On Wednesday, a scientific conference entitled “Security Office in Bolesławiec” was held at Galeria Długa of the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre. The role of host was taken by Mariusz Olczak – a historian and writer from Bolesławiec, and an employee of the Central Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw. The conference consisted of six parts.
The first part was a lecture by prof. Grzegorz Strauchold entitled “The efficiency and cruelty of the apparatus of repression as a guarantee of introducing a new system.” The lecturer from the University of Wrocław focused on the general characteristics of the establishment and operation of the security apparatus in Poland.
Strauchold also pointed out that the organisers of the apparatus of repression were usually intelligent people. Lower- and lowest-level officers, on the other hand, had no education and were often simply criminals. At the end of his lecture, Prof. Strauchold cited figures on the number of people working for the security apparatus. In 1953, more than 300,000 people worked for the security apparatus in Poland, including 120,000 members of ORMO alone.
“The establishment and activity of the District Security Office in Bolesławiec under the leadership of Lt. Zenon Florek (June 1945 – April 1947)” was the subject of a lecture by Dr Robert Klementowski, an employee of the Institute of National Remembrance in Wrocław. Attendees learned, among other things, that the so-called Operational Group was responsible for establishing the District Security Office in Bolesławiec. The head of the Bolesławiec Security Office was Lt. Zenon Florek.
The office was housed in a building that currently accommodates the Youth Cultural Centre. People were imprisoned in the building’s basement in inhumane conditions. Florek himself lived in what is now Hotel Piast. Approximately 50 people were employed at the Bolesławiec Security Office. The lowest-ranking officers usually came from eastern regions of Poland, had no education and were often alcoholics. Dr Klementowski stressed that members of the security apparatus took no care of the property they had seized. Within several years, everything had been reduced to ruin.
The third lecture was delivered by Dr Jarosław Syrnyk, an employee of the Institute of National Remembrance in Wrocław. The subject, “Repatriates from Yugoslavia and emigrants from Greece in Bolesławiec County in the light of security apparatus records,” is close to many residents of our city and county. Many of them are repatriates from those areas. Dr Jarosław Syrnyk presented a series of reports prepared by the District Security Office. In this way, the security apparatus monitored the mood among the repatriates.
Interestingly, the reports differed considerably from one another. In some, repatriates were described as lazy and demanding people inclined to start brawls. In others, the population from the former Yugoslavia was praised for its industriousness (farming) and for joining the party. Repatriates were perceived in the same way as citizens of Western countries. To the security apparatus, both groups were potential agents of foreign intelligence services.
“Counterintelligence protection of military units stationed in Bolesławiec County” was the last of the lectures heard by participants in Tuesday’s conference. Paweł Piotrowski, from the Wrocław branch of the Institute of National Remembrance, stressed that Bolesławiec County was one of the more militarised areas in Poland. The 18th Artillery Brigade, equipped with Scud missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, was based in Bolesławiec. Soviet troops were also stationed in the county. The security service was tasked with protecting Polish and Soviet units from the activities of foreign intelligence services.
The penultimate part of the conference was a screening of Zdzisław Abramowicz’s documentary about the District Security Office in Bolesławiec. The film’s subject, Jan Ursel, was imprisoned by the Bolesławiec security service. The prisoner spoke about the terrible conditions in the local detention centre. People were beaten and held naked. Accounts by other people also testified to rape, violence and life in an atmosphere of fear. Young people read out their recollections.
The conference concluded with a discussion between the lecturers and attendees. One witness to the events in Bolesławiec that took place immediately after the end of the Second World War pointed out that the District Security Office was initially located on Karola Miarki Street, in the building of a former hospital. Henryk Małolepszy appealed to the city authorities to fund a commemorative plaque on this first building, the headquarters of the District Security Office.
Conference participants also asked questions. They asked, among other things, whether Bolesławiec security officers had been punished and whether clergy had cooperated with the Bolesławiec security service. Dr Robert Klementowski admitted that, apart from minor exceptions, it had not been possible to punish those who worked at the Security Office. As for clergy cooperating with the security apparatus, Klementowski did not rule out that such cases might have occurred, but there are no documents confirming this.
(MZ information)