Czesław Kiszczak

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Czesław Jan Kiszczak (19 October 1925 – 5 November 2015) was a Polish general, communist-era interior minister (1981–1990) and prime minister (1989). In 1981 he played a key role in imposing martial law and suppression of the Solidarity movement in Poland. But eight years later he presided over the country's transition to democracy as its last communist prime minister and a co-chairman of the Round Table conference, in which officials of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party faced the democratic opposition leaders. The conference led to the reconciliation with and reinstatement of Solidarity, the 1989 elections, and the formation of Poland's first non-communist government since 1945.

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Early years Czesław Kiszczak was born on 19 October 1925, in Roczyny, the son of a struggling farmer who was fired as a steelworker because of his communist affiliation. Due to his father's beliefs, young Czesław was brought up in an anti-clerical, pro-Soviet atmosphere. During World War II, in 1942, when he was 16, Kiszczak was arrested by the German occupants with his mother, older brother and an aunt and sent for forced labour. At first Czesław was recruited at the German coal mine, but later was sent to Austria as a slave laborer. He was the only Pole among Croats, Serbs and others, many of whom were Communists. Towards the end of the war he was in Vienna, working on the Austrian train system until 7 April 1945. Then he joined a communist-led anti-Nazi resistance group which collaborated with the Red Army, showing the Russians around Vienna sitting on a tank. Because he knew Russian and German, he served as a translator.

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Military career After the war Kiszczak returned to Poland, joined the communist Polish Workers' Party almost immediately, and was sent to the Central Party School in Łódź, which was training civilian and military Party apparatchiks. Kiszczak entered the Polish Army, where he fought guerrilla groups that were resisting the communist takeover. Guerrillas beat his father and spared his life only after his mother intervened. Kiszczak later explained that those struggles had shaped his response to the pro-democracy upheaval decades later: "Experiences linked with that drama, that fratricidal struggle, are among the major reasons that shaped my role in the complicated years of 1980–82", he said. "I did not want that tragic history to repeat itself". Later he was commissioned and, considered too young for political work in the army, was assigned to military intelligence, serving there with short breaks until 1981. In 1946 he was sent to the Polish consulate-general in London, where his official task was to help repatriate members of the Polish armed forces who had served in the West during the war. His superiors found him a keen, highly motivated and disciplined young officer. In 1951 he became a chief of the Department of Information in the…Citește mai mult

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Interior minister In July 1981 Kiszczak was appointed minister of internal affairs. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the Ministry of National Defense, were among the biggest and most powerful administrations in Poland, responsible for the police force, the secret police, government protection, confidential communications, supervision of local governments, correctional facilities and fire services. In that position, Kiszczak participated in the preparation and implementation of the martial law that was declared in Poland on 13 December 1981. He became a member of the Military Council of National Salvation, a quasi-government administering Poland during the martial law (1981–83). In 1982 he became a deputy member of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party and a full member in 1986. From December 1981 until June 1989 Kiszczak was the second most important person in Poland, after General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the nation's top leader. Together they orchestrated the crackdown aimed at crushing the Solidarity, the Eastern Bloc's first non-communist labor union movement. Martial law included the mass roundup and internment of Solidarity activists, curfews and other harsh measures. Generals Kiszczak and Jaruzelski later insisted that they were imposing martial law to stave off a possible Soviet-led invasion in response to the…Citește mai mult

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Later years Kiszczak (as well as Jaruzelski) remains one of the most controversial figures in contemporary Polish history, with fierce debates taking place about whether he was a patriot or a traitor. His critics hate him for the communist-era repressions that caused the suffering of many Poles and have accused him of acting in the interests of Moscow. But other Poles praise Kiszczak for relinquishing power without violence and point out that he deserves credit for eventually opening a dialogue with Solidarity and its leader Lech Wałęsa in the Round Table talks that led to partially free elections in 1989 and the end of communism in Poland. To some critics, Kiszczak redeemed himself already in 1984 when, as minister of internal affairs, he oversaw the prosecution and conviction of secret police officers who had abducted and murdered a pro-Solidarity priest, Jerzy Popiełuszko. Many Poles found it frustrating that Kiszczak never faced punishment for martial law and other repressive measures, while some lower level police officers have faced convictions. In the 25 years after reestablishment of democracy in Poland, Kiszczak was tried in court a number of times for his role in imposing martial law, but he never served prison time.…Citește mai mult

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Legacy Kiszczak's influence has continued long after his passing due to a political scandal arising from secret documents found in the possession of his wife. In February 2016 the couple's home was subjected to a search warrant which uncovered documents supporting the accusations of collaboration with the secret services by Lech Wałęsa. Apparently Kiszczak had kept secret dossiers in his personal possession containing evidence of Wałęsa's alleged collaboration, including signed documents using his purported codename Bolek. Maria Kiszczak was accused of attempting to sell these documents. Wałęsa has been dogged by such accusations for decades but has consistently claimed innocence and has never been formally found guilty of wrongdoing.

Czesław Kiszczak a lăsat un gând

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Bibliography Bereś, Witold [in Polish]; Skoczylas, Jerzy [in Polish] (1991). Generał Kiszczak mówi. Prawie wszystko [General Kiszczak speaks. Almost everything] (in Polish). Warsaw: Polska Oficyna Wydawnicza "BGW". ASIN B004UV29OA. LCCN 92162994. OL 1298580M.