The Martial Law operation code name: “Jodła”. Interning of the NSZZ “Solidarność” activists, as well as other independent organisations functioning at the beginning of the 1980s, was definitely one of the most important operations, if not crucial for Martial State. It is significant due to the social resistance and its massive scale on December 13th 1981 and the days to follow…
The works on the operation (at first code name: “Wrzos”, changed following the colonel’s Ryszard Kukliński’s escape), as well as introducing the Martial State itself, took many months. The oldest of the lists of interns, prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, comes from October 28th 1980. The oldest information obtained shows as many as 1200 people under consideration. However, already a week later, according to one of the “liberal wing” representatives of internal affairs department – Adam Krzysztoporski, the detention of a “large number of people, about 30-40 thousand, at the beginning of operation, maybe twice, three times more”. Those numbers can be shocking, especially if we realise that 60-120 thousand of new detained were impossible to accommodate in existing prisons. It is very likely, that the incorporation of such plans would require applying the “Chilean strategy”, namely imprisonment on grounds of stadiums.
Such a large number of people “intended for isolation” scheduled by the provincial command of Civic Militia is not as surprising, if we consider that many of the positions on the list were elderly soldiers of “Wolność I Niezawisłość” and Home Army, as well as activists of Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, active in 1940s. For the requirements of this operation there were 46 detention centres were formed, according to the regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. Obviously, such places (mostly applying the rule “as far away from inhabited areas”), were chosen by the Security Forces. The next months of the Martial State brought the formation of new detention centres, adding up to (according to incomplete data – detention centres for high rank officials or prison authorities) 52 places of detention. Even though the operation code name: “Jodła” (meaning detention of previously chosen individuals) was scheduled for 12:00 AM, in many cases it begun earlier, sometimes even an hour prior, therefore technically before the Martial State was even introduced. As stated by one of the elaborations the internal affairs department report from autumn 1983, detention was first utilised as a form of battle against the enemy on such massive scale. It was massive operation indeed, there was 10 132 interning decisions issued for 9 736 individuals (396 people were incarcerated more than one time, e.g. Jan Beszta-Borowski, released by the end of December 1981, and again in September 1982). Among the arrested were 8 728 men and 1 008 women. According to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from 1982, it was young people – up to 40 years of age, were 72% of all detained. On the other hand, 8% were the rural areas population. Already on the first night of the Martial State 3 173 were arrested, most of the members of the National Coordinating Commission NSZZ “Solidarność” included. Only a few of the key members of “Solidarność” managed to avoid detention (some of them were Zbigniew Bujak, Władysław Frasyniuk, Bogdan Lis or Mieczysław Gil). Among the arrested were leaders and mentors of NSZZ “Solidarność”, as well as other independent socio-political organisations, such as an Independent Students’ Union, Rural Solidarity, the Club of Catholic Intelectuals, Confederation of Independent Poland or the Movement for Defense of Human and Civic Rights and many others), along with the members of the Polish United Workers’ Party that advocated the democratisation of the country and engaged in horizontal structures of the party and Civic Militia attempting the create workers’ unions. The former heads of state were arrested, the first secretary of state – Edward Gierek included. The criminals were also detained in that period. During the peak period (that being the 21st of December 1981) there were 5 128 detained in confinement, 313 women included. It is worth to remember, that entire families were taken to prison, the most know of examples, is surely he Kuroń family. Jacek Kuroń aside, the authorities also arrested his wife Grażyna (Gaja) and son Maciej. It so happened, that the arresting team that initially came to arrest the husband, would pass the officers coming to arrest the wife. Another form of chicanery was leaving the abandoned children, not in hands of the closest family, but instead sent to orphanages. Some of the detained were being released after one-two days after arrest. The most known, or at least most heard of example, was the one of the driver of one of the “Solidarność” leaders, Mieczysław Wachowski, released on December 14th. Along with the relaxation of Martial Law, the number of detained decreased. The considerable amount of the arrested, including all women, were released in July and August 1982, leaving the 561 still incarcerated in 14 detention centres. The most resistant were kept isolated until December 1982 – the last of them liberated on December 23rd 1982. Some of the detained, such as Andrzej Gwiazda (on the day of liquidation of Białołęka centre) were not released, but ended up in prisons. Such was the fate of National Coordinating Commission and Worker’s Defence Committee, which, regardless of Martial State abolition, were to be sued by the state for their activity prior to December 13th 1981. In fact, the change of the internee status to being arrested was not a rare thing around that time. In case of 424 people, the decision of imprisonment was overruled, due to temporary detention, and the next 116 of the released, where then temporarily arrested on basis of undertaking lawless activity (according to Martial State laws). It is worth to mention, that the detained (considering the way each of them was being treated) could be divided into three groups. The first being the high rank officials (adding up to 36 individuals) detained in Głębokie, and after February 1982 (after the death of Political Bureau of KC PZPR in 1975-1980) in much better conditions in Promnik, near Warsaw. The second (smallest, as only included two people) were Lech Wałęsa and Jan Kułaj, considered to be “performing management functions”, as the leaders of workers’ unions, according to the authorities, and therefore detained separately. Wałęsa first in Otwock, and later in Chylice and Arłamowo, and Kulaj at the beginning of Martial Law detained with other activists in Ostróda and Iława, to then be moved to solitary confinement in Chylice. Both were “under protection” of an Independent Protection Group of Government Protection Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The third of the group included everyone else. Obviously, the conditions the internees had to endure ranged from accordingly adjusted prison cells to holiday resorts. The detainees were being interrogated by the Security Service officers. The main goal of these interrogations was obtaining information on how the independent structures functioned (NSZZ “Solidarność” especially) prior to December 13th, as well as forcing of declarations of loyalty (including the statement of “cession of hostile and harmful activity, destructive to Polish People’s Republic”, as well as “complying with the applicable law”). The declarations of loyalty were the only condition of being released from the detention centre. It is important to mention that the individuals initially not selected for detention, but merely warning interrogation, which did not sign the declaration of loyalty, would later be detained. The interrogations of the internees by the Security Services had another objective, aside the ones already mentioned, namely the recruitment of agents among the detainees. The most productive time, were the first days following the December 13th, with the atmosphere of uncertainty among the internees. It is worth mentioning, that the secret collaborators of the Security Services were also to be found in detention centres, mostly for the credibility reasons, as well obtaining information from the detained, including their beliefs and further plans. Probably the most known representative of this group was Eligiusz Naszkowski, the head of the pilski region and one of the two Security Services collaborators, who managed to record the KK Presidium session on December 3rd 1981, with the regional leaders of NSZZ “Solidarność”, which then was used for propaganda, after undergoing some necessary alterations in order to justify the alleged necessity of introducing the Martial Law. Another issue in question were the attempts of “re-education” the interns were submitted to (with rather poor results). Also, the detentions (and arrests), were not the only method used by the authorities of Polish People’s Republic in order to deprive the opposition activists of freedom, after the December 13th of 1981. Another, not as well known, way was the “military training” organised in autumn 1982 for the “solidarity extremists”, but that is another story…