On October 26th in the District Court in Gdansk, another hearing was held in a lawsuit filed by the Association of Families of Cursed Soldiers and family members of the Unbroken Soldiers against Joanna Senyszyn. The lawsuit concerns untrue, damaging opinions and alleged facts about the Cursed Soldiers, posted by the MP in social media. The subject of the lawsuit is 13 posts that Joanna Senyszyn made on her Twitter profile.
Testimony was given by two members of the Association of Families of Unbroken Soldiers – Dariusz Zurek (son of Jan Zurek alias „Czarny”) and Maria Wanat (daughter of Kazimierz Człowiekowski alias „Niemsta”).
Dariusz Zurek was the first to testify, stating that Cursed Soldiers are any person who had the courage to stand up to fight against the system imposed by the communists, and that the Cursed Soldiers were also people who did not fight with weapons in their hands, such as nurses, liaison officers, as well as people who fought in the political arena.” The plaintiff also pointed out that after more than thirty years of free Poland, the issues concerning the Cursed Soldiers have been clarified, and their contribution to the fight for Poland should be recognized.
Dariusz Zurek, son of Jan Zurek, alias „Black,” presented the figure of his father, who during World War II was (in January 1940) deported to Germany for forced labor. While in Germany, he assisted (March 1945) Allied forces in the operation to cross the Rhine, among other things, pointing out passages through minefields, weapons stores and camouflaged positions of German troops. The activities he undertook close to the end of the war did not give him a chance to join the Polish Army. He turned out to be in the British zone of occupation and was classified as a dipis, that is, a person who „as a result of the war found himself outside his country.”
The plaintiff testified that after returning to his homeland he saw the crimes committed by Soviet soldiers (murders, rapes, thefts), which is why he became involved in the fight against the Soviet occupiers and probably in February 1946 joined the unit commanded by Stanislaw Panek „Rudy.” The anti-communist activities of the unit’s members involved various types of operations, including smashing Citizen’s Militia posts and liquidating confidants and particularly dangerous „fixers” of the people’s power. Also carried out requisitions in offices and cooperatives. There were also some very spectacular actions against the Soviets, such as the „Czastary” action (stopping a train and shooting the Soviet soldiers who were riding on it), the action near Ochedzyn (stopping a column of Soviet cars and the partisans’ seizure of cash) and the smashing of a prison in Radomsko – Jan Zurek took part in many of these actions. The plaintiff pointed out that his father belonged to the underground Polish Army Association, an armed formation created by Capt. Stanislaw Sojczynski alias „Warszyc.” The plaintiff testified that Jan Zurek was arrested in Chobanin, after being denounced by an informer, and that he underwent a harsh investigation. He avoided the threatened death penalty and was sentenced to imprisonment for 12 years. He was eventually released in February 1955 by a ruling of the Assembly of Judges of the Supreme Military Court, after crediting seven years and two months in prison.
Regarding the opinions expressed by Prof. Senyszyn on the subject of the Cursed Soldiers, the plaintiff stated that for him it is inconceivable to make such statements about people who fought against the system that claimed the most victims. The plaintiff also testified that although Joanna Senyszyn’s entries are not directly directed at him, but apply to anyone who participated in the fight against the system, he also added that it is obvious that the phrases used arouse his feelings as a son-heir who is trying to pass on knowledge about the activities of his father, his colleagues and other people who fought against the communist regime. He added that the opinions expressed by Prof. Senyszyn, are very harmful, that through them the old times have returned, and that the defendant, being a public figure, a representative of the nation, is making opinions that are particularly bad.
When asked by the defendant whether the Cursed Soldiers committed common crimes, the plaintiff replied that under the law of the time, any speech against the authorities was a crime, adding that he had not heard of it, that the Cursed Soldiers committed common crimes, and cited examples of two actions (the death of children from a grenade and the shooting of a car) – the alleged crimes indicated by the defendant in its response to the lawsuit, explaining on the basis of knowledge gathered through analysis of documents what these actions looked like, who took part in them and how, and who were the actual perpetrators of the deaths of bystanders. The facts pointed out by the plaintiff refute the opinion that the Cursed Soldiers were the perpetrators of the deaths of bystanders who died during these actions. Another testimony was given by Maria Wanat, daughter of Kazimierz Człowiekowski alias „Niemsta”, who told the story of her father, who fought against the communist regime „with word and pen”. Kazimierz Człowiekowski’s activities were told at the previous hearing by Zbigniew Człowiekowski, as we reported on September 26 this year.
In the context of the opinions expressed by Prof. Senyszyn on the subject of the Cursed Soldiers, the plaintiff testified „they affected me personally very much, because I am the daughter of an Cursed Soldier who fought during the occupation for Poland, for our freedom, and after the war was murdered by the Security Office (in 1954). I believe that it is highly inappropriate to state that all of the Cursed Soldiers murdered, raped, killed children, women.” The claimant pointed out, also, that she is in possession of 36 folders compiled by officers of the security apparatus, which describe the anti-state activities of Kazimierz Człowiekowski, and also indicate that the society of Podkarpacie helped the Cursed Soldiers. The claimant pointed out that her father was an enemy of the people’s government, which is confirmed by documents from the security office.
The claimant recalled her dramatic experiences, including persecution or interrogation by officers who tried to force her to give information about where her father was hiding. She clearly said that she remembered those times and events, although she was only over 5 years old, said that her family was repressed, and that for years she was called a bandit’s daughter.
The plaintiff also said that after learning about Prof. Senyszyn’s entries, she experienced it very strongly, „because the name of a specific person is not given there, all the Cursed Soldiers,” says Prof. Senyszyn. Senyszyn, they are thieves, they are thugs, they are misfits, they are supposed to be on the garbage heap – this is what hurts me the most, because for years there was an effort in schools to portray the Cursed Soldiers, those who fought for the fatherland, that they are ashes and the shining diamond is the communists, and history has shown that this is not true, they are not ashes.”
After hearing the plaintiffs, another hearing date has been set – 22.04.2024, at which the defendant – Joanna Senyszyn – will be questioned.
It is also noteworthy that the Court repeatedly overruled the defendant’s questions and did not allow polemics between the defendant and the plaintiffs.
