Łukasz Warzecha: General Ivanov invites

pch24.pl 3 months ago

On the cover of the book is simply a large, white-red 16. I'm certain I inactive have a book somewhere in the household home. I bought it in the year erstwhile it was released, or 1989, I was 14 years old at the time and had a mean thought of the latest history, although surely far beyond the Peerel primary school program. However, the books at the time were absorbed in bulk, especially since the falling commune solved the bag with publications that were not yet released or appeared in censored form (interest: for a minute censorship marked its interference with square brackets, before it was yet erased).

Why I bought this book – I don't remember. most likely due to the fact that she someway got into my enthusiasm for the anticipation of talking about what you couldn't talk about before. Although I could not be, as a 14-year-old, proficient in the subtleties of past – II of the Republic appeared to me for example as an perfect country, of course I had no thought about the dark sides of Sanation, as I thought that “Solidarity” with Lech Walesa was the protagonists themselves – I wanted fresh information. And here another chapter in the past of Poland by the Soviets opened to me so far unknown to me.

The book was titled "General Ivanov invites". This title general Ivanov – fictional – was General Ivan Aleksandrowicz Sierov, a ruthless cagibiist, to whom Stalin entrusted the mission to lure and detain the political leaders of the Underground Poland – as it later turned out, with 16 people. The book about this – the abduction of sixteen and their show trial in Moscow – said. Its author was historian Eugene Duraczyński. I would be amazed if individual told me what the life communicative of the deceased (died in 2020) was like. But, well, the net wasn't there then, so I didn't have much of a chance.

Meanwhile, the author of the book, from which I learned about the trial of sixteen, faithfully served the organization throughout his life, and past studied at Moscow University. In the PZPR he was since 1954, on his way to visit 1 of the Provincial organization Propaganda Centres at KW PZPR, he was the 1st secretary of the primary organization organization (POP) of PZPR at the Institute of past of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the secretary of the PZPR Plant Committee in the Polish Academy of Sciences, and at the worst time, during the night of martial law, from 1981 to 1983, he headed the Faculty of discipline and Education of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Average advice for the author of a book that yet illuminates 1 of the white spots of Polish history. But perhaps, paradoxically, specified a biography gave him the cognition that another historians then lacked and Mr Duraczyński decided to cash it during the collapse of the system? I don't know. I am not able to appreciate the books freshly – as they said, I have them somewhere, but I read them then, 36 years ago, and then I did not return to them. I see present it's available in online antique shops.

I remember prof. Duraczyński's book, due to the fact that on 27 March it is the 80th anniversary of the sneaky abduction from Pruszkow of the leaders of underground Poland. I was reminded of this by the grandson of 1 of the abducted, Stanisław Michałowski of the Democratic Unity – Prof. Jacek Kowalski, a well-known singer, author of awarded books, including the late published full translation of “Songs about Roland”, an art historian. Jacek Kowalski listened to his grandfather's memories and reported them many times. specified a relation was besides found on the album "Rzeczpospolita Niebieska". prof. Kowalski's grandpa told us that he had a unusual dream the night before the kidnapping. He dreamed that he was climbing a snowy mountain around which white bears were circling. On the top of the neighboring mountain there are people with whom Mr. Michałowski tried to communicate, but with no effect. He called them, "How are things at Petsamo?". And yet he got an answer, given as if by an echo: “Always the same!”.

Petsamo is simply a crucial place. present Pieczenga in the Murmanian region was a Finnish town, but since 1944 under the Finnish-Soviet settlement it went to the ZSRS and it continues to this day.

Around the alleged credulity of the leaders of the underground state – including Leopold Okulicki, Jan Stanisław Jankowski, Kazimierz Pużak, Stanisław Jasiukowicz – who, like children, have been approached by the NKVD and Smiersz, are inactive fighting. There is criticism, due to the fact that at that point it was already clear that the Soviets did not play honestly, and many of the appearing crucial characters ended up in prisons or Siberia. This criticism is mostly legitimate. But here we are dealing with 1 of the classical examples of the tragedy of history, as prof. Kowalski points out, explaining as well his grandpa (who was acquitted with Kazimierz Kobylanski and Józef Stemler in creating appearances of fairness of the process) and his decision to go with others. It is not a place to describe the full complex situation, the component of which was increasingly distanced from the legal authorities of the Polish Republic the position of the Western Allies – insisting that the representatives of the emigration structures agree someway with the Soviets – as well as the return from the emigration of Stanisław Mikołajczyk and his attempts to undertake specified negotiations. Ironically, on the day of the announcement of judgments in the parodystic trial in June 1945, Mikołajczyk was present in Moscow, discussing the creation of the Polish government with Stalin and Bierut. And it wasn't a random coincidence. Mikołajczyk – who, of course, could not mention to the parody of the process that was just ending during the talks, was besides given a strong warning, which could happen to him and others, if they got besides far.

The leaders of the Underground State faced a dilemma: to stay in conspiracy and thus lose any chance of agreeing with the Soviets, and thus besides a more conditional protection of the West, or to hazard and accept some, most likely very difficult, compromise. Did they choose the wisest? I find it hard to justice due to the fact that possibly there was no wise choice in this situation. possibly the wise options ended erstwhile Poland decided to stay an active Allied until the end, even though it was clear after Tehran and Yalta that it did not make much sense. But let us besides not forget that the Polish participation in planet War II within the Western armed forces – contrary to the legend maintained in Poland – was in fact marginal and our withdrawal from this function would not change much in the theatre of war.

Prof. Kowalski points to another interesting aspect of the situation, which led sixteen to a affirmative consequence to the invitation of General Ivanov: interior rivalry and quarreling, composed of representatives of political forces from the right to the left. No 1 wanted to stay in the margins, no 1 wanted to lose the chance others could take, no 1 wanted to be out. So they all went.

Ivan Sierow recalled: “If a Catholic is skillfully interrogated and their parent of God is called to witness, it is interesting. The interrogator may well lead by the nose of an investigative officer, but he is incapable to lie to Jesus' parent – that is why there is confusion on his face erstwhile he tells him to curse on her that everything he testified is pure truth" – and he advised his investigators to do so during interrogations.

In the song "Process 16 or Dream", Jacek Kowalski Singing:

Negotiate with Ruski without a distraction,

Only pawns can isolate Rusk.

Tomorrow, everyone has to polish.

And we'll go sniff, ha ha, their veils.

Ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!

To go or not to go – a question of reasonable must.

It is not the time of devilish to demonize them.

They're like mustard spirits,

Which you gotta drink to avoid wasting.

Ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!

But I saw white bears in my dream,