Poland's District Military Courts, 1946–1955: books and documents

In brief

• On 19 April 1951 the District Military Court in Kielce, sitting in Radom, sentenced Bogumił Studziński — a civilian and a former secondary-school pupil — to ten years in prison^1,2,3. The archive of that court is described in an inventory published by the Kielce branch of the IPN in 2014⁴.
• Mieczysław Szerer's memorandum on violations of the rule of law in the military courts appeared in 1979 in the Paris-based „Zeszyty Historyczne”, and in Poland it circulated in the underground press in 1981–1986⁵.
• Among others, the District Military Courts in Kraków, Łódź, Katowice and Warsaw have their own monographs^6,7,8,9.
• Biographical notes on military judges and prosecutors of 1944–1956 were compiled by Krzysztof Szwagrzyk¹⁰.

This list covers books that the National Library of Poland catalogue describes with the subject heading “Sądownictwo wojskowe” (military courts) or with the name of a particular District Military Court, and that concern 1944–1956. We chose documents, general studies, monographs of individual courts, the inventory of the Kielce court's archive and one study of cases against youth underground groups. They are ordered by year of publication. The descriptions give the title, publisher, length and subject headings according to the National Library catalogue; we do not review the books. All are in Polish.

1. Mieczysław Szerer, „Komisja do Badania Odpowiedzialności za Łamanie Praworządności w Sądownictwie Wojskowym” (1981)

The title names the Commission for Investigating Responsibility for Violations of the Rule of Law in the Military Courts. The memorandum was submitted to that commission on 13 May 1957 — the date given in the title of Aniela Steinsbergowa's remarks on it, as quoted in the bibliography of the Museum of Free Speech. It was first printed in the Paris-based „Zeszyty Historyczne” (1979, no. 49). In Poland it was published in 1981 by the Gdańsk publisher Młoda Polska (91 pages) and by the Niezależna Oficyna Wydawnicza; in the same year „Tygodnik Solidarność” printed it in instalments, which stopped after martial law was declared. Later editions: Lublin 1985 (Solidarity's Central-Eastern Region, with an introduction by Aniela Steinsbergowa) and Wrocław 1986 (the “Feniks” publisher, under the title „Procesy przed Najwyższym Sądem Wojskowym”, Trials before the Supreme Military Court)^5,11.

2. „My, sędziowie, nie od Boga…” (1996)

Full title: „»My, sędziowie, nie od Boga…«: z dziejów Sądownictwa Wojskowego PRL 1944–1956: materiały i dokumenty” (“We judges are not from God…”: from the history of military justice in communist Poland, 1944–1956 — materials and documents), edited by Jerzy Poksiński. Published by Warszawska Oficyna Wydawnicza “Gryf” (1996, 302 pages, with a bibliography and index). The National Library catalogue describes it as a source edition¹².

3. Krzysztof Szwagrzyk, „Prawnicy czasu bezprawia” (2005)

Full title: „Prawnicy czasu bezprawia: sędziowie i prokuratorzy wojskowi w Polsce 1944–1956” (Lawyers in a time of lawlessness: military judges and prosecutors in Poland, 1944–1956). Published by the Institute of National Remembrance with the “Societas Vistulana” learned society (Wrocław — Kraków 2005, 551 pages). According to a note in the National Library catalogue, it contains biographical notes on military judges and prosecutors (pp. 257–474)¹⁰.

4. Marcin Zaborski, „Ustrój sądów wojskowych w Polsce w latach 1944–1955” (2005)

A study of how the military courts were organised (the title means The system of military courts in Poland, 1944–1955), published by the Learned Society of the Catholic University of Lublin (Lublin 2005, 273 pages, “Prace Wydziału Nauk Prawnych” series, vol. 27)¹³.

5. Filip Musiał, „Polityka czy sprawiedliwość?” (2005)

Full title: „Polityka czy sprawiedliwość? Wojskowy Sąd Rejonowy w Krakowie (1946–1955)” (Politics or justice? The District Military Court in Kraków, 1946–1955). Publisher: the “Societas Vistulana” learned society (Kraków 2005, 485 pages); the Institute of National Remembrance is also named on the title page. According to the National Library's subject headings, it concerns political trials and judges in Kraków⁶.

6. Joanna Żelazko, „»Ludowa« sprawiedliwość” (2007)

Full title: „»Ludowa« sprawiedliwość: skazani przez Wojskowy Sąd Rejonowy w Łodzi (1946–1955)” (“People's” justice: those sentenced by the District Military Court in Łódź, 1946–1955). Published by the Łódź branch of the Institute of National Remembrance (2007, 367 pages). According to the National Library's subject headings, it concerns political trials, the death penalty and the security apparatus⁷.

7. „Inwentarz zespołu archiwalnego Wojskowego Sądu Rejonowego w Kielcach” (2014)

Full title: „Inwentarz zespołu archiwalnego Wojskowego Sądu Rejonowego w Kielcach (1918) 1946–1954 (2013)” (Inventory of the archival fonds of the District Military Court in Kielce). It describes the archive of the court that sentenced Bogumił Studziński in 1951^1,2. Published by the Kielce branch of the Institute of National Remembrance (Kraków — Kielce 2014): a printed introduction by Marek Jedynak and Robert Piwko (121 pages, with a bibliography) and a CD with the full inventory and indexes. The National Library catalogue describes it as an archival inventory and a source edition⁴.

8. Marta Paszek, „Wojskowy Sąd Rejonowy w Katowicach (1946–1955)” (2019)

Subtitle: „organizacja i funkcjonowanie” (organisation and operation). A monograph published by the Institute of National Remembrance (Katowice — Warsaw 2019, 426 pages), with a bibliography, a list of legal acts and indexes⁸.

9. Piotr Kardela, „Prawnokarne aspekty likwidacji młodzieżowych konspiracji niepodległościowych w stalinowskiej Polsce” (2021)

The title means Criminal-law aspects of the suppression of youth independence underground groups in Stalinist Poland. A study of selected cases from north-eastern Poland — according to the subtitle, in the light of security-service files and the rulings of District Military Courts. The National Library's subject headings name, among others, the organisations Harcerska Organizacja Podziemna “Iskra”, Polska Organizacja Młodzieży Katolickiej, Tajny Związek Patriotów Polskich and Wolny Orzeł Polski, and the towns of Olsztyn, Nowe Miasto Lubawskie, Kętrzyn and Goniądz. Published by the Police Academy in Szczytno (2021)¹⁴.

10. Patryk Pleskot, „Wojskowy Sąd Rejonowy w Warszawie (1946–1955)” (2022)

Subtitle: „widok od wewnątrz” (a view from inside). A monograph published by the Institute of National Remembrance (Warsaw 2022, 445 pages, “Warszawa Nie?pokonana” series, vol. 28, and “Temida Tyranów” series, vol. 1)⁹.

The court in Kielce

Bogumił Studziński was sentenced by the District Military Court in Kielce^1,2. Apart from the inventory of its archive (no. 7), we did not find in the National Library catalogue a monograph of that court like the books on the courts in Kraków or Warsaw. The files of Studziński's case are held by the Institute of National Remembrance (ref. IPN Ki 8/1001–1002)³ — how families can check similar files is explained in our guide to IPN files. The story of the sentence itself is told in our article on the youth underground.