Young political prisoners in Poland, 1944–1956: their memoirs

In brief

• In December 1951 there were 2,347 juvenile political prisoners in Polish prisons¹.
• Memoirs of political prisoners of 1945–1956 were collected underground by Danuta Suchorowska: her anthology „Wielka edukacja” came out in the underground press in 1983, 1985 and 1987, and officially — as a selection — in 1990².
• The camp at Jaworzno appears in three of the books described below, either in a National Library subject heading or in the title^3,4,5.
• The National Library catalogue describes W lochach socjalizmu with the same headings as the other memoirs: “Więźniowie polityczni” (political prisoners) and “Pamiętniki polskie 1944–1956” (Polish memoirs, 1944–1956)⁶.

This list covers books that the National Library of Poland catalogue describes with the subject heading “Więźniowie polityczni” (political prisoners) and as memoirs of 1944–1956. We chose those whose authors were born in 1931–1934, like Bogumił Studziński (born 1931), plus one anthology published underground. 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. Better-known memoirs of communist prisons — by Herling-Grudziński, Stypułkowski or Moczarski — are in a separate list, “Memoirs of communism's prisoners”.

1. „Wielka edukacja” (1983)

Full title: „Wielka edukacja. Wspomnienia więźniów politycznych PRL w latach 1945–1956” (The great education: memoirs of political prisoners in communist Poland, 1945–1956); the texts were collected and edited by Danuta Suchorowska. The first edition appeared underground in 1983 (347 pages, mimeographed). The sources differ on the publisher: according to the bibliography of the Museum of Free Speech it was the Kraków publisher PIK (Prywatna Inicjatywa Krakowska), while the National Library catalogue gives “[Katowice]: PIK [Podziemny Informator Katowicki]” — the Museum's bibliography considers that entry wrong^2,7. In 1985 the Biblioteka Obserwatora Wojennego published the anthology in two volumes, and in 1987 the second volume was reprinted in Warsaw². Official edition: Warsaw, Agencja Omnipress, 1990, 165 pages — according to the Museum's bibliography, only some of the texts, “after some re-editing”^2,8.

2. Bogumił Studziński, „W lochach socjalizmu” (1988)

The memoir of an author born in 1931, sentenced in 1951 to ten years in prison, which he served in Rawicz^9,10. It was published by the underground Kurs publishing house a year after the author's death: 130 pages in A5 format, offset-printed from typescript¹¹. The National Library catalogue describes it with the headings “Więźniowie polityczni” and “Pamiętniki polskie 1944–1956”⁶. More about the book.

3. Czesław Hajduk, „W szponach bezpieki” (1993)

The memoir of an author born in 1932 (the title means In the clutches of the security police), published at the author's expense (Płock 1993, 101 pages). According to the National Library's subject headings, it concerns political prisoners, school pupils and organisations; geographic heading: Sławno¹². The author later published, among others, „Opór młodzieży przeciwko sowietyzacji Polski: Polska Organizacja Wojskowa lat 1948–1949” (Youth resistance to the Sovietisation of Poland: the Polish Military Organisation of 1948–1949; Warsaw 2012, 132 pages, “Biblioteka Jaworzniaka” series)¹³.

4. Tadeusz Lustig, „Przerwany lot »Orląt«” (1994)

The memoir of an author born in 1931 (the title means The interrupted flight of the “Eaglets”; Kraków: Księgarnia Akademicka, 1994, 88 pages, with photographs). According to the National Library's subject headings, it concerns political prisoners, the political and armed underground of 1944–1956 and youth organisations; geographic heading: the Rzeszów area¹⁴. It continues in „Orlęta w Jaworznie: kartki z pamiętnika” (The Eaglets in Jaworzno: pages from a diary; Kraków 1997, 131 pages, with the years 1951–1953 on the cover), which includes texts by Józef Półćwiartek, „Moje wspomnienia o »Orlętach«”, and Henryk Sarna, „Historia i opis więzienia progresywnego w Jaworznie” (A history and description of the progressive prison in Jaworzno)³.

5. Tadeusz Kazimierz Mróz, „Stalin umarł w polskim »gułagu«” (1998)

A volume by an author born in 1934 (the title means Stalin died in a Polish “gulag”), which contains, besides the memoir, „Wiersze więzienne z lat 1950–1956” (Prison poems, 1950–1956). Published by Wydawnictwo Biuro Tłumaczeń (Wrocław 1998, 201 pages and colour photographs). The National Library catalogue describes it as memoirs of 1944–1956 and as poetry¹⁵.

6. Józef Poteraj, „Moje zmagania z UB” (2001)

The memoir of an author born in 1934 (the title means My struggles with the UB, the communist security service; Wrocław: Biuro Tłumaczeń, 2001, 207 pages, with illustrations and a map). According to the National Library's subject headings, it concerns political prisoners and the labour camp at Jaworzno⁴. Elwira J. Kryńska describes it as a camp for juveniles¹.

7. Juliusz Gerung, „Czy tylko trzy lata?” (2007)

Full title: „Czy tylko trzy lata? Wspomnienia więźnia politycznego z okresu stalinowskiego: Chełm, Włodawa, Lublin, Jaworzno” (Only three years? Memoirs of a political prisoner of the Stalinist period) — the title names four places. The author was born in 1933. The National Library holds the second, expanded and corrected edition (Warsaw: Faktoria Kreatywności Anda, 2007, 144 pages, with illustrations); the catalogue gives no information about the first edition⁵.

8. Jan Ziółek, „Kryptonim »Pedagog« i »Zlikwidowani«” (2009)

Full title: „Kryptonim »Pedagog« i »Zlikwidowani«: Związek Bojowników o Wolność — tajna organizacja niepodległościowa nauczycieli z Łowicza: moje wspomnienia” (Codenames “Pedagogue” and “Liquidated”: the Union of Freedom Fighters, a secret independence organisation of teachers from Łowicz — my memoirs). The author was born in 1931. Published by the Learned Society of the Catholic University of Lublin (Lublin 2009, 146 pages, “Źródła i Monografie” series, vol. 354). According to the National Library's subject headings, it concerns political prisoners, teachers and the political activity of young people; geographic heading: Łowicz¹⁶.

Where next

How young people ended up in the underground and in prison is the subject of our articles on the youth underground and on Rawicz prison; books on the prisons of those years, including Jaworzno, are collected in “Stalinist prisons in Poland in books”. Families looking for traces of relatives in the archives will find advice in our guide to IPN files.