National hero and symbol of democracy or communist collaborator? Polish media on the darker side of
Andżelika, Matylda and Krzysztof provide an overview of Polish press reactions on the recently discovered documents, according to which Lech Wałęsa collaborated with the communist government in the 1970's. The scandal over the late General Czesław Kiszczak's documents has deepened the already existing political division in the country. While left-wing voters strongly defend the Polish symbol of democracy, the right-wing government and its supporters go to any lengths trying to prove that the former president professed loyalty to the communist regime and is therefore a traitor. In their analysis the students incorporated summaries of articles extracted from the major Polish newspapers, which represent various political affiliations. At the end of the article the reactions of some American newspapers are presented.
Lech Wałęsa is a former Polish president and Nobel Peace Prize winner but, more importantly, he is the figure who led Solidarity into overthrowing the communist regime in Poland and he also contributed to the downfall of communism in the entire Eastern Bloc. His merits for Polish history are unquestionable, yet over the last 20 years he has faced numerous accusations of collaboration with the communists back in the 1970's. One of the most controversial publications which cast aspersions on Wałęsa is the book from 2008 titled SB and Lech Wałęsa. In spite of a considerable amount of evidence which suggests that he was an agent codenamed "Bolek", the journalistic investigation was deemed unreliable and Wałęsa saved his reputation.
The recent disclosure of secret documents is yet another attempt to bring the former leader of Solidarity to disgrace. The files describe the activity of an unknown agent "Bolek" and some of them bear Wałęsa's signature. They were presented to the Polish Institute of Remembrance (IPN) by Maria Kiszczak, the wife of Czesław Kiszczak, who was the Minister of Interior and Administration in the communist government. After his death, Mrs Kiszczak brought the secret documents to the IPN, asking money for them. Shortly afterwards, Polish news agencies were notified about the new findings and once again Wałęsa found himself in the centre of media attention. The controversy over the authenticity of the documents has polarised the Polish society, creating two opposing factions. Below are presented different opinions on and reactions to Wałęsa's case circulating in the Polish press.
The files appear to be authentic
Fakt, a popular Polish daily whose style resembles that of Britain’s The Sun, suggests that there is every probability of the files being authentic. The documents reveal that Wałęsa cooperated with the secret police (SB) and that he received money for doing so.
Dr Łukasz Kamiński, the president of IPN, informed that the documents found in Kiszczak's house are under discussion. As was stated by the IPN archivist, they are authentic. Among the documents there is a letter written by Kiszczak in which he informs about sending documents to the archives. This message is supposed to confirm the collaboration of Lech Wałęsa with the Security Service.
The files consist of one personal file and a second belonging to the secret agent who was codenamed "Bolek". Additionally, the secret agent's file includes numerous reports of the secret collaborator signed with the same name. These documents were written between 1970 and 1976 and the archivist claims that they are real. Lech Wałęsa expressed his opinion about these files, claiming that it is not possible that they belong to him. He also added that if necessary, he will prove it in court.
Wałęsa flatly denies the accusations
Dziennik.pl, a right-wing Polish news service, cites Lech Wałęsa, who claims that the documents divulged by IPN have been falsified. He also suggests that it is General Czesław Kiszczak’s vengeance upon him from beyond the grave.
Wałęsa states that the files were well-prepared forgeries. He notes that dates and signatures written on the page, where it is documented that Bolek was paid for his collaboration, are not consistent.
The former president then insists that he had nothing to do with those payments. He adds that Security Service agents took all the documents from courts and workplaces in order to prepare his own file. The former president is convinced that he does not know half of people that he is thought to have denounced.
Wałęsa reassures that he never agreed to a conscious collaboration with the Security Service. He was never treated as a simple worker, but as a leader of the strike. He claims that he tried very hard to examine his opponents. He was able to find traitors among the people protesting in 1970. He claims that he never sought confrontation, unlike other Solidarity members who now accuse him.
The leader of Solidarity thinks that the documents are revenge by Kiszczak, who was never able to come to terms not only with the overthrow of the PRL system but also with the fact that Wałęsa, who became the president, removed him from the position of prime minister. He claims that he read a letter written by Kiszczak according to which the documents were to be disclosed after his death.
Wałęsa lost in his explanations
According to wPolityce, a right-wing online news portal, Lech Wałęsa has the right to defend himself; however, his line of defence does not seem to work. Firstly, he claimed that his former friends from Solidarity wanted to destroy his reputation. Then he felt offended by the people who he had informed on in the past and said that they are unimportant. Later, he started to make insinuations about President Andrzej Duda. Given that he does not have one straight story, it is hard to treat his words seriously. It is difficult to call him trustworthy and credible. The notion of truth seems to have no meaning to the former president. All these actions are intended to cause distraction from his situation.
The author of the article passes very strong judgements on Wałęsa, claiming that he depends on money and lies. He goes on saying that it is hard to comprehend how it was so easy for Wałęsa to write denunciations against his fellow workers. Due to such detailed information, his friends were exposed to danger and persecution. Such tremendous lies are something that should not be associated with a Nobel Prize winner.
The conclusion that Wpolityce draws is that the scandal involving Wałęsa’s collaboration is a devastating experience for Poland since it will be a disgrace in the history of the country. Many Poles are disappointed by the uncomfortable truth, especially those who have trusted and supported him during the communist era.
Lech Wałęsa slowly signals the authenticity of Kiszczak’s documents
The major Polish quality right-wing daily, Rzeczpospolita, writes that despite having initially denied the accusations, Wałęsa now seems to be changing his line of defence. In his recent post he wrote that he was deliberately giving contradictory information. This might suggest that he is preparing the ground to admit that he was in fact agent “Bolek”.
Wałęsa no longer focuses on the documents themselves, but his current strategy depends on the interpretation of his political activity in the particular historical context. He hopes to steer the facts in such a way that his cooperation with the authorities can be perceived as a form of resistance, a kind of Trojan horse in the ranks of communists. In fact he admitted that “collaboration with the SB [the secret police] is impossible. But it is also possible if one wants to pursue his conception of fight with communism.” The former Polish president refers to his activity after the 1970 Polish protests were suppressed and he stresses that he himself cooled down certain “instigators, drunkards and troublemakers” who could otherwise squander his endeavours to organise a force of resistance strong enough to overthrow the regime. Thus, in some sense, his actions may be seen as a form of collaboration with the enemy. Nonetheless, Wałęsa is firmly convinced to have always stood on the opposite side.
Many doubts about the authenticity of the Kiszczak's documents
Gazeta Wyborcza, the other most important quality daily in Poland, informs that three of the documents which belong to "Bolek" are said to be falsified. When the documents were taken from General Kiszczak's house, IPN President Łukasz Kamiński stated that they were authentic but it only means that they had been created by the Security Service of the PRL. Although Lech Wałęsa rejects that he is the author of the documents, the IPN revealed the files to journalists. Only after handwriting analysis will it be known whether they were written by him.
Since 2008, it has been known that three documents were falsified because a Warsaw court of appeal proved it. The Judge of the Court of Appeal, Barbara Trębska, said that the Lustration Court of Appeal in Warsaw had original materials and also the handwriting analysis made by a graphologist in 1990, which proved these documents were not written by Wałęsa.
Another document which is undermined by graphologists dates back to 1971, shortly before the Łódź Strikes. In the file which relates to "Bolek" there is a hand-made copy with the watermark of a Swedish paper company and it is a proof that the embassies of Norway and Sweden were sent counterfeit notes about Lech Wałęsa. In this way the communist authorities wanted to humiliate him in front of the Nobel Committee.
Jacek Taylor, a lawyer who collaborated with the democratic opposition from 1978, says that Wałęsa was inept in handwriting in the 1970s. For him, it seems improbable that he would be able to create such long texts himself written carefully in a good style.
Foreign reactions to Wałęsa's case
The Polish edition of Newsweek presents a selection of statements on the subject from American newspapers. Journalists in the US believe that it is too early to pass judgements as the documents which are thought to prove that he was an agent codenamed “Bolek” have not been examined by graphologists or historians.
The New York Times highlights the fact that Wałęsa has been struggling with similar allegations for the last 20 years, despite having been found innocent by a special tribunal in the year 2000.
The Wall Street Journal, by contrast, suggests that the documents might be proof of Wałęsa’s collaboration in the 1970’s, so before he lead Solidarity. The newspaper refers to Wałęsa’s wife’s testimony in which she recalls her husband having some additional income whose source she could not establish. WSJ also says that the question fuels tensions between the electorate of the current conservative government and the liberal opposition.
Other media point out it was a controversial decision to open the files which cast a shadow over Wałęsa’s image. The Associated Press suggests that he could have been forced to profess loyalty to the authorities as repression and intimidation were common practices of the police at that time.
