P O L A N D
AND THE
F O U R F R E E D O M S
Security
L O N D O N
1 9 4 6
III.—SECURITY
T H E STO R Y O F A P O L IC E STA TE
“ I am seriously concerned at the number o f political murders that have been committed, in various parts of Poland in recent zveeks, in cir
cumstances that in m any cases appear to point to the complicity of Polish Security Police. I regard it as imperative that the Polish P ro
visional Government should p u t an immediate stop to these crimes in order ihdt free and unfettered elections m ay be held as soon as possible in accordance zvith the Crimea decision.
“ . . . A t the same time I am looking forw ard to the end o f these police States.”
(Mr. B evin in th e H ouse of Commons on J a n u a r y 23rd. 1946.
Q uotation according to The Tim es, J a n u a ry 24th, 1946.)
T error reigns in P oland, w ith all th e m ethods trie d and te ste d in to ta lita ria n countries a t its disposal : arrests, d eportations, concen
tra tio n cam ps an d assassinations. Violence is th e order of th e d ay ; unarm ed people are atta c k e d , women are raped, while th e Press is muzzled, freedom of speech an d of association stric tly denied an d m any aspects of p riv ate life controlled. This sta te of affairs—th e very antithesis of R oosevelt’s F o u r F reedom s— continues to exist in P oland ever since th e entran ce of th e R ed A rm y. The T erro r aim s a t crushing th e resistance of th e Polish people an d forcing th e m to accept all th e changes im posed by a foreign Power.
W hile th e so-called Polish Provisional G overnm ent of N atio n al U nity claim s t h a t a genuine dem ocratic order is being b u ilt up in P oland, none of th e dem ocratic liberties are available to th e Poles.
On th e co n trary , u n d er th e p re te x t t h a t “ reactio n ary elem ents ” are th rea ten in g th e “ new dem ocracy,” th e W arsaw regim e, m ainly th ro u g h th e m outhpiece of th e all-powerful Com m unist Polish W orkers’
P a rty , c o n stan tly reiterate s th e need for increasing th e Terror. “ The reactio n ary in stin ct m u st be scorched o u t b y h o t iron,” runs th e fond slogan. E veryone who is n o t eith er 100 per cent. Com m unist, or a t least a close sym pathiser, is labelled a reactionary, F ascist or foreign spy. E v en th e Polish P e a s a n ts’ P a rty headed b y Mr. Stanisław M ikołajczyk has often been a tta c k e d as an ti-dem ocratic an d reactionary, an d Mr. M ikołajczyk has him self m any tim es publicly p ro tested against these co n sta n t th re a ts and accusations.
Th e Ru l e o f t h e N.Iv.V.D.
The L ublin C om m ittee organised its security system w ith th e
g rea test care, m aking various changes from tim e to tim e an d alw ays
seeking to m ould it according to th e p a tte rn of th e Soviet N .K .V .D .
B u t in th e beginning th e system was inad eq u ate, so th e N .K .V .D .
sta rte d to w ork in all tow ns large an d small and all villages, b u t for
m any reasons w ith far g reater ad v an tag es th a n its G erm an opposite
num ber. To begin w ith, th is Soviet organisation was far m ore n u
m erous in every Polish province th a n th e G estapo ever was. Then,
except its co m paratively sm all num bers of paid inform ers, th e G estapo
had no m eans of inside inform ation. F o r th e N .K .V .D . th e task
was easier in so far t h a t it h ad a t its disposal local Com m unists who h ad lived for years on th e spot an d possessed d etailed inform ation on every aspect of life in P oland. T hus before long th e whole co u n try found itself in th e iron grip of th e Soviet security and espionage organisation.
The N .K .V .D .’s m ethod for insinuating its w ay in to th e lives of th e people was alm ost perfect. W hile th e G estapo was d istin ct n o t only from th e civilian p o pulation b u t also from th e G erm an A rm y, no dividing line can be clearly draw n betw een th e N .K .V .D . a n d th e R e d A rm y. I ts agents norm ally w ear a special uniform and a d istinctive red cap-band. B u t in P oland th e y were dressed either in ord in ary R ed A rm y uniform or civilian clothes. W hile th e G estapo nearly alw ays lived separately in special barracks, th e N .K .V .D . were billeted in p riv a te houses, p reten d in g to be m em bers of th e regular arm y w ith th e usual soldier’s duties, drill an d so on.
O u tw ardly th e w ork of th e N .K .V .D . often seemed chaotic and disorganised, b u t th is im pression was wide off th e m ark. I ts agents lived in one place a n d w orked elsewhere. I f th e relatives of a missing person trie d to find him , th is facade of chaos alw ays greeted them ; th e m em bers of th e N .K .V .D . w ould claim th a t th e y were not com p eten t to give an y inform ation, an d so it was never possible to discover to w h at prison th e u n fo rtu n a te v ictim h ad been tak en . A ctually th e organisation of th e N .K .V .D . has been trie d o u t for m any years in th e Soviet U nion.
The N .K .V .D . invigilation m ethods— slow' b u t sure— are based on a long prelim inary observation. Only a fte r th is come th e arrests, often n o t m erely of individuals b u t of whole groups. The observation p oints are of tw o kinds, sta tic an d mobile. In all thoroughfares and a t all cross-roads th e re are N .K .V .D . m em bers w atching closely th e traffic an d passers-by, while some im p o rta n t spots are w atched from th e windows of flats occupied b y agents. Of course, an y m eeting-point of suspected persons is k e p t u n d er close observation. W hen, for in stance, th e ow ner of a flat is arrested an N .K .V .D . agent will rem ain posted th e re for several days to ta k e anyone who called th ere. All these arrests are v ery discreetly m ade. The N .K .V .D . agent who had been detailed to a rre st someone in th e stree t w ould approach his q u a rry u n d er th e p re te x t of asking for a light or a direction ; th en , v ery quietly, he would bid him w alk in front. A nyone else approaching th e suspect is also im m ediately ta k e n along as well.
A fter several m onths of th is so rt of open a c tiv ity th e N .K .V .D . in P oland decided to retire in to th e background. The S ecurity Police of th e L ublin C om m ittee, w hich in th e m eantim e h ad been proclaim ed th e G overnm ent in W arsaw , was sufficiently tra in e d to ta k e over from its sister Soviet organisation.
Th e “ Po l is h ” Se c u r it y Sy s t e m.
The m ost pow erful m an in P oland to -d ay is Mr. S tanisław R a d kiewicz, th e S ecurity M inister of th e W arsaw G overnm ent, a m em ber of th e Com m unist P a r ty of W estern B yelo-R ussia, described b y th e official papers as being “ h ard , stern an d energetic.” R adkiew icz has undergone a v ery long an d specialised train in g in th e security and espionage system s in th e Soviet U nion. H e w orked first of all for th e political security division of th e N .K .V .D . a t its Moscow h ea d q u arte rs,
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th e n in th e Soviet M ilitary Intelligence, in th e P rison G uard U nits, an d finally a t th e C entral Soviet H ea d q u arters of th e C oncentration Camps.
R adkiewicz, educated so th o roughly in th e Soviet U nion, b u ilt up th e Polish S ecurity Police w ith g reat energy, staffing it b y num erous officers an d agents of th e N .K .V .D . an d by Soviet p artisan s p ara ch u te d in increasing num bers in to P oland before th e entran ce of th e R ed Arm v.
Betw een A ugust, 1944, a n d Ja n u a ry , 1945, th e re wrere no Poles a t all in th e h ea d q u arte rs of th is S ecurity Police. Poles were a llo tte d only less responsible positions an d were recru ited from m em bers of th e Com
m u n ist Polish W orkers’ P a r ty or from its y o u th organisations know n as th e U nion of f ig h tin g Y ou th . L a te r some Poles were prom oted, b u t th e key posts are still held b y R ussians w ith some knowledge of Polish or by Poles b orn a n d educated in th e Soviet Union.
In 1944 also a so-called People’s Militia was created in P o lan d —- th e nam e being subsequently changed to Citizens’ M ilitia. This is still in existence, playing a role sim ilar to th a t of th e police in o th e r countries, controlling traffic an d keeping order in public places. M any of its m em bers are to ta lly unsuitable for such wrork, being v ag ra n ts and crim inals tu rn e d Com m unist in order to get th e ir p resen t jobs.
B u t th e Citizens M ilitia has not come to exercise any im p o rta n t influence in Poland. I h e real security an d espionage organisation has been created by Radkiew'icz u nder th e nam e of th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps.
Three h u n d red young officers who in May, 1945, g ra d u a te d from th e Officers la n k School in Modlin (a tow n some eighteen miles n o rth of W arsaw ) an d h ad undergone a special course of political education, were a tta c h e d to th e In te rn a l Security Corps. L a te r th is body was stren g th en ed by o th e r reliable officers from th e Polish A rm y, along w ith m any officers of th e R ed A rm y who had served in th e Polish Forces.
The organisation of th e Security Corps is based on th e Soviet p a tte rn an d ca n n o t be com pared w ith an y security system in an y W estern co u n try . I t is com posed of tw o arm oured regim ents statio n ed in W arsaw an d Cracow ; fifteen special regim ents, based on W arsaw , L ublin, Ja stk o w , B ialystok, Rzeszow, Katow'ice, W roclaw (or Breslau), Cracow, Bydgoszcz, S tarogard n ea r S tettin , D anzig an d Gora K alw aria, a n d nine g uard b attalio n s. The Corps is com pletely m ilitarised and, like th e N .K .V .D ., has its own uniform . M embers of th e Corps receive special rates of p ay an d b e tte r food rations, quick prom otion an d m any o th e r favours. Chosen u n its from its ranks guard th e dignitaries of th e W arsaw regim e, while others are escorting valuable cargo convoys.
Some are detailed to wrh a t is, from th e G overnm ent’s p o in t of view, th e m ost im p o rta n t job of all—th e guarding of political prisoners.
O th er u n its are posted a t th e frontiers and g uard th e concentration cam ps. A good n um ber of Corps m em bers are used in intelligence work, w hich com prises b oth in te rn al espionage an d counter-intelligence.
_ ^ ie usually call th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps th e “ Polish N .K .V .D . I t has its m ain barracks a t Boernerowo, n ear W arsaw , w here a n ti-a irc ra ft a rtillery regim ents were form erly stationed. H ere, too, is th e cen tral train in g school of th e Corps, though th e H ea d q u arters are ac tu a lly in W arsaw itself in R akow iecka S treet. I ts chief train in g centre is located in th e small tow n of Andrzejow, n ea r Lodz.
1 he Com m ander of th e Corps is a Soviet officer w earing th e uniform
o f a Polish L ieu ten an t- Gen era!—Boleslaw K ienievich by nam e— —who
was first m ilita ry G overnor of W arsaw ’s suburb P ra g a an d th e n of W arsaw itself a fte r its occupation b y th e R ed A rm y. K ienievich was born in P insk, a small tow n in E a ste rn P oland, b u t when seven years old w ent w ith his p are n ts to R ussia an d in 1932 g rad u a ted from th e Officers’ School there. In 1939 he fought as a R ed A rm y officer in F in lan d , an d during the R usso-G erm an w ar was p rom oted to th e ran k of a Colonel of th e G uards. W hen a Soviet-sponsored Polish A rm y
Avasform ed in R ussia he w as detached to it. M any So\Tiet officers in Polish uniform are w ith him on th e staff of th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps, in w hich th e y occupy th e key positions, especially in th e political ed ucation division.
The espionage n e t of th e In te rn a l Security Corps is all-em bracing.
Its agents are posted in every office, every in stitu tio n , facto ry and even in sm all w orkshops. A ny a n d every criticism of th e regim e is noted an d rem em bered. W hole groups as well as individuals are liquidated pro m p tly a n d efficiently. People d isappear w ith o u t a tra c e and none of th e ir relatives can ever learn an y th in g of th e ir fate.
Besides prisons and so-called places of deten tio n to w hich people are sent b y th e Courts of Ju stice , th e re are m an y o th e r secret dungeons in Avhich th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps hides its prisoners. M any p ri\7ate houses are used for th is purpose, as well as th e basem ents of big blocks of flats. The victim s are detained for m any m onths w ith o u t any w a rra n t from a n y co u rt or judge an d are continually questioned, special m ethods being em ployed to e x tra c t “ v o lu n ta ry ” confessions.
The system is en tirely independent of all o th e r au th o rities and is directed solely by R adkiew iez who is ansA\erable to no Polish a u th o rity . T hus th e Poles are a t th e m ercy of every whim of his organisation and h a \re no m eans w hatsoever of legal defence against his ty ra n n y .
Co n c e n t r a t io n Ca m p s.
Im m ediately a fte r th e R ed A rm y’s e n try into P oland, th e m em bers of the Polish H om e A rm y who h ad fought g allantly for several years ag a in st th e G erm ans, w ere arrested in increasing num bers and p u t into co ncentration cam ps. T hus m an y th o u san d s of officers an d m en of th e H om e Arm y found them selves behind b arb ed wire during th e first m onths of th e ir c o u n try ’s “ lib e ratio n ,” an d these persecutions still go on.
As early as A ugust, 1944, th e Polish G overnm ent in London received inform ation from P oland, th a t m ass arrests of m em bers of th e H om e A rm y were ta k in g place, an d th a t th e \ rictim s w ere being herded in th e M ajdanek C oncentration Camp, knoAvn during th e G erm an occupation as th e “ Cam p of D e a th .” The first b a tc h of such prisoners consisted of th e officers of th e E ig h th an d N in th In fa n try D ivisions of t h t H om e A rm y and some th re e th o u sa n d non-com m issioned officers an d soldiers. The cam p w as th e n u n d er th e supervision of th e N .K .Y .D . In th e districts of W ilno an d Now ogrodek th e arrested m em bers of th e H om e A rm y were gaoled in N .K .V .D . prisons and betw een five and seven th o u sa n d soldiers AAere d etain ed in a special cam p a t Miedniki.
In te rrito rie s w est of th e Curzon Line only fi\re concentration cam ps Avere a t first set up. These AA7ere officially called ISO L A TIO N CAMPS an d from th e beginning ivere u n d er th e control of th e P olish S ecurity Police, Avith th e exception of those! a t K rzeslin, n ea r Siedlce, and
O ldacowizna, n ea r Minsk Mazowiecki, in Avhich soldiers of th e H om e A rm y were m ainly gaoled and which were accordingly superA'iscd by th e L ublin m ilita ry auth o rities.
A fter a tim e n o t only m em bers of th e H om e A rm y b u t also all those
avIi ow7ere considered b y th e L ublin and th e n by th e Warsaw7 regim e as being dangerous were sen t to co ncentration cam ps. Colonel EdAvard O chab, Vice-M inister of S ecurity, Avas ap p o in ted head of th e co ncentration cam p system , an d on one occasion he declared : “ I t is necessary to eradicate w ith h o t iron all u n h ea lth y elem ents A\7hen one is cleansing a co u n try from th e d irt left b y an aggressor. All Avho endanger Polish D em ocracy m u st be liq u id ate d .”
The W arsaw regim e, however, tries to convince th e public in P oland an d abroad th a t only tr u ly dangerous elem ents are being k e p t in concen tratio n cam ps. I t has m any tim es been officially sta te d th a t only so-called V olksdeutsche or Polish subjects
aaTioobtained G erm an citizenship during th e G erm an occupation are held in these places. B u t f^he percentage of Volksdeutsche in these cam ps is com paratively small.
R ecently it has been claim ed in W arsaw th a t “ speculators, co rru p t bfficials, an d o th e r an ti-dem ocratic elem ents ” are being “ isolated,” for th e n a tio n ’s benefit. Of course it is th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps who decides who is th e “ speculator, co rru p t official or a n ti-d em o c ra t.”
A ctually th e g rea t m a jo rity of th e inm ates of th e concen tratio n cam ps are good p atrio ts, those who are not sufficiently enthusiastic a b o u t th e present situ atio n in P oland as
A A e l las those d irectly opposed to th e W arsaw regime.
A v ery interestin g message
Avasreceived b y th e Polish G overnm ent in L ondon from its delegate in P oland as long ago as O ctober 6tli, 1944.
I t ran : “ In RzeszoAV P rison th e re are a t p resen t th ir ty Volks- deutsche an d a h u n d red an d forty-seven Poles, only one of whom is a crim inal— except for him all are good Poles and m em bers of th e H om e A rm y. The guards are b an d its. T hey steal personal belongings and food. Three women haA7e been raped. In terro g atio n s are conducted only a t night. Conditions are dreadful. B reak fast consists of a small piece of bread, d inner of soup. No food from outside is alloAved.”
Since th en , conditions have n o t changed m uch in th e prisons an d isolation cam ps in Poland. The n um ber of cam ps has steadily increased an d larger ones have recently been established in Oświęcim (foim er G erm an co ncentration cam p in Ausclrwitz), SkrudoAvo (near LubartoAA7), W esoła, K rzesim ow (near Leczna), RembertoAv (near WarsaAv), Glusk, Skobow (near Lublin), Kraczewice, B iedrusk, M ątw y (near InoAA7roclaw), SikaAAa (near Lodz), LegnoAV (near Bydgoszcz), Zim ne W ody, Skarżysko, P otulice (near Poznan), Mielecin, Starogard, Lipno, T oruń, Ciechanów, P oznan (a t Słoneczna S treet), Czynów (near Lodz), W ieliczka, Mysknvice (the biggest cam p in Silesia), Sosnowdec, Strzem ieszyce, Świętochłowice, KatoAAdce, Ja n ó w Podlaski, Brzesc on th e B ug, W ronki, M ajdanek, N aklo an d P ila. The largest political prisons are in L ublin (the Castle), JaroslaAV, K rakow , TarnoAV, IvatoAvice, Kielce, CzestochoAva, R adom , RaAvicz, WarsaAv and W iochy (near WarsaAv).
This is far from a com plete list of th e co ncentration cam ps and prisons in P oland. M any establishm ents of th is k ind AA7ere ta k e n over by th e WarsaAv regim e from th e G erm ans an d im m ediately p u t to th e
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sam e purpose. The N ew Y ork T im es C orrespondent, G ladw yn H ill, w riting on O ctober 22, 1945, a b o u t Oświęcim (Auschwitz), sta te d :—
“ The cam p still exists ; it is now supervised by th e Polish au th o rities a n d as before, it is cu t off from th e w orld by pow erfully electrified barbed-w ire.”
I t is difficult to give th e ex act nu m b er of people in P o lan d who have been detained as dangerous elem ents. In O ctober, 1945, it was estim ated a t one h u n d red an d fifty th o u sa n d persons. A t th a t tim e G ladw yn Hill w rote in his d isp atch to th e N ew Y ork Tim es :—
“ A ccording to th e official announcem ent of th e G overnm ent spokesm en th e re are n o t m ore th a n one th o u sa n d political prisoners in P oland. Some m em bers of th e G overnm ent, however, have ad m itte d to me in p riv ate ta lk s t h a t th e re are betw een six ty to eighty th o u san d political prisoners an d h in t th a t th e m a jo rity are Volksdeuische.”
Since th a t tim e m ore arrests have been m ade an d m ore people p u t in to prisons a n d Isolation Camps. A fairly accu rate estim ate claim s t h a t by th e end of J a n u a ry , 1946, some tw o h u n d red an d fifty th o u sa n d Poles are d etain ed u nder one p re te x t or an o th e r b y th e W arsaw regim e.
The regim e follows a special policy in locating its co ncentration cam ps. A g rea t n um ber of th e m are situ a te d in th e forests an d are th e n m oved a b o u t from one place to an o th er to create th e illusion th a t some have been liquidated an d th e ir n um ber is decreasing. As th e cam p installatio n s are usually m ost prim itiv e— consisting of lightly- b u ilt b arracks or even te n ts —th e y are easily tran sp o rte d . The existence of m ost of th e m is never ad m itte d by th e G overnm ent and needless to say, visitors from ab ro ad are n o t allowed to inspect them .
The paradoxes of our epoch are unending. B u t one of th e m ost trag ic is th a t a t th e very m om ent w hen G erm an w ar-crim inals are being charged a t N urem berg w ith creating th e concen tratio n cam ps system , t h a t v ery system is ac tu a lly flourishing in Soviet-sponsored “ dem o
cratic ” Poland.
De p o r t a t io n s to t h e So v ie t Un i o n.
W hen th e R ed A rm y re-entered P oland in 1944, th e d e p o rta tio n of Poles, begun a t th e end of 1939, was resum ed. In 1944 th o u san d s of Poles living in th e W ilno and Lwow districts were deported. T hen as C entral an d W estern P oland was occupied m any people th e re were also detained an d sent to th e Soviet U nion.
The Polish U nderground M ovem ent n oted these d ep o rta tio n s and sent inform ation a b o u t th em to L ondon. One of these rep o rts—from Cracow— sta te d th a t on M arch 23rd, 1945, fifty goods tru c k s filled w ith deportees were sen t to th e E a st. On M arch 24th, th ree goods tra in s w ent, one each on M arch 27th and 30th an d on A pril 1st, th ir ty wagons.
Such details give some idea of th e scale of these deportations.
Some of th e deportees to R ussia m anaged to send news to th e ir relatives in P oland. In form ation received in P oland in J u ly , 1945, described am ong o th e r th ings th e fate of people d eported on M arch 21st, 1945, from P oznan to D niepropietrovsk. On t h a t occasion some eight h u n d red Poles were herded to g e th er into sealed goods tru ck s, along w ith a nu m b er of G erm ans, an d driven off to th e U kraine. W orkers an d craftsm en were d rafted to th e am m unition factories an d those of th e intelligentsia class to th e iron-ore mines. In these mines th e shifts
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are tw elve hours a d ay an d food consists of a few crum bs of b read w ith corn on th e cob soup. A cute swelling usually results from such a diet an d no m edical a tte n tio n is provided for th e deportees.
In form ation of th is sort is slowly b u t steadily filtering th ro u g h to th e o u te r world. I t is, for instance, know n for ce rtain t h a t in A ugust, 1944, several th o u sa n d m en were deported from W ilno to K aluga in C entral R ussia. In Septem ber, 1944, th e m a jo rity of th e popu latio n in K ołom yja in E a ste rn P oland were sent to Siberia, while from Zloczow, a n earby tow n, all women betw een th e ages of eighteen an d tw enty-five were sen t to w ork in th e D onbass, a m ining d istric t in th e E a ste rn U kraine. I t is also know n t h a t betw een th e 8 th an d 15th of N ovem ber, 1945, from B iałystok alone, one h u n d red an d fo rty -th ree goods tru c k s w ith deportees w eie dispatched to th e E a st. On J a n u a ry 1st, 1945, th e N .K .V .D . in B iałystok an d Grodno rounded up some th o u san d Poles for d ep o rtatio n . In these tow ns’ districts th e d e p o rta tions continued well into 1945 a n d for F eb ru a ry of th a t y ea r th e figure was one h u n d red an d tw enty-five goods tru c k s from Grodno an d tw o h u n d red an d forty-tw o from B iałystok. Some of these tra n sp o rts have been seen b y num erous B ritish liberated prisoners-of-w ar when on th e ir Avay to Odessa. D ep o rtatio n s also took place in D rohobycz a n d B orysław oil districts from which m any th o u san d s of Poles, including su b stan tia l num bers of young people an d th e intelligentsia classes, were sent to Siberia.
M any tra n sp o rts of deportees passed th ro u g h W arsaw on th e ir w ay to th e E a st. On J u ly 12th, 1945, a t five p.m ., on Jerozolim skie A venue, in h a b ita n ts of th e cap ital were shocked to see a group of some th ree h u n d red an d fifty m en u n d er th e escort of th e N .K .V .D . All were young an d starved-looking an d dressed in shabby uniform s. T hey were shouting : “ W e are m em bers of th e H om e A rm y. W e are being deported. Give us b re a d .” Several m anaged in th e confusion to give th e ir addresses to passers-by. T hen th e N .K .V .D . intervened a n d th e group was led to th e sta tio n an d packed in to a w aiting tra in .
Some tim e a fte r th e creation of th e “ Polish Provisional G overn
m en t of N atio n al U n ity ,” th e deportations began to be m ade less openly, b u t th e y still go on. The Soviet au thorities consider th a t some individuals an d groups are n o t fit to live in P oland an d so send th em off to th e Soviet U nion.
The sam e argum ents which th e W arsaw regim e used to ju stify th e concen tratio n cam p system have been em ployed again. I t has been officially sta te d in W arsaw several tim es th a t only Volksdeutsche are being dep o rted to th e Soviet U nion, an d when th is claim becomes im possible to sustain, th e excuse has been concocted th a t “ reg rettab le m istakes have been m ad e.” This is b est illu strate d by th e following story. In th e sum m er of 1945 an N .K .V .D . u n it collected some six th o u sa n d m en, w om en and children in th e sm all tow n of Chelmza an d sent th em to th e Donbass. The p ro p erty of these people was looted. A fter some tim e it was announced in W arsaw th a t a m istake h ad occurred and, a fte r clarification of th e m a tte r an d th e G overnm ent’s in te rv en tio n , some th ree th o u sa n d people were re tu rn e d to P oland.
No one ever h eard w h at has happened to the rest. Those who were lucky enough to get back did not, of course, receive an y com pensation for th e loss of th e ir pro p erty .
A m uch worse situ atio n prevails now in E a ste rn P oland, which
was incorporated in th e Soviet U nion. This area is alm ost com pletely
c u t off from th e outside world an d it was only very recently t h a t Poles evacuated from th e re to W estern an d C entral P oland have b ro u g h t news th a t d eportations arc still carried o u t on a large scale. The te rrito rie s east of th e Curzon Line are now being forcibly R u ssian ised , a n d th e Polish population, a y ea r ago estim a ted a t over four million, is being m oved to th e W est arid E a st. The train s, packed w ith “ d a n gerous elem ents,” continue to ru n to Siberia and A siatic R ussia, and y e t no one in th e w oild raises a p ro test.
Ar r e s t s a n d Es p io n a g e.
In m aking arrests th e Polish S ecurity Police copied all th e N .K .V .D . m ethods, en tirely different from those of th e Gestapo. The G erm ans liked to m ake a show abo u t it—th e y w ould operate in daytim e, em ploying m any agents, cordoning off several streets a t a tim e and catching h u ndreds of people. Seldom have th e in te rn al S ecurity Corps or th e N .K .V .D ., still acting in “ special cases ” in P oland, given an y such perform ance. T hey shun p u blicity, preferring a t all tim es to a c t invisibly.
The first ta sk of th e S ecurity Police is t h a t of In te rn a l espionage, a n d th is has been organised on a trem endous scale. The p o pulation is w atch ed unceasingly to discover w h at th e ir political opinions are an d in w hich group th e y m ay be classified. The m em bers of th e C om m unist P olish W orkers’ P a r ty a c t as inform ers, supplying th e au th o rities w ith all details a b o u t th e people am ong whom th e y live.
N o p riv ate individual can escape th is invigilation.
In every one of th e larger blocks of flats H ouse C om m ittees have been form ed and, as a rule, a t least one m em ber of th e C om m ittee is a C om m unist who finds o u t every th in g a b o u t th e te n a n ts. The U nion of ITouse-Porters is p u t to th e same use. P o rte rs in P oland now adays have m an y special privileges, and if th e ir inform ation should prove to be valuable are qualified to receive higher food rations. In th is w ay th e n e t surrounding th e te n a n ts is spread to perfection.
People w orking in offices, factories, nationalised or otherw ise, and in all kinds of organisations an d in stitu tio n s are k e p t u n d er simila- surveillance. A gents of th e S ecurity Police or m em bers of th e Comr rnunist P a r ty are posted in every place of work. V ery often such p e r
sons hold some m inor position, b u t in rea lity th e y exercise decisive influence in all m a tte rs and receive th e ir orders from th e P a r ty H e a d q u a rte rs or from th e M inistry of S ecurity organs.
Mr. W . G om ulka, who is first V ice-Prem ier of th e Polish P rovisional G overnm ent in W arsaw and also th e S ecretary-G eneral of th e Polish W orkers’ P a rty , recently gave it o u t a t th e m eeting of th e C entral C om m ittee of his P a rty how m any C om m unists are em ployed b y th e W arsaw regim e. According to him th e percentage of m em bers of th e Polish W orkers’ P a r ty on th e staff of various M inistries is as follows :
Per cent.
M inistry of N ational Defence ... ... ... ... 11 ,, ,, F oreign Affairs ... ... ... ... 26.4 ,, ,, Public A d m inistration ... ... ... 38 ,, ,, F inance ... ... ... ... ... 19 ,, ,, Commerce ... ... ... ... ... 33 ,, ,, Com m unication ... ... ... ... 40
„ „ S upply ... ... 10.1
,, P o st a n d Telegraph 30
,, H ea lth 16
,, L ab o u r an d Public W orks 37
,, R econstruction 10
,, A rt and Culture 20
,, P ro p ag an d a an d Inform ation 42
,, Ju stice 17.3
In addition, Mr. G om ulka sta te d th a t m em bers of th e Polish W orkers’ P a r ty are em ployed in o th e r in stitu tio n s in th e following percentage :
Per cent.
The B roadcasting System ... ... ... ... 53 P e a sa n t C o-operatives ... ... ... ... ••• 61.7
“ Spolem “ (big chain of Co-operatives) ... ... 39 P ublic L ibraries ... ... ... ... ••• 50 The P ublishing Co-operative (C zytelnik) ... ... 94 I t is significant th a t Mr. G om ulka did n o t disclose how g rea t is th e percentage of his p a r ty m em bers am ong th e em ployees of th e M inistry of S ecurity. I t is know n th a t th is M inistry is th e largest body of th e W arsaw regim e, em ploying m ore th a n one hundred an d te n th o u san d people, including th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps an d th e Citizens’
M ilitia. Moreover, it is a fac t th a t a t least 70 p er cent, of th e M inistry em ployees belong to th e Polish W orkers’ P a rty . As it was recently officially -given o u t in W arsaw t h a t th e m em bership of th is P a rty is m ore th a n 200,000 strong, it is fairly obvious th a t all Polish Com
m unists are em ployed in th e S tate A dm inistration of P oland. T hey an d th e ir followers only c o n stitu te betw een 1 and 2 per cent, of th e whole p o pulation an d y e t th e ir influence is param o u n t.
W ith all public a n d often p riv ate life u n d er such close surveillance th e people go in co n stan t fear of inducing arrest b y some u nguarded action. R elatives are rarely able to trace those arrested ; th e S ecurity Police sees to th a t. If, for instance, it should become necessary to ta k e th e arrested th ro u g h a tow n in daylight, th e y are ordered to lie dow n o u t of sight in th e lorries. T hey are n o t directed im m ediately to prisons or Isolation Camps, b u t are k e p t for weeks an d m onths in th e basem ents of big houses. “ Habeas Corpus ” in P oland to -d ay is an anom aly save in triv ia l cases, and in political m a tte rs th e police waive it entirely.
Th e Me t h o d o f Ob t a in in g Co n f e s s i o n s.
H ow are th e interrogations carried o u t ? Those who have been lucky enough to escape from prisons and concentration cam ps in P oland sta te th a t m ethods here also differ from those em ployed by th e G estapo.
Besides b ea tin g an d to rtu rin g th e victim , th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps agents also tr y to ex h a u st him m entally. Q uestioning alw ays ta k es place by night, often m ore th a n once, som etim es lasting a few hours, som etim es only a few m inutes, when it is m erely a p re te x t to w ake up th e prisoner. In th e first stage of interro g atio n th e exam iner does th e ta lking, h arp s on th e political situ atio n in general, m entioning th e political activities of th e pre-w ar Polish G overnm ent an d those of th e
“ rea ctio n a ry elem ents.” This is aim ed a t inducing th e prisoner to give him self aw ay by an o u tb u rst in su p p o rt of th e opposition. A fter some tim e he is presented w ith a full list of his h a b itu a l com panions
11
or correspondents and th e nam es of places he visits. H e th u s gets th e im pression th a t th e Security Police knows ev ery th in g a n d th a t any k ind of denial is useless. F inally, often by to rtu re , he is pressed to m ake a full confession, an y discrepancy in his sto ry being ta k e n up as proof of his alleged crime.
D etailed reports are now available in London w hich describe how interrogations of prisoners are carried o u t by th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps w ith th e help of th e N .K .V .D . in th e prison in L ublin Castle, in th e deten tio n place a t S trzelecka S tre et in W arsaw a n d a t W lochy (near W arsaw ). In these places a special form of to rtu re know n as th e 1 em ple Screw is often used, w hereby th e h ead is squeezed in a wooden appliance. The m ost pop u lar kind of to rtu re , in use in every S ecurity Police S tation, is t h a t of placing tig h t bracelets round th e w rist of th e prisoner, causing th e blood pressure to rise so m uch th a t th e palm s of th e hands begin to bleed. Those who fa in t u n d er it are injected w ith m orphia.
R ecent news from P oland tells th a t m ass arrests of teachers are now being carried out. So far 2,000 of them have been detained. This has been done because of th e refusal of th e Polish T eachers’ A ssociation Congress, held in N ovem ber, 1945, to elect a Com m unist E xecutive.
I h e y were w arned th a t th e y m u st do so. The rep rese n tativ e of th e Polish W orkers P a rty , in his speech a t th e T eachers’ Congress sta te d th a t a g reat p a r t of th e Polish Intelligentsia has becom e indifferent to w ard s political questions an d th e m a jo rity of th e Polish teachers has been infected w ith opposition notions. The Polish W orkers’ P a r ty ca n n o t to le rate th e false conceptions still persisting in P oland and desires to use th e intellectual class for th e building of a dem ocratic P o la n d .”
N evertheless when th e results of th e ballot were m ade know n, only 40 out of 600 h ad v oted in favour of th e com m unist-sponsored list of candidates for th e executive. The G overnm ent’s reaction was swift. The a rre st of th e teachers was m ade w ith o u t an y publicity, b u t it was unofficially sta te d t h a t th e y will rem ain in jail u n til th e 1 eaehers’ Union see fit to elect a “ D em ocratic E x ecu tiv e ” acceptable to th e Polish W orkers’ P a rty .
W h a t has happened to all those arrested in presen t-d ay P oland ? O nly a very few are ever released. The rest languish for an indefinite period in prisons or concentration cam ps, while th e m ost “ dangerous elem ents ” are d eported to th e Soviet Union.
Th e Liq u id a t io n o f Pr is o n e r s.
A lthough th e general policy of th e N .K .V .D . an d of th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps is to avoid public notice, th e y do som etim es b reak th is rule w hen anxious to terrorise th e population.
In M insk Mazowiecki, on th e n ig h t of 2nd M arch, 1945, a u n it of th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps shot down seven persons. The bodies were left in th e street. A m ong th e m was th a t of a m a jo r of th e U nderground A dm inistration. On April 14th, 1945, tw en ty -fo u r m en were executed im m ediately a fte r a rrest in a public square in Siedlce.
T hen six men were b ro u g h t from th e nearby village of M okolody and also shot in th e sam e square. All these executions w ere carried o u t by squads of th e N .K .V .D ., th e victim s being th o u g h t to be m em bers of th e Polish H om e A rm y.
On M ay 20tli, 1945, th e N .K .V .D . arrested six m en and a girl in Rejowiec. The m en were d eported to an unknow n destination, b u t th e girl was shot th e n a n d there. A few days la te r in th e sam e tow n a w om an called Genowefa M ikulska w as to rtu re d b y th e Soviet S ecurity Police an d th e n hanged. No reason was given for this. H er ten-year- old d a u g h ter an d son of six wrere b o th d eported to th e Soviet U nion.
On A pril 25th, 1945, all th e in h a b ita n ts of th e village of W ola Batowrska (near Bochnia), including women and children, some 200 persons in all, were rounded up b y an N .K .V .D . u n it. A fter a certain am o u n t of investigation a Soviet c a p ta in chose four p easan ts from th e list which h ad been prep ared beforehand, an d h a d th e m shot. A bout tw e n ty p easan ts were tra n sp o rte d to th e prison in B ochnia an d th e n th e rem ainder w as set free. Once again no reason was given for th e incident.
In th e second h alf of May, 1945, a t Iwanow ice, some fo rty Poles wrere ordered to p u t on G erm an uniform s an d wTere th e n publicly executed. A sim ilar nu m b er wrere executed on J u ly 8th, 1945, a t L ublin.
T hey were hostages ta k en a fte r a raid b y an unknow n b an d on th e local ta x office.
On J u ly 10th, 1945, tw o m en were arrested by th e N .K .V .D . in th e village of Turow iec (near Chelm). B o th were to rtu re d an d th e n one was executed and th e o th e r rem oved to th e prison a t Chelm.
On J u ly 12th, 1945, th e entire populatio n of th e village of Zakliki (near K raśnik) w7as called to a m eeting during which some Soviet p ropagandists delivered speeches. T hen tw o m en— chained, th e ir m o u th s stuffed w ith rags— were b rought in an d publicly executed.
The onlookers w7ere w arned th a t a sim ilar fate aw aited anyone wiio a tte m p te d to sabotage Polish dem ocracy.
D uring th e C hristm as of 1945 in Grójec (near W arsaw ), a N .K .V .D . squad one evening raided th e house of a local m em ber of th e Polish P e a s a n ts’ P a r ty ( th a t of Mr. M ikołajczyk), an d arrested him an d his th re e guests, th e local judge, teacher, an d th e m anager of th e local C o-operative. T hey w7ere ta k e n in a lorry to a n earb y forest, ordered to dig th e ir graves, strip p ed and th e n executed. One of them who was only wrounded, m anaged to get o u t of th e grave, and inform ed th e relatives of th e o th e r th re e of th e crime.
Such exam ples— chosen a t random —give some idea of th e atm osphere in w hich Polish people have to live to-dav.
Th e In c r e a s e o f As s a s s in a t io n s.
The la te st w7eapon of th e Security Police in P oland in th e ir fight ag a in st persons unacceptable to th e W arsaw regim e is th a t of secret assassination. This w eapon is a pow erful one an d has proved a great success.
Since au tu m n , 1945, w hen th e Polish P e a sa n ts’ P a r ty w as reborn u n d er th e leadership of Mr. M ikołajczyk, th e existing p u p p e t political p arties an d th e ir sponsor, th e Polish W orkers’ P a rty , have becom e increasingly alarm ed. Mr. M ikołajczyk was generally su p p o rted n ot onlv by th e p o pulation of th e ru ral areas b u t also of th e tow ns as well.
A cting sw iftly, spokesm en of th e Polish W orkers’ P a r ty began publicly to accuse Mr. M ikołajczyk of becom ing th e v an g u a rd of reaction.
Mr. M ikolajczyk’s colleague in th e W arsaw G overnm ent—th e first
13V ice-Prim e M inister of th a t body, Mr. W . G om ułka, declared openly a t th e m eeting of th e C entral C om m ittee of th e Polish W orkers’ P a rty th a t “ th e reactionaries w an t Mr. M ikołajczyk to rem ain in th e G overn
m e n t of N atio n al U n ity an d in th e bloc of th e dem ocratic p arties so t h a t he m ay play th e role of th e T ro jan horse.”
Some tim e a fte r th is an o th e r im p o rta n t C om m unist leader, Mr. B erm an, who is now U nder-S ecretary o f'S tate in th e P rim e M inister’s office, declared a t th e Conference of th e W arsaw B ranch of th e Polish W orkers’ P a r ty :
“ The M ikołajczyk group is a spectrum which draw s to it all th e ray s of reaction. I t can be com pared as well to a m agnet which a ttr a c ts all th e enem ies of dem ocracy.”
These accusations were followed before long by secret assassinations of pro m in en t m em bers of th e Polish P e a s a n t P a rty . One of th e first victim s was Mr. N arcyz W iatr-Z aw ojna, th e g allan t Com m ander of th e P ea sa n t B attalio n s, a m ilita ry organisation w hich fought against th e G erm ans. H e was m urdered in a Cracow street, an d his slayers have n o t v e t been discovered. T hen in Septem ber, 1945, a few days a fte r th e Congress of th e Polish P e a sa n t P a r ty in Cracow, a p rom inent leader of th is p a rty , Mr. W ładysław K ojder, disappeared w ith o u t a trace. W hen th e news was published in th e A m erican Press, it was co n trad icted by Soviet sources, w hich claim ed th a t K o jd er was th e nam e of a tow n in P o lan d — n o t of a m an. B u t recently th e W arsaw regim e ad m itte d th a t Mr. K ojder h ad been assassinated.
On N ovem ber 2nd, 1945, unknow n persons cam e to th e house in Lodz of Mr. Bolesław Scibiorek, th e P resid en t of th e W ici, th e P easan t Y o u th O rganisation, and G eneral S ecretary of th e E x ecu tiv e C om m ittee of th e Polish P e a sa n t P a r ty an d m em ber of th e H om e N atio n al Council, an d shot him dead. On th e sam e day J a n R ytlew ski, a prom inent m em ber of th e C hristian L ab o u r P a rty , was m urdered a t Ju c h d a , and on D ecem ber 8th, 1945, a t Żółkiewka, .Jozef W rona, an o th er P e a s a n ts’
leader.
These are ju s t a few exam ples of secret assassinations w hich are being carried o u t on q u ite a large scale in P oland to -d ay ; th e to ta l n um ber of victim s during th e last four m onths is said to be a b o u t a h u ndred. I t is in terestin g to note th a t Mr. Gom ułka, who previously accused Mr. M ikołajczyk an d his p a r ty of being a “ T ro jan horse for th e reactio n ,” w as quick to affirm th a t Mr. Sciborek was m urdered by th e
“ d ark forces of rea ctio n .”
The increasing num bers of assassinations of th e opposition political leaders and m em bers of th e Polish P ea sa n t P a r ty is u ndeniably done to ensure v ictory for th e Polish W orkers’ P a r ty and its p u p p e t groups in th e fu tu re elections. I t can lie presum ed th a t “ reaction ” in P oland or elsewhere (if any) is n o t especially interested in the electoral v ictory of th e C om m unist bloc, so it has no reason w hatsoever to m u rd er th e rep resentatives of th e independent Polish political groups.
Th e Bu r n in g o f Vil l a g e s.
The N .K .V .D . and In te rn a l S ecurity Corps have discovered th a t th e ru ra l areas co n stitu te th e h ard core of resistance ag ain st th e su b jugation of th e Polish natio n on th e Soviet p a tte rn . The Polish p ea sa n try are v ery conservative in th e ir outlook, deeply religious, a tta c h e d to th e ir hom esteads an d strongly anti-C om m unist. T heir
14
passive resistance in face of all a tte m p ts to Sovietise th e m has often b ro u g h t th e w eight of Com m unist w ra th upon them . As th e Press censorship in P oland is very stric t a n d th e re are no foreigners in th e ru ra l areas, acts of te rro r in villages are p e rp e tra te d openly an d on a wide scale. H ere are a few instances w itnessed by reliable persons, selected a t random .
In th e village of Świderki (near Lukow ). a quarrel occurred betw een a local m ilitia m an an d a d ru n k en p ea sa n t. The m ilitia m an, a p a rt from being disarm ed, was n o t injured in any w ay. On April 18th, 1945, a N .K .V .D . u n it an d th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps u n it came to th e village u n d er th e com m and of M ajor B achkarov. I he p ea sa n t who h ad been p a rty to th e qu arrel wras arrested w ith his fath e r and some houses were set on fire. T hen some am m unition which h ad been hidden in a b a rn exploded. A fter th is some one h u n d red an d th ir ty m en were arrested a n d te n shot on th e spot by S u b-lieutenant Pielniszynski of th e In te rn a l Security Corps. The rest of th e arrested wrere d eported to an unknow n destination.
On A pril 8th, 1945, a Soviet u n it set on fire th e village of K u ry łów ka (near L eżajsk) a n d some tw enty-five persons were th row n into the blaze.
On A pril 9th, 1945, th e N .K .V .D . b u rn t down a p a r t of th e village of Ceranów (near Siedlce), arrestin g th ir ty persons and executing three.
On April 18th, 1945, a com pany of Soviet soldiers and some seventy Citizens’ M ilitia m en “ pacified ” th e village of P ru ch n ik . Three m en wrere killed, te n w ounded an d six a tte s te d .
On April 20th, 1945, a u n it of th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps fired th e village of C zysta D ębina (near K rasnystaw ). F o rty p ea sa n ts were executed.
On 30th April, 1945, th e village of Sikory (near B iałystok) was com pletely b u rn e d dow n by incendiary shells. A su b stan tia l n u m b e r of in h a b ita n ts perished in th e fire.
On M ay 17th, 1945, th e village of Czolki (near Zamosc) suffered a terrib le experience. A fter being surrounded by u n its of th e N .K .V .D ., it was a tta c k e d w ith incendiary shells from every direction. In an a tte m p t to save th e ir lives th e in h a b ita n ts began escaping, b u t as soon as th e v left tb e ir b urning houses, th e y were greeted w ith a bail ot bullets. The N .K .V .D . rounded up everyone th e y caught, ty in g th e people up and loading th e m into w aiting lorries. T he m a jo rity of th e m en succeeded in fleeing to th e forest, soon, how ever, to see th e w om en, children an d aged fall in to th e h ands of th e R ussians. Ih e village was b u rn ed down to th e ground.
On J u n e 10th, 1945, th e villages of H u ta a n d W lodzin in the U chanie d istric t (near H rubieszów) were burned down com pletely by th e R ussians, p a rt of th e population being m urdered.
On J u n e 19th, 1945, a R ussian gang destroyed all th e crops belong
ing to th e village of Przew ale, in th e Tyszowce d istric t (near Tom aszow).
The Polish p o pulation succeeded in driving th e R ussians aw ay who
soon, how ever, b ro u g h t m ore reinforcem ents from th e Zam osc N.Iv.V .D.,
including thirty vehicles. The R ussian gang dispersed m th e locality
surrounding th e forest in which several people were ta k en , killed or
w ounded. Sim ultaneously a Polish settlem en t, abandoned b y its terrified in h a b ita n ts, was set on fire.
On J u ly 6th, 1945, Polish peasants killed a Soviet officer who had raped several women, in th e village of S iostrzytow (in th e L ublin d istrict). As a reprisal, m em bers of th e N .K .V .D . b u rned dow n te n farm s a n d arrested tw e n ty persons.
A t th e beginning of Ju ly , 1945, th e N .K .V .D . b u rn ed dow n th e village of B rzeziny (near Siem iatycze) an d cruelly pacified th e village of Dzialkowice (near Bielsk P odlaski). T hen th e village of K role (near K obylin) was shelled b y th e Soviet artillery , m anv people a fte r
w ards being sh o t dow n w ith m achine guns.
On S eptem ber 12th, 1945, a u n it of th e In te rn a l S ecurity Corps surrounded th e church of W isniowiec, durin g th e service, and arrested tw o hun d red a n d eleven young men.
t h e d istric ts of B ialystok, Suw alki a n d Sokolki are a t p resen t being subjected to a ruthless a n d cruel purge, carried o u t bv th e B ussians.
Ad m in is t r a t io n o f Ju s t i c e.
A ccording to W estern ideas, th e Ju stic ia ry are serv an ts of th e Law an d of no one else. The system of indep en d en t C ourts of Ju stice , irrem ovable Judges, th e pro tectio n of th e individual ag ain st a rb itra ry rulers, which w as g uaranteed in E n g lan d centuries ago by th e bill of Habeas Corpus, are p robably th e m ost im p o rta n t conquests in th e long struggle of th e people ag ain st ty ra n n y an d oppression.
B u t Soviet ideas a b o u t justice an d law are ex actly opposite to these te n e ts— an d th e laws of P oland, previously akin to those of th e W est— are now being recast in to th e R u ssian m ould. R ig h t an d Ju stic e have alw ays been subjected to th e needs of expediency in th e Soviet organisation. L enin po in ted th is o u t clearly w hen he said, “ O ur decrees are only in stru c tio n s.”
R ecently th e “ M inistry of Ju stic e ” in W arsaw published a w ork u n d er th e title : “ A dm in istratio n of Ju stic e in R eb o rn P oland from th e 22nd J u ly , 1944, to 22rid Ju ly , 1945.” The “ V ice-M inister of J u s tic e ,” L eon Chajn, in his article entitled , “ E x p erim e n t of B alance,”
describes th e aim s an d ta sk s of Polish jurisdiction as follows : “ J u r is diction m u st be transform ed. The Ju d g e should express public views a n d sentim ents. H e should ab stain from th e principles of “ objective tr u th ,” so t h a t a collective u n d ersta n d in g of tr u th m ay be arriv ed a t.
The sentence should be ad ju ste d to th e people’s feeling as to w h at is rig h t a n d n o t to form al sta tu te s of th e law .”
In an o th er sta te m en t, given on th e 6 th S eptem ber, 1945, in W arsaw ,
" Vice-M inister ” C hajn declares : “ W e all know th a t am ong honest a n d devoted m en in th e P olish Courts of Law are also to be found rea ctio n a ry elem ents, w hich are w orking for th e enem y cam p. These elem ents will be expelled in a sh o rt tim e b y th e A d m in istratio n of Ju stice . F acing th e h ard struggle in P oland betw een th e reactionaries an d th e dem ocrats th e Ju risd ic tio n will have to show, once and for all, whose side it is on. I t is evident t h a t th e re is no place for Ju d g es who sta n d for th e principles of 4 objective ’ tr u th . There is only one tr u th , t h a t w hich serves D em ocracy, an d th e falsity w hich serves th e reactionaries. I f in th e difficult problem s of th e natio n th e Ju risd ictio n
does n o t m ake a decisive sta n d for th e v ita l in te rest of th e G overnm ent , th e n Polish D em ocracy will be com pelled to look for a new body of Ju risd ic tio n , even if it should m ean th e rem oval of th e entire profession of P olish Ju d g e s.”
W hen one th in k s how elastic is th e te rm “ reactionary ” in th e eyes of th e W arsaw G overnm ent, th e n it is clear w hat a terrib le w eapon th e A dm in istratio n of Ju stic e is now in P oland when b ro u g h t to bear on a n y opposition, how ever powerful. H ow clastic indeed are th e te rm s “ rea ctio n a ry ” an d “ F ascist ” is proved b y a phrase in th e speech of Mr. M ikolajczyk, given on th e 25th N ovem ber, 1945, in W arsaw , in w hich he com plained th a t now adays in P oland it is n o t th e p ast of a m an which decides if he is to be considered a D em ocrat, b u t only th e fac t th a t he belongs to a dem ocratic p a rty . A nyone w ho is n o t a m em ber of a privileged p a rty is looked upon as a F ascist an d is arrested on th e slightest p re te x t, even if he has spent years in a G erm an concen
tra tio n cam p because of his struggle against th e Nazis.
The declaration of th e “ U nion of D em ocratic L aw yers,” signed am ong o thers by th e “ M inister of Ju stic e ” Mr. Swiatkow ski ; th e
“ V ice-M inister ” Mr. Chajn, a n d th e “ P resid en t of th e Suprem e C ourt ” Mr. W . B arcikow ski, gives in its te x t t h a t “ only dem ocratic law yers can be guardians of th e p u rity of legal dem ocratic ideas, for th e y are aw are of th e pow er of uniform political conceptions.” This
“ u n iform ity ” is indeed a good g u aran tee t h a t R ig h t an d Ju stic e will exclusively serve th e ruling political group in Poland.
On th e 28th of N ovem ber, 1945, th e Polish radio b ro ad cast a ta lk b y Mr. B. L ipinski, in which he said : “ The w orking class wishes to gain influence in th e A d m inistration of Ju stic e by founding th e P eople’s Court. Ju risd ic tio n in its present form has n o t passed th e te st. In m any cases th e C ourt has proved too in dulgent in passing sentence. Now a bill for th e P eople’s C ourt a n d for F orced L ab o u r is proposed.”
K now ledge of th e law in Poland, even when th e sub ject is such an im p o rta n t one as codification, is no longer necessary. One m erely needs to have “ dem ocracy ” a t h e a rt ! Mr. A dam W endel, D irector of th e General A d m inistration Division in th e M inistry of Ju stice , claim s t h a t : “ W e have achieved in th e M inistry th e form ation of a body of w orkers, who are tru e an d devoted dem ocrats. T hey m ay lack th e experience of experts in settling im p o rta n t S ta te questions, b u t th e y m ake up for th is by th e ir burn in g will and faith in the righteousness of th e Cause a n d by th e ir enthusiasm for th e w ork.”
The fu tu re tendencies of th e Polish Law C ourt was m entioned by D r. M uszkat, “ V ice-President ” of th e Suprem e M ilitary Court, in his ta lk given a t a discussion m eeting of th e D ivision of th e W arsaw
“ U nion of D em ocratic L aw yers.” The new spaper Gazeta Ludowa, published th e following rep o rt on it on th e 2nd Decem ber, 1945 :—
“ The first proposition of D r. M uszkat is th a t th e P ublic P ro se cu to r’s office should be separated from th e M inistry of Ju stice . I t should be placed instead u nder th e supervision of th e H om e N atio n al Council.
T he same should happen to th e Courts of Ju stice . T he M inistry of Ju stic e should have its activities lim ited exclusively to economics, ad m in istratio n , p rep a ra tio n of new bills an d lastly to proposals to th e
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H om e N atio n al Council regarding th e selection of its staff. The M ilitary C ourt an d M ilitary P ro secu to r sh oidd.be allied to th e Civil C ourt and P ublic P ro se cu to r’s Office.
“ I f the P ro se cu to r’s Office was equipped w ith trem endous ¡lower it would have an uncom m only wide field in which to practise. I t should have th e rig h t to a lte r sentences it considered too mild, th e right to pass final sentence, to accuse, to an n u l decisions m ade b y th e local N ational Councils, an d even to cancel orders given b y th e G overnm ent, in cases where th e y are co n trary to th e basic ideas of dem ocracy. The P rosecutor should not only be allowed to arrest g uilty persons, who indeed have acted ag a in st th e law, b u t he should also be free to m ake prcventional arrests of persons considered likely to perform unlawful ac ts in th e future.
“ H e should also have th e right to control and supervise th e a d m in istra tio n of S tate, all th e M inistries, and th e execution of Bills which have been passed. H e should, too, exam ine th e affairs of th e railw ay, look into th e conditions in factories, intervene in th e collection of quotas, an d have th e power of execution of agrarian reform s.”
T hus far th e thesis of D r. M uszkat. The conception th a t a prose
c u to r should have th e a rb itra ry pow er to a rre st people likely to perform unlaw ful acts m ust be considered m ost decidedly as a crim e again st th e rights of th e individual for w hich so m an y years of w ar have been waged. Such tendencies are, of course, com pletely strange to th e W estern views on law. B u t th e y fit closely into th e Soviet p a tte rn , where the system of Police supervision, u n d er th e Soviet P rosecutor, form s th e basis of th e whole stru c tu re of com m unity life. This super
vision p en e trate s into all fields and is exactly w h at th e W arsaw regime proposes to establish in Poland.
Th e Ma r t ia l La w Co u r t s.
The first step in th e realisation of these “ new ” ideas of “ dem o
cratic ” justice in P oland was th e settin g up on 17th Decem ber, 1045, of special courts of m a rtial law\ T heir purpose is to punish all “ enemies of dem ocracy ” and are authorised to prom ulgate sentences of death , life im prisonm ent an d o th e r prison sentences. T heir stru c tu re is identical w ith th a t of th e N azi People’s Courts an d consists of one professional judge and tw o alderm en, representing “ public opinion.”
These tw o are usually m em bers of th e Polish W orkers’ P a r ty an d in an y decision can easily o u tv o te th e judge, should he be bold enough to go against th em . T here is no appeal against th e sentence of these Courts.
In th is w ay Polish Ju risd ic tio n draw s rapidly aw ay from th e W estern p a tte rn of law, whose basic m o tto is : F iat Ju stitia , and is sinking to th e role of a tool in th e h ands of a sm all group of oppressive rulers b e n t on a merciless an d ruthless w ar against th e freedom of th e Polish nation.
M any crim es have been com m itted in th e nam e of h u m a n ity . Now these are being com m itted in P oland b y a to ta lita ria n regim e in th e nam e of dem ocracy.
This is th e picture of a Police S tate. Only by co n sta n t terro risatio n can an insignificant m inority of th e nation, backed by a foreign Power, keep its grip on th e entire popu latio n of th e co u n try , on a people who fought th e G erm ans to gain freedom an d y e t w ith th e G erm ans defeated find them selves once m ore in chains.
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