officers and civilian employees in WUSW and its subordinate units. The inspectorate’s actions were analysed against the background of the disciplinary policy of the WUSW’s Human Resources Department, as well as the WUSW’s Political and Educational Department’s assessment of violations of law and official discipline.
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The Vehicle Fleet of the “B” Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Transportation as a Condition of Work of the Surveillance Division
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 257-279
The issue of transportation was crucial for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The “B” Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responsible for surveillance, was a unit where the car was an important working tool. The Bureau had a transportation base that handled the assignment of cars to individual departments, garaging cars and servicing them at the Service and Repair Station. In the 1960s, the most common cars used were Volkswagen, Warszawa 20, Simca Aronde, Wartburg, Pobeda, Fiat 600, Fiat Multipla, Mercedes 170, Škoda 440 (Spartak), Škoda vans, Moskvich, Warszawa field ambulance and AWO motorcycles. According to the director of the Ministry’s “B” Bureau, Volkswagens were particularly good at surveillance work. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Ministry’s car fleet included Fiat (125p, 126p), and Polonez vehicles. The transport department of the “B” Bureau faced a number of problems, which occurred with varying intensity throughout the period of its operation. The biggest issue was the scarcity of cars in relation to demand, and a shortage of foreign-made cars. In the 1980s, nationwide supply problems also affected the Ministry – there were shortages of spare parts and petrol. Another problem was traffic collisions and accidents, which mostly occurred due to the driver’s inattention, but also because of alcohol abuse. The accidents gave rise to compensation claims, which not only generated costs, but also led to the disclosure of the personal data of surveillance officers to the Citizens’ Militia.
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Service, Family Life and Social Position of the Officers, Soldiers, and Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Polish People’s Republic as Seen in the “Bulletin of the Political and Educational Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs”
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 280-302
Officers of the Political and Educational Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs established in November 1981, who used among other things, an internal journal called the “Bulletin of the Political and Educational Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs” (later “Bulletin”) in carrying out their tasks. The contents of particular issues of the Bulletin, edited in Division I of the Directorate and published from 1982 to 1989, provide interesting source material that enables reconstruction of the certain realities and conditions regarding professional attitudes, family problems and the social reception of the Ministry of Internal Affairs employees in this period. The article discusses selected content presented in the journal.
Articles and comparative studies: Apparatuses of Repression in Other Communist and Totalitarian Countries
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Charles Katek, a Friend Devoted to Our Cause. A Case of American-Czechoslovak Intelligence Cooperation, 1943–1945 (1948)
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 305-347
The key official of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) responsible for communication with the representatives of Czechoslovak government-in-exile was Dr. Charles Katek (1910–1971), an intelligence officer whom the OSS director Brigadier William J. Donovan approved first as liaison officer and subsequently a head of the Czechoslovak section of the Secret Intelligence Branch of the London OSS station.
After being assigned to the OSS Detachment, European Theatre of Operations in early November 1943, Katek began a series of regular conferences with a representatives of the 2th (intelligence) Department of the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence and started communicating with the officials from individual ministries of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile.
At the turn of August and September 1944, Katek participated with the Central European Section of the Secret Intelligence Branch OSS/MEDTO in Italy in preparation of the plans for the deployment of operational teams to Slovakia, which were transported to the insurgent territory on 17 September and 7 October 1944. In addition to further assistance to Czechoslovak resistance, Katek – with the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) – actively supported the redirection of the 859th Squadron of the 492nd US Bombardment Group to carry out special operations over the territory Bohemia and Moravia, as well the transport of weapons and other material for the resistance movement.
In mid-April 1945 Maj. Gen. Donovan appointed Katek as the head of the small Czech Special Forces Detachment which accompanied the Third US Army into the Czechoslovak territories. On 7 May 1945 Katek arrived to the liberated Pilsen, from where he continued with several colleagues to Beroun, and in the afternoon of 10 May 1945 they arrived to Prague.
Under Katek‘s leadership, the Prague Mission became the productive part of the OSS Mission for Germany, and subsequently of the Strategic Services Unit/Germany (October 1945), the Central Intelligence Group (after January 1946) and finally the Central Intelligence Agency (after September 1947).
The Soviet intelligence apparatus, working through the Czechoslovak security forces, played an intelligence game with the US intelligence Field Station in Prague which culminated shortly after the communist coup in February 1948. Katek was forced to leave Czechoslovakia for American Occupation Zone in Germany.
Until the end of his professional carrier he served in the CIA in charge of organizing intelligence activities concerning Czechoslovakia and other communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe. On November 19, 1971, Katek died of a heart attack at his home in Potomac, a suburb of Washington, D.C. -
Preparation and Practice: The United States’ Image in Hungarian State Security Training Materials 1970–1989
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 348-371
This study examines the operative textbooks used for the training of the intelligence officers of the state security of the Hungarian People’s Republic for work in the United States from the second half of the 1960s to the 1980s. It compares the image of the United States in these textbooks to the reports produced by the Hungarian state security in the period, to see whether those textbooks might have been used for effective training. The main primary sources are two large and two shorter textbooks that can be found in the Állambiztonsági Szolgálatok Történeti Levéltára (Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security, ÁBTL) in Budapest. Two of these books were originally written by Soviet authors, and the other two by Hungarian intelligence officers.
This study contains a brief overview of the current knowledge about foreign intelligence in communist Hungary and the training of the intelligence officers. The article then presents the textbooks and the main topics discussed there as well as the state security’s perception of the United States. Finally, in order to evaluate the relevance of textbooks, the training materials are compared to the contents of the actual reports written by Hungarian intelligence officers. Overall, these educational materials do not contain a deep, detailed presentation of American society, political life, or the economy; for the operatives did not need this type of information for their work. The aim was to provide cursory background knowledge about the United States that would enable the officers to be quickly established in their new position and blend in, if need be. Another aim of the textbooks was ideological education. Even though the tone of the later Hungarian books is less belligerent and hostile than that of the Soviet ones, with minor differences, they still convey the same ideological message.
Articles and studies: Varia
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The Departmental Homo Sovieticus in Light of the Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Polish People’s Republic
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 375-403
The article focuses on the processes of commemorating the deceased Public Security Ministry officers in the first post-war decade – since the establishment of the Public Security Department in 1944 to the festivities of the 10th anniversary of the Polish People’s Republic. The discussion concerns the questions: to what extent the security apparatus was an institution of the politics of historical memory, who was the target audience for the activities commemorating the ministry’s officers, what forms those activities took before the 1956 breakthrough, and to what extent the department’s employees fell within the category of the New Man or homo sovieticus.
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The Actions of the Communist Repression Apparatus Against Józef Wiącek, Pseudonyms “Sowa” and “Kleszcz”
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 404-429
The partisan group “Jędrusie” remains one of the most recognisable groups of the Polish Underground State from the time of the German occupation. One of its leaders was Józef Wiącek pseudonyms “Kleszcz”, “Sowa”. During the Stalinist period, the Communists sought to eliminate the command staff of the Polish independence underground. The article analyses the course of the investigation against Józef Wiącek, and the author pays particular attention to the non-substantive pressures on the investigation, the results of which were intended to lead to a conviction. In the end, the investigation went in a direction unforeseen by the Communists, due in part to the prosecution’s main witness, who turned out to be a compromised person. The Communists were forced to release Wiącek from custody, which was their defeat. The investigation in question not only demonstrates the exceptionally low effectiveness of the Security Service in establishing facts from the time of the German occupation, but also provides a rare and surprising example of its inability to give a judicial crime the necessary appearance of the rule of law, despite the entire range of coercive and terror measures at the disposal of Stalinist Poland’s repressive apparatus.
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The Repression Apparatus of “People’s” Poland of the Stalinist Period Against Leading Pre-war Employees of the Białystok Security Organs, Responsible for Fighting the Communist Movement in the 1930s
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 430-451
The post-war authorities of “People’s” Poland considered the officers and employees of the security organs of the Second Polish Republic to be the enemies of the state. The Communists paid particular attention to those responsible for suppression of the pre-war illegal communist movement, especially former State Police officers, and subjected them to repression. The Communists used the relevant legislation and the activity of the security and justiciary services, and sought to arrest the former law enforcement officers, and sentence them to long prison terms. This article shows – on the example of the post-war fates of Adam Półtorzecki, Bolesław Kontrym, Witold Skrętowski, and Adam Keller, leading Białystok security officials of the 1930s – how such activities appeared to be in practice.
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Gathering of Intelligence on Western Troops by Officers of the Military Attaché of Communist Poland in the PRC and DPRK in Cooperation with Their Military Intelligence Services During the Korean War
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 452-475
The article describes attempts to obtain information and intelligence material on the armies of Western countries by military intelligence officers working for the Military Attaché of communist Poland in China and North Korea during the Korean War. It presents the most important goals set for them by military intelligence headquarters, the methods of acquiring materials in cooperation with the Chinese and Koreans, as well as an evaluation of some of the data and equipment acquired. The article proves that during the Korean War de facto intelligence cooperation was established between Branch (Directorate) II of the General Staff of the Polish Army and the military intelligence of the People’s Republic of China, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Representatives of the military intelligence services of both countries provided the employees of the Polish Military Attaché with a substantial amount of data and equipment obtained during the conflicts in Korea, as well as information extracted during the interrogations of American prisoners of war. Directorate II also considered the concept of recruiting American POWs of Polish origin who were in Chinese captivity. However, research shows that this design remained at the planning stage and no real attempts at such recruitment ever took place.
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Supporting the Party. Political Police in the 1952 and 1957 Parliamentary Elections
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 476-511
In the timespan of over four years separating the parliamentary elections of late 1952 and early 1957, a profound metamorphosis of the communist system took place in Poland. This change influenced the scope and nature of operations undertaken by the political police serving the Polish United Workers’ Party. In 1952, the party was in the course of the building of a “socialist society”, using propaganda, terror, intimidation and repression, in which the security apparatus played a significant role. The election campaign carried out under such conditions provided another opportunity to strengthen surveillance of a society subjected to ideological pressure. The political thaw that began in 1954, led to a significant change in the operation principles of the state, the Polish United Workers’ Party, and the organs of repression. The range of surveillance of society, and ideological pressure was limited then and terror was reduced. As a result, the 1957 elections turned out to be the freest voting before 1989, despite the fact that the electoral law changed only slightly, and ensured a parliamentary majority for the Communists and only limited freedom of choice. The involvement of the political police in those two elections was different, which was related to the socio-political changes that took place then. In 1952, the Security Department, using violence and lawlessness, was supposed to break any sign of resistance – all that mattered was the victory of the idea of building a socialist society. In 1956, the party, weakened by the thaw, could not afford to do so. The Security Service, which was established at the time, was much less involved in the campaign than the Security Department had been four years earlier, and, in accordance with the guidelines of the political authorities it was supposed to operate within the limits of the law. The officers ignored many manifestations of contestation of the system and elections, as long as those did not grossly violate the existing legal system.
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Competition for Power in the Christian Social Association After the Fall of Jan Frankowski in the Context of the Involvement of Leading Activists in Cooperation with the Security Organs (1968–1974)
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 512-542
The subject of the text is the struggle for power in the Christian Social Association (Chrześcijańskie Stowarzyszenie Społeczne, ChSS) in the period from the overthrow of its founder and president Jan Frankowski in the spring of 1968 to the election of Kazimierz Morawski as chairman of the ChSS General Board in February 1974. During this time, the organisation was led by Zygmunt Filipowicz MP, Frankowski’s former deputy. However, he failed to consolidate his power, and was only one party in the rivalry between several ambitious activists – Janusz Makowski, Adam Romaniuk, Jan Majdecki, Kazimierz Morawski, and Stanisław Jan Rostworowski – who had earlier caused the overthrow of the first ChSS president. The coalitions within the new leadership changed frequently, depending on where the main axis of the dispute ran: from the struggle between MPs Filipowicz, Makowski, and Romaniuk, and the so-called “youngsters”, i.e. Majdecki, Morawski, Rostworowski, and Andrzej Szomański, to the fundamental conflict between Majdecki and Romaniuk, and the rivalry between Morawski and his former ally Rostworowski. The involvement of the main players in cooperation with the Communist security organs was of great importance for the course of events: Majdecki (secret collaborator “Mak”/”Derby”), Morawski (secret collaborator “Mariusz”) and Rostworowski (secret collaborator“Stanisław”) used their ties with the Ministry of Internal Affairs to strengthen their own position, while the Ministry treated them as the most important tool to control the Association. The pressure from the Office for Religious Affairs, where these activists were frequent visitors, trying to convince its head, Aleksander Skarżyński, of their arguments, was also important. The text indicates the consequences of the Association’s dependence on these two institutions, as it resulted in its ideological exhaustion and complete political subordination to the state authorities. It is also a study of the attitudes of people who, for their own interests, did not hesitate to cooperate with the security organs of the communist state.
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Andrzej Czarski, Editor of Słowo Powszechne, and his “adventures” with the Security Service
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 543-559
Andrzej Czarski’s work in Słowo Powszechne between 1972 and 1982 was the last and longest part of his 30-year-long turbulent journalistic biography. Andrzej Czarski (1930–1994) was one of the youngest soldiers of the 1944 Warsaw Rising. A particular episode of his work as the PAX press editor were the several-year long contacts with the Security Service, which he upheld on his own initiative, which was not typical – not only in his professional environment. He counted on the help of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in maintaining the position of his protector Jerzy Śląski (the newspaper’s first deputy editor-in-chief), and thus in keeping his own position. Initially, the Department IV, Division II officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in charge of operational control of the PAX Association, considered him a“valuable individual”, as they saw their own benefit in obtaining a personal source of information in the editorial offices of the PAX journals and did not check his credibility. It was only after a few years that Czarski’s bluff was discovered, as he posed as a collaborator with the Security Service, and presented views far from “socialist commitment”.
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The Role and Importance of Civil Counterintelligence Information During the Negotiations of the “Agreement Between the Polish People’s Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany on the Basis of Normalization of Mutual Relations” (1969–1970)
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 560-580
This article discusses the intelligence activities of Department II of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (civilian counterespionage) in 1969–1970, i.e. in the period of preparation for bilateral talks and negotiations of the Treaty between the Polish People’s Republic and West Germany on the foundations of normalisation of mutual relations. The intelligence activities undertaken by the service at the time went well beyond routine operations. The text discusses the scope of interests of Department II of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and presents the basic forms of intelligence work of both counterintelligence and the other branches of the Security Service. An analysis of the briefing materials showed that elaborate methods of surveillance of German and Polish negotiators were used during the talks in question. This was a result of the expectations of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR), Władysław Gomułka, who was personally interested in the talks’ outcome, and the extent of his influence on the work of civilian counterespionage that proved to be greater than that of any other communist leader until 1989.
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Motorised Reserves of the Citizens’ Militia in Gdańsk – Organisational Structure, Personnel and Daily Service
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 581-601
The article presents the process of the Citizens’ Militia Motorised Reserves (Zmotoryzowane Odwody Milicji Obywatelskiej, ZOMO) formation in Poland, with a special focus on Gdańsk. The article outlines the organisational structure of the Gdańsk ZOMO unit, and the changes that took place there in the discussed period (1957–1989). In addition, it presents information on the daily service of ZOMO officers, their equipment, their observance of official discipline, and indoctrination by the political and educational apparatus operating in the unit. The study also focuses on the unit’s involvement in the tragic events of December 1970 and the tasks it performed during martial law in 1981.
Articles and studies: Biographies
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Communist, Officer of the Security Office and “Zionist Jew”. Józef Jungman/ Jurkowski in the Light of Personal Files
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 605-639
The biography of Jozef Jungman/Jurkowski exemplifies the path of a Jewish communist who, already in the Second Polish Republic, became involved in political activity as a professional party functionary; spending most of World War II in the USSR and in General Berling’s units. In 1944, he returned to Poland so as to start working in the structures of the communist security apparatus. The article presents an individualised career path, which led Jungman/Jurkowski to managerial positions of provincial Security Department (UB) structures (in cities and regions of national importance) and to the MBP (Ministry of Public Security). It outlines Jurkowski’s participation in the creation of the repression apparatus in post-war Poland and his subsequent career in its structures. Further, his fate and material situation after leaving the ministry is examined up until his forced emigration from the People’s Republic of Poland in the late 1960s.
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Masters of Life and Death from Kleczkowska Street. The Wardens of Prison No. 1 in Wrocław in 1945–1956. Biographies and a Prosopographic Sketch
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 640-671
The article presents the profiles of the Ministry of Public Security (Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego, MBP) officers, wardens managing Prison no. 1 in Wrocław at Kleczkowska Street. The first part of the article outlines a prosopographic sketch of this group, analysing the education of the wardens, their social, national and territorial origins, age at the time of taking up the position, previous professional experiences, connections with the communist movement, assessment of the work performed and their further careers. A description of all these categories results in a fairly complete picture of the group managing the largest prison in Lower Silesia. The second part presents their detailed biographies including, whenever it was possible, their dates of death. The article concludes with a table summarising the collected material.
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Women’s Paths to the “Auxiliary Services” of the Łódź Secret Police – a Case Study of Wera Żadziewicz and Wanda Samarska
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 672-686
The article describes the “parallel biographies” of two women whose careers were shortly connected with the Voivodeship Public Security Department in Łódź: Wiera Żadziewicz (1916 – after 1956) and Wanda Samarska (1917–1979). The former worked as a dentist in the departmental clinic while the latter was a teacher in a kindergarten for officers’ children. In both women’s biographies there are the same threads: intellectual social background, persecution by totalitarian regimes, and loss of relatives during the World War II. At the same time, the two differed when it comes to nationality (Jewish/Polish), their pre-war place of residence (Second Polish Republic / USSR) and their motivation to join (material issues/ideology) – although it is a matter of debate whether Wanda Samarska’s ostentatious enthusiasm was nothing but a camouflage for her desire to leave the land of the Soviets.
Materials and documents
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Activities of Agent “Konarski” and the Investigation of the Federal Republic of Germany Embassy Employees in Warsaw by the Ministry of Internal Affairs Department II
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 689-728
The paper presents the agent activity of Jan Wejchert, i.e. secret collaborator pseud. “Konarski”, against the background of operational activities run by Division III, Department II of the Ministry of Internal Affairs against German Embassy employees in Warsaw. The operations were aimed at establishing an “operative dialogue” through representatives of civilian counterespionage, and possible attempts to recruit them. “Konarski” was to act as an intermediary in one such operation. The possibility of using him for actions targeting West German diplomats was limited at the end of 1979, after information had been received that the security unit of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bonn had recognised Wejchert as a Polish intelligence officer, and passed this information on to the Warsaw German mission. Later, “Konarski” continued to meet with West German diplomats and passed information about them to the Security Service.
Research and review articles
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[Review] Paweł Piotr Warot, Wojewódzki Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego w Olsztynie. Struktura – kadry – działalność [The Voivodeship Public Security Department in Olsztyn. Structure, personnel and activities], Białystok–Warsaw 2021, 939 pp.
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 731-737
The article reviews Paweł Piotr Warot’s book, Wojewódzki Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego w Olsztynie. Struktura – kadry – działalność. The reviewed publication deals with a specific and very interesting region – Warmia and Mazury. Cultural traditions, population migration, national diversity and the complicated situation of the post-war period made the region a very difficult area for the security services. The monograph presents a broad background of the establishment of the apparatus of repression structures and almost all aspects of its activities in the implementation and consolidation of people’s power: preparing and ensuring the safe conduct of the 1946 referendum, fighting the independence underground, opposition political parties and “hostile elements”, surveillance of the Church as well as other activities aimed at building a new society.
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[Review] Piotr Hac, Rzeczywistość równoległa. Plany dotyczące wprowadzenia w Polsce w latach 1987–1989 stanu wyjątkowego na tle rozmów rządzących z opozycją [Parallel reality. Plans to introduce martial law in Poland in 1987–1989 against the background of talks between the government and the opposition], Katowice–Warsaw 2023, 392 pp.
Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej 1944-1989, No. 22 (2024), pages: 738-750
This review of Piotr Hac’s monograph Parallel Reality. Plans to introduce a state of emergency in Poland in 1987–1989 against the background of talks between the government and the opposition is a critical analysis of the research conducted by the book’s author concerning the formal and practical possibilities of introducing a state of emergency in the Polish People’s Republic in the late 1980s in terms of the severe economic and socio-political crisis taking place in Poland at the time. The reviewer drew attention to the strengths and weaknesses of the publication, and also entered into a polemic with some of Hac’s claims.
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634 Ministry of Education and Science evaluation points:
40 (2024)
Research areas: humanities
Disciplines: history, security studies, political science and public administration
Editor-in-chief: Dr. habil. Filip Musiał
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