Bogumił Studziński · 1931–1987
Sentenced 1951
In the Dungeons — a political prisoner's memoir · Polish original: W lochach socjalizmu
He was nineteen. They gave him ten years.
In 1951 the District Military Court in Kielce sentenced him for his part in the anti-communist underground and for keeping weapons. He served his sentence in Rawicz prison. His memoir was printed in 1988, a year after his death — underground, beyond the censor's reach. It now returns in a new annotated edition.
In numbers
- 19his age on the day of the verdict, 19 April 1951
- 10years in prison — the sentence of the District Military Court in Kielce
- 1977co-founded the Movement for the Defence of Human and Civic Rights
- 1988his memoir is printed underground, a year after his death
The book
The book
A first-hand account of a Stalinist prison, seen through the eyes of a young political prisoner sentenced in 1951 to ten years for his part in the underground. In 1988 a book like this could only be printed illegally, beyond the censor's reach.
The new edition is published in print and as an e-book, with a historical introduction, notes and documents. The text is in Polish; the English translation, Sentenced 1951: In the Dungeons, is in preparation.
The author
The author
Bogumił Studziński (1931–1987) was born in Kamień Duży, in the Radom region of Poland. From 1945, as a secondary-school pupil, he took part in the anti-communist underground. In 1951 he was sentenced to ten years in prison; he was released in 1955. He went on to study law. In 1976 he gave legal aid to workers persecuted after the Radom and Ursus protests, in 1977 he co-founded the Movement for the Defence of Human and Civic Rights (ROPCiO), and under martial law he was interned. He died in Warsaw in 1987. In 2006 he was posthumously awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
From a Stalinist prison cell to the human rights movement.
- Born in Kamień Duży (Wieniawa commune)24 October 1931
- Sentenced by the District Military Court in Kielce to ten years in prison19 April 1951
- ReleasedFebruary 1955
- Co-founder of the Movement for the Defence of Human and Civic Rights25 March 1977
- Interned under martial law13 December 1981
- Died in Warsaw20 July 1987
- Memoir printed by the underground press1988
History
Four texts about the times in which Bogumił Studziński lived and wrote — every fact with a source.
- The youth undergroundAfter the war, hundreds of groups of secondary-school pupils went underground. Bogumił Studziński was one of those pupils.
- Rawicz prisonRawicz was one of the heavy prisons to which young people convicted for political activity were sent. It is the setting of W lochach socjalizmu.
- ROPCiO 1977A former political prisoner became a lawyer of the opposition. How Bogumił Studziński co-founded the Movement for the Defence of Human and Civic Rights.
- The underground press and „Kurs”In 1988 a political prisoner's memoir could only appear beyond the censor's reach. It was printed by the underground publishing house „Kurs”.
Editions and prices
Editions and prices
The new edition is being prepared by the publisher Unseen. Price and publication date will be announced soon.
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W lochach socjalizmu — e-book (EPUB), Polish edition DRM-free EPUB 3 with a watermark. Text in Polish. Pop-up notes, printed-page markers for citation, 15 photographs with captions. Works on e-readers, phones and computers. · ISBN: assigned before release
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Sentenced 1951: In the Dungeons — e-book (EPUB) DRM-free EPUB 3 with a watermark. The complete memoir in English, with 87 pop-up footnotes of the translator, printed-page markers for citation and 15 photographs with captions. Works on e-readers, phones and computers. · ISBN: assigned before release
Events
Upcoming anniversaries
Anniversaries are dates from the author's life and the book's history — listed here to help remember and commemorate them.
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Anniversary
95th anniversary of Bogumił Studziński's birth
On 24 October 1931 Bogumił Studziński was born in Kamień Duży, in the Radom region — a political prisoner in 1950–1955, later a lawyer and co-founder of ROPCiO, and the author of the memoir W lochach socjalizmu.
Add to calendar · More · Sources: IPN, Przystanek Historia; Encyklopedia Solidarności
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Anniversary
50th anniversary of the Movement for the Defence of Human and Civic Rights
On 25 March 1977, 18 signatories of the “Appeal to Polish Society”, Bogumił Studziński among them, launched ROPCiO.
Add to calendar · More · Sources: IPN, Przystanek Historia
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Anniversary
40th anniversary of Bogumił Studziński's death
Bogumił Studziński died in Warsaw on 20 July 1987. A year later the underground publisher „Kurs” printed his memoir, W lochach socjalizmu.
Add to calendar · More · Sources: Wikipedia (Polish); Encyklopedia Solidarności; IPN, Przystanek Historia
Who was Bogumił Studziński?
Bogumił Studziński (1931–1987) was a Polish lawyer and member of the democratic opposition who had been a political prisoner in his youth. In 1951, aged nineteen, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for his part in the anti-communist underground; in 1977 he co-founded the Movement for the Defence of Human and Civic Rights (ROPCiO).
What is W lochach socjalizmu (Sentenced 1951: In the Dungeons) about?
It is the memoir of a political prisoner from the years 1950–1955 — a first-hand account of the Stalinist prison where the author, sentenced at nineteen to ten years, served his time (Rawicz).
When and where was the book published?
The first edition appeared in 1988, a year after the author's death, from the underground publisher Wydawnictwo „Kurs” — in Poland's ‘second circulation’, beyond the censor's reach (130 pages, offset-printed from typescript). A second edition followed in 2001 in Zalesie Górne (239 pages, no publisher named).
Why was the book published underground?
In 1988 the memoir of a political prisoner from the Stalinist years could not appear legally, through channels controlled by the censor. It was printed by an independent underground publisher, Wydawnictwo „Kurs”, in the so-called second circulation.