The
Trial of the Sixteen was a staged trial of 16 leaders of the Polish Underground State held by the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
in
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
in 1945.
History
Some accounts say approaches were made in February with others saying March 1945. The
Government DelegateThe Government Delegation for Poland was an agency of the Polish Government in Exile during World War II. It was the highest authority of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland and was headed by the Government Delegate for Poland, a de facto deputy Polish Prime Minister.The Government...
, together with most members of the
Council of National UnityRada Jedności Narodowej was the quasi-parliament of the Polish Underground State during World War II...
and the C-i-C of the
Armia KrajowaThe Armia Krajowa , abbreviated "AK", was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
, were invited by Soviet general
Ivan SerovGeneral Ivan Aleksandrovich Serov was the head of KGB between 1954 and 1958, a as well as head of GRU between 1958 and 1963. He was Deputy Commissar of the NKVD under Lavrentiy Beria, and was to play a major role in the political intrigues after Stalin's death...
with agreement of
Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953...
to a conference on their eventual entry to the Soviet-backed Provisional Government. They were presented with a warrant of safety, yet they were arrested in
PruszkówPruszków is a town in central Poland. According to the 2004 census the town had a population of 54,893.Pruszków is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship ; it was previously in Warszawa Voivodeship . It is the capital of Pruszków County.- History :A village has existed here since the 16th century...
by the
NKVDThe People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including...
on 27 and 28 March . Leopold Okulicki, Jan Stanisław Jankowski and Kazimierz Pużak were arrested on 27th with 12 more the next day. A.Zwierzynski had been arrested earlier. They were brought to
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
for interrogation in the Lubyanka.
After several months of brutal interrogation and torture they were presented with the forged accusations of:
- collaboration
Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals — for example, an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Most collaboration requires leadership, although...
with Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
- carrying-over intelligence
Intelligence refers to discrete information with currency and relevance, and the abstraction, evaluation, and understanding of such information for its accuracy and value...
and sabotageSabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions...
at the rear of the Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
- terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.At present, there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism...
- planning a military alliance with Nazi Germany
- owning a radio transmitter, printing machines and weapons
- propaganda against the Soviet Union
- membership of underground organisation
The trial took place between 18 and 21 June 1945, at the presence of foreign press and observers from the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The date was chosen carefully to be at the same time a conference on creation of the Soviet-backed Polish puppet government was organized.
Immediately after the kidnapping of all the leaders, the
Polish government in exileThe Polish government-in-exile was the government of Poland after the country had been occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union at the start of World War II...
sent a protest note to
WashingtonWashington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
and
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
demanding their release. At first the Soviets declared that the whole case was a bluff by the “Fascist Polish government”. When they finally admitted that the leaders had been arrested (on 5 May), the American envoy of
Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
, Harry Lloyd Hopkins, was told by
Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953...
that “there is no point in linking the case of the Trial of the Sixteen with the support for the Soviet-backed government of Poland because the sentences will not be high.” Both British and American governments shared this view.
All but one of the defendants were forced to admit to the alleged crimes, and on 21 June the verdict was issued. According to
international lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states, analogous entities, such as the Holy See, and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
the trial should not have taken place. The
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
kidnappedIn criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or asportation of a person against the person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and sentenced a group of citizens of a foreign country whose alleged crimes were committed on a foreign land. They were deprived of basic
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
and tortured. General
OkulickiGeneral Leopold Okulicki was a General of the Polish Army and the last commander of the anti-German underground Home Army during World War II. He was murdered after the war by the Soviet NKVD.-Early life:...
's
witnessA witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about a crime or dramatic event through their senses , and can help certify important considerations to the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event firsthand is known as an "eye-witness"...
es were not allowed to enter the court, which was a violation of even Soviet law.
People involved
- Lt. General Vasili Ulrikh
Vasiliy Vasilievich Ulrikh was a senior judge of the Soviet Union during most of the regime of Joseph Stalin. In this capacity, Ulrikh served as the presiding judge at many of the major show trials of the Great Purges in the Soviet Union.-Early life:Vasili Ulrikh was born in Riga, Latvia, then a...
- the main judgeA judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is like an umpire in a game and...
, famous for playing a major role in the Great PurgeGreat Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin in 1937–1938. It involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and Government officials, repression of peasants, Red Army leadership, and the persecution of...
- Commander in Chief of the Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , abbreviated "AK", was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
- Leopold OkulickiGeneral Leopold Okulicki was a General of the Polish Army and the last commander of the anti-German underground Home Army during World War II. He was murdered after the war by the Soviet NKVD.-Early life:...
(Niedźwiadek) - 10 years in prison, may have been murdered on Christmas Eve of 1946 but may have died due to complications caused by hunger strike.
- Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and the Government Delegate
The Government Delegation for Poland was an agency of the Polish Government in Exile during World War II. It was the highest authority of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland and was headed by the Government Delegate for Poland, a de facto deputy Polish Prime Minister.The Government...
- Jan Stanisław Jankowski - 8 years in prison, never released, died in a Soviet prison on 13 March 1953, two weeks before the end of his sentence; probably murdered.
- Minister of Internal Affairs - Adam Bień - 5 years
- Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs - Stanislaw Jasiukowicz - 5 years
- Head of the Council of National Unity
Rada Jedności Narodowej was the quasi-parliament of the Polish Underground State during World War II...
and PPS-WRN socialist party - Kazimierz PużakKazimierz Pużak was a Polish politician of the interwar period. Active in the Polish Socialist Party, he was one of the leaders of the Polish Secret State and Polish resistance, sentenced by the Soviets in the infamous Trial of the Sixteen in 1945.-Biography:Born on 26 August 1883 in a family of...
- 1.5 years, released in November 1945 and returned to Poland. Refused to emigrate, Pużak was again arrested by the Urząd Bezpieczeństwa in 1947 and sentenced to 10 years in prison; died 30 April 1950
- Deputy head of the Council of National Unity and head of the Stronnictwo Narodowe party - Aleksander Zwierzyński - 8 months
- Member of the Council of National Unity, - Kazimierz Bagiński - 1 year, later released and forced to emigrate to the USA
- Member of the Council of National Unity, Head of Zjednoczenie Demokratyczne- Eugeniusz Czarnowski - 6 months
- Member of the Council of National Unity, Head of Stronnictwo Pracy
Stronnictwo Pracy was a Polish Christian democratic political party, active from 1937 in the Second Polish Republic and later part of the Polish government in exile. Its founder and main activist was Karol Popiel....
- Józef ChacińskiJózef Chaciński was a Polish lawyer and politician.Chaciński was member of the Sejm from 1922 until 1930. During the Second World War, he was imprisoned in the German concentration camp Auschwitz. In 1945 he was arrested by the NKVD....
- 4 months
- Member of the Council of National Unity, - Stanisław Mierzwa - 4 months
- Member of the Council of National Unity, - Zbigniew Stypułkowski - 4 months, later released and forced to emigrate to the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
- Member of the Council of National Unity,- Feliks Urbański - 4 months
- Member of the Council of National Unity, - Stanisław Michałowski - acquitted of all the charges
- Member of the Council of National Unity, - Kazimierz Kobylański - acquitted of all the charges
- Member of the Council of National Unity, interpreter for the group, -Józef Stemler - acquitted of all the charges
- Deputy Government Delegate -Antoni Pajdak was sentenced to 5 years in prison in a secret trial
A secret trial is a trial that is not open to the public, nor reported in the news. Generally no official record of the case or the judge's verdict is made available...
in November; he was not released until 1955.
Aftermath
In his book,
Europe at War, Norman Davies described it obscene but there was no official protest. As a result of the trial, the
Polish Secret StateThe Polish Underground State is a collective term for the underground resistance organizations in Poland, both military and civilian, that remained loyal to the Polish Government in Exile in London during World War II...
was deprived of most of its leaders. Its structures were soon rebuilt, but were never able to fully recover. On 6 July 1945 the United Kingdom and the USA withdrew support for the legitimate
Polish government in exileThe Polish government-in-exile was the government of Poland after the country had been occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union at the start of World War II...
and all its agendas in Poland. Soviet repressions aimed at former members of the
Polish Secret StateThe Polish Underground State is a collective term for the underground resistance organizations in Poland, both military and civilian, that remained loyal to the Polish Government in Exile in London during World War II...
and the
Armia KrajowaThe Armia Krajowa , abbreviated "AK", was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
lasted well into the 1960s.
English language
- Norman Davies
Professor Ivor Norman Richard Davies Fellow of the British Academy is a leading British historian of Welsh descent, noted for his publications on the history of Poland, Europe, and the United Kingdom.- Academic career :Davies studied in Grenoble, France . He was a disciple of A. J. P...
, Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw. Viking Books, 2004. ISBN 0-670-03284-0. Hardcover, 784 pages.
- Jan Karski
Jan Karski , was a Polish World War II resistance fighter and scholar at Georgetown University. In 1942 and 1943 Karski reported to the Polish government in exile and the Western Allies on the situation in German-occupied Poland, especially the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto and the extermination...
, Story of a Secret State. Simon Publications, 2001. ISBN 1-931541-39-6. Paperback, 391 pages.
- Edward Raczynski, In allied London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1962 Page 284-285, 295
- Zbigniew Stypulkowski, "Invitation to Moscow", 1950,1951.
Polish language
- Waldemar Strzałkowski, Andrzej Krzysztof Kunert, Andrzej Chmielarz, Proces Szesnastu. Dokumenty NKWD. Oficyna Wydawnicza RYTM, Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2009 was estimated at 1,709,781, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,785,000...
, 1995. ISBN 83-86678-07-0. Paperback, 543 pages.
- Eugeniusz Duraczyński, Generał Iwanow zaprasza. Przywódcy podziemnego państwa polskiego przed sądem moskiewskim. Warsaw, Wydawnictwo ALFA, 1989. ISBN 83-7001-305-8
External links