Ministry of Public Security of Poland
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Ministry of Public Security of Poland (Polish: Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego , or MBP) was the organ established and controlled by Soviet Union officers to provide collaborationist government in Poland with secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage services from 1945 to 1954. Its main goal was the disruption of anti-soviet independent structures of Polish Secret State and warfare against soldiers of Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) and Freedom and Independence (WiN). In that field MPB is known as Urząd Bezpieczeństwa or UB (Office of Security).
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[edit] History
In July 1944 in Moscow temporary Polish puppet government was established with the name of Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego). or PKWN. In PKWN structure organization, there were thirteen departments called Resorty. One of them was Department of Public Security (Resort Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego) or RBP, headed by long time polish communist Stanisław Radkiewicz. On December 31, 1944, the PKWN was joined by several members of the Polish government in exile, among them Stanisław Mikolajczyk. It was then transformed into Provisional Government of Republic of Poland (Polish: Rząd Tymczasowy Republiki Polskiej, or RTRP, also all departments were renamed as ministries, Department of Public Security became Ministry of Public Security (Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego) or MBP, in the field well known as UB (Urząd Bezpieczeństwa).
[edit] MBP tasks and numbers
From the end of 1940s to 1954 Ministry of Public Security (MBP) beside Ministry of Defense, was one of the biggest and strongest administrations in post war communist Poland.
MBP was responsible for - internal and foreign Intelligence, Counter-Intelligence, anti-state activity in and outside the country, government protection, confidential government communications, civilian communications, supervision of the local governments, militsiya, correctional facilities and fire rescue, border and internal security. In July 1947 MBP took control over Military Intelligence, which was the 2nd Section of General Staff of the Polish People's Army, Military Intelligence joined together with the civilian intelligence branch becoming Department VII of Ministry of Public Security. In June 1950, Ministry of Defense again took control over Military Intelligence.
In 1950s Ministry of Public Security employed around 32,000 people. MBP also had control over 41,000 soldiers and officers of the Internal Security Corp, (Korpus Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego) or KBW, 57,000 officers in Civil Militsiya (Milicja Obywatelska) or MO, 32,000 officers and soldiers of the Border guard (Wojska Ochrony Pogranicza) or WOP, 10,000 prison officers (Straż Więzienna) or SW. and 125,000 members of Volunteer Reserves of the Citizens Militia (Ochotnicza Rezerwa Milicji Obywatelskiej) or ORMO.
[edit] Organization
From January 1945 and on, Ministry of Public Security structure organization was changed constantly as the MBP was expanding. It was divided into departments, each department was divided into sections and entrusted with different tasks.
In January 1945 when MBP was just established on a base of Department of Public Security or RBP, the biggest and the most important department in MBP organization was Department one (I), responsible for Counter-espionage and anti-state activities, and headed by Roman Romkowski, real name Natan Grinszpan-Kikiel born in 1907.
Department I was divided on Section: each responsible with different tasks -
- Fighting German espionage and Nazi underground remaining in Poland
- Fighting reactionary underground
- Fighting political banditry
- Protection of the national economy
- Protection of legal political parties from outside (underground) penetration.
- Prison
- Observation
- Investigations
Except departments and sections which were created for RBP (Resort Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego) organization, then in Junuary 1945 become part of MBP, two new departments were created. September 6, 1945, from existing structure of Department II there additional departments were created, they were - Department IV commanded by Aleksander Wolski-Dyszko, Department V commanded by Julia Brystygier, and Department VI headed by Teodor Duda.
In July 1946, further changes were proform. MBP was divided into eight (8) departments. Five of which dealt with operational cases, they where -
- Dep 1 — Counter-espionage
- Dep 2 — Technical operations and technology
- Dep 3 — Fighting underground resistance
- Dep 4 — Protection of economy
- Dep 5 — Counteraction of hostile penetration and church influences
In July 1947 Military Intelligence when under MBP control, and MBP's 2nd Independent Section then responsible for intelligence, was joined with 2nd Section of General Staff of the Polish People's Army, becoming Department VII of Ministry of Public Security. June next year, strictly special Secret Office was established, for internal counter-intelligence, Special Office was to follow and control employees and staff of MBP. March 2, 1950, Special Bureau was established, renamed in 1951 Department X. Dep X, task was to follow and conduct investigations into upper and highest Polish communist party, government members and their friends.
- Minister of Public Security - Stanisław Radkiewicz
- 1st vice-minister — Roman Romkowski
- 2nd vice-minister — Mieczysław Mietkowski
- 3rd vice-minister — Konrad Świetlik
- 4th vice-minister — Wacław Lewikowski
- Department I — Counter-intelligence - headed by col. Stefan Antosiewicz
- Department II — Operative Technology and records - headed by col. Leon Rubinstein
- Department III — Fighting bandits - headed by col. Józef Czaplicki
- Department IV — Protection of economy - headed by col. Józef Kratko
- Department V — Religious political and social organizations - headed by col. Julia Brystigerowa
- Department VI — Prisons - headed by col. Władysław Pisło
- Department VII — Intelligence - headed by col. Witold Sieniewicz
- Department of Investigations — headed by col. Józef Różański
- Department for Training — headed by mjr. Zdzisław Szymaczak
- Department of Staff — headed by col. Mikołaj Orchewa
- Department for Government Protection — headed by col. Faustym Grzybowski
- Department of Transport — headed by col. Czesław Radzicki
- Department of Communications — headed by col. Feliks Suczek
- Special Bureau — headed by col. Anatol Fejgin
- Bureau for control — headed by ?
- Bureau of foreign passports — headed by ?
- Bureau of Budget and Finances — headed by ?
- Bureau A (Observation of suspicious element) [suspect] — headed by ?
- Bureau B (Central archives) — headed by ?
[edit] MBP in field
All over Poland Ministry of Public Security had offices. There was one or more MBP office in each Province (or - Wojewodship, województwo), they were called Provincial Office of Public Security (Wojewódzki Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego, or WUBP). Each WUBP had 308 MBP officers and employees. Beside WUBP there were so called City Office of Public Security (Miejski Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego, or MUBP), it had 148 MPB officers and employees, District Office of Public Security (Powiatowy Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego or PUBP), witch 51 officers and employees, and Communal Office of Public Security (Gminny Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego, or GUBP), it was stationed in local militsiya precincts (MO), and it had 3 security (MBP) officers.
In 1953, in the field there were 17 Provincial Offices of Public Security (WUBP), 2 City Offices of Public Security on law of WUBP (which operated as a Provincial Office of Public Security). There were 268 District Offices of Public Security (PUBP) and 5 City Offices of Public Security (MUBP), which operated as District Office of Public Security (PUBP). All employed 33 200 permanent officers, of which 7 500 were in Warsaw headquarters. According to professor Andrzej Paczkowski in 1953, there was one MBP (or-UB) officer to 800 citizens. Never in the 45 year old history, of People's Republic of Poland, were its civil special services formations so large in numbers.
[edit] Soviet control and Political repressions
Political and military dependence of People's Republic of Poland (or PRL) on the Soviet Union, was visible on every step of life in post-war Poland. It had particular meaning in command and administrative structure of Armed forces and special services organs, Intelligence Counter-intelligence and Internal security, civilian - Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego (Ministry of Public Security (MBP) and military - Główny Zarząd Informacji Wojska Polskiego (Main Directorate of Information of the Polish Army).
Control of these special services organs which besides the Armed forces were the main guarantee of stability of the new communist system in post-war Poland and other countries like Czechoslovakia which fell under soviet influence near the end of World War II thanks to the Allies: USA and Great Britain. Moscow acted by using so called advisors. These were well trained and highly experienced Soviet intelligence and Counter-intelligence officers, from services such as NKGB, NKVD, GRU and SMERSH, then in later years MGB, MVD and finally KGB. The first main soviet advisor to the Ministry of Public Security (MBP), was then general major Ivan Aleksandrovich Serov. He was well experienced and an old officer of soviet security organs. In 1939 he assumed the position of deputy commander, later commander of soviet militsiya within the structure of the NKVD. Next he was nominated chief of Secret Political Department (SPO) of the GUGB/NKVD, before becoming People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1941-1945, he was the First Deputy People's Commissar of the State Security and later - Deputy People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR. When he become main advisor to the MBP in March 1945, as a general, Ivanov had carried out apprehension of 16 polish underground leaders. (See -Trial of the Sixteen).
- 1945 — Ivan Serov (gen.mjr)
- 1953 — Nikolai Kovalshuk (gen.lejnt)
Ministry of Public Security was, and still is, very famous for it role it has played in repressions against it own nation. It played an important role in the so called: Trial of the Sixteen. As a young Polish Security apparatus, built and supervised by soviet advisors, the most important task was to penetrate and destroy structures of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa) or-AK. Home Army Structures had been penetrated and exposed by soviet NKGB, NKVD agents, with assistance from polish communist members of People's Guard (Gwardia Ludowa) or GL, later named Armia Ludowa, during German occupation of Poland. So when Red Army entered Polish territory, Soviet special services already knew who were members of Polish underground. The only remaining task was to arrest these members, with they did by using Polish special services like Ministry of Public Security and in the case of the military, using organs such as Główny Zarząd Informacji Wojska Polskiego - Main Directorate of Information of the Polish Army.
What German special services (Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst, or SD), could not do to the Polish underground Army during the occupation of Poland 1939-1945, soviet NKGB/NKVD with assistance from polish communist and MBP or GZI WP, did it in two, or three years, by destroying the Home Army (AK) and killing and locking up AK members in prisons or deporting them to Siberian Gulag's, soviet concentration camps.
[edit] Operations
[edit] Światło Defection
In November 1953, Polish President Bolesław Bierut asked Politbiuro member Jakub Berman to send MBP Lieutenant Colonel Józef Światło on an important mission to East Berlin. Światło, deputy head of MBP Department X, together with Colonel Anatol Fejgin, were asked to consult with Stasi chief Erich Mielke about eliminating Wanda Brońska.
The two officers traveled to Berlin and spoke with Mielke. On December 5, 1953, the day after meeting the Stasi chief, Światło defected to the U.S. military mission in West Berlin. The next day, American military authorities transported Światło to Frankfurt and by Christmas Światło had been flown to Washington D.C, where he underwent an extensive debriefing.
Światło’s defection was widely publicized in the United States and Europe by the American authorities, as well as in Poland via Radio Free Europe, embarrassing the Communist authorities in Warsaw. Światło had intimate knowledge of the internal politics of the Polish government, especially the activities of the various secret services. Over the course of the following months, American newspapers and Radio Free Europe reported extensively on political repression in Poland based on Światło revelations, including the torture of prisoners under interrogation and politically motivated executions. Światło also detailed struggles inside the Polish United Workers' Party.
Among other activities, Światło had been ordered to falsify evidence that was used to incriminate communist politician Władysław Gomułka, who would become first secretary of the Polish United Worker's Party in 1956, and personally arrested him. He had also arrested and created evidence against Marian Spychalski, the future Minister of National Defence, who was at the time a leading politician and high ranking military officer.
[edit] 1954 Reorganization
The highly publicized defection of Colonel Światło, not to mention the general hatred of the Ministry of Public Security among Poles, lead to changes in late 1954. In December of that year, the Polish Council of State and the Council of Ministers moved to replace the ministry with two separate administrations, the Committee for Public Security (Komitet do Spraw Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego or KDSBP), headed by Władysław Dworakowski, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych or MSW), headed by Władysław Wicha as minister of Internal Affairs.
The Committee for Public Security took responsibility for intelligence and counter-espionage, government security and the secret police, which was now named the 'Security Office' (Służba Bezpieczeństwa). From September 3, 1955 to 28 of November 1956 it also controlled the Polish Army’s Main Directorate of Information (Główny Zarząd Informacji Wojska), which ran the Military Police and counter espionage service. The Ministry of Internal Affairs was responsible for the supervision of local governments, the Milicja Obywatelska police force, correctional facilities, fire and rescue forces, and the border guard.
[edit] Known MBP personnel
- Jakub Berman Joseph Stalin's right hand in Poland between 1944 and 1953.
- Julia Brystygier Nicknamed bloody Luna, born on November 25 1902. colonel in MBP, head of Department V.
- Józef Czaplicki
- Anatol Fejgin
- Adam Humer
- Julian Konar
- Grzegorz Korczyński Born on June 17, 1915, Polish communist army general, MBP officer later (1956) head of Military Intelligence, took part in so called Polish 1968 political crisis. Also commanded Polish army troops, during workers demonstration in 1970, which ended in the death of many workers.
- Mieczysław Mietkowski Polish general, PZPR member. From 1936 to 1939 he fought in Spanish Civil War. Later become NKVD agent, after war, vice-minister of Public Security. Real name Mojżesz Bobrowicki.
- Salomon Morel, commandant of the Stalinist-era labor camp in Poland. He escaped to Israel in 1992 - he is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- Henryk Pałka
- Julian Polan-Haraschin chairperson of the military tribunal in Cracow.
- Józef Różański real name Josef Goldberg - head of the Department of Investigations.
- Roman Romkowski real name Natan Grinszpan-Kikiel.
- Stanisław Radkiewicz
- Leon Rubinstein head of the Department II - Operative Technology and records
- Józef Światło, real name Izaak Fleichfarb - Lieutenant Colonel
- Helena Wolinska-Brus former Stalinist military prosecutor from Poland
[edit] References
- Leszek Pawlikowicz - Tajny Front Zimnej Wojny: Uciekinierzy z polskich służb specjalnych 1956-1964, Oficyna Wydawnicza RYTM 2004 [wydanie 1]
- Henryk Piecuch - Akcje Specjalne: Od Bieruta do Ochaba, (Seria: Tajna Historia Polski) Agencja Wydawnicza CB Warszawa 1996 - [Special Operations: from Bierut to Ochab, - Secret History of Poland series, Warsaw 1996]
- Nigel West - Trzecia Tajemnica: Kulisy zamachu na Papieża, wyd. [[Sensacje XX Wieku]] - [Nigel West - The Third Secret]
- Metody Pracy Operacyjnej Aparatu Bezpieczństwa wobec kościołów i związków zawodowych 1945-1989, IPN Warszawa 2004 (Methods of operative work of Security organs against churches and trade unions 1945-1989, Warsaw 2004 IPN - [IPN] - Institute of National Remembrance])
- Normam Polmar, Thomas Allen - Księga Szpiegów, Wydawnictwo Magnum Warszawa 2000 - [Spy Book]
- Zbigniew Błażyński - Mówi Józef Światło: Za kulisami bezpieki i partii 1940-1955, Warszawa 2003
[edit] See also
- Komitet do spraw Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego
- Służba Bezpieczeństwa
- Główny Zarząd Informacji Wojska Polskiego
- Zarząd II Sztabu Generalnego Wojska Polskiego
- Montelupich prison
