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Effect of the amnesty

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Called to the dock again
Jan Józef Lipski Social activist
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W tym szpitalu anińskim byłem do świąt Bożego Narodzenia, kiedy mnie... zwolniono. Już... już warunkowe zwolnienie na wolność. W międzyczasie jeszcze raz byłem w sądzie, zasiadłem jeszcze raz, już sam na ławie oskarżonych, ale znowu interwencje lekarskie spowodowały, że zostałem wyłączony, że... że przesunięto w ogóle ten termin. Potem wkrótce przyszła amnestia i wszystko załatwiła.

[Q] Czy może nam Pan dwa słowa powiedzieć, jak się potoczyła sprawa procesu KOR-u?

A sprawa procesu KOR-u, można powiedzieć, że prawie wcale się nie potoczyła, to znaczy, co ludzie posiedzieli sobie w związku z tym, to siedzieli, prawda, w... w areszcie. Natomiast pierwszego dnia procesu odroczono na samym początku sprawę i już nigdy więcej do niej nie wrócono i zresztą muszę powiedzieć, że ja się spodziewałem, że do tej sprawy się nie wróci, ona byłaby strasznie kłopotliwa dla władz.

I was in the hospital in Anin up until Christmas and then they discharged me – they gave me a conditional discharge and released me. In the meantime, I was in court again and in the dock but this time I was by myself. The doctor intervened on my behalf again which led to me being removed and the date for the case was postponed. Soon after this, the amnesty was declared and that took care of everything.

[Q] Could you say a few words about how the KOR trial progressed?

You could say the KOR [Komitet Obrony Robotników (Workers' Defence Committee)] trial almost didn't progress. By that I mean that these people did spend time remanded in custody but on the first day of the trial it was adjourned and was never returned to again. I have to say, I'd expected this to happen, that they wouldn't return to this trial because it was a very troublesome affair for the authorities.

Jan Józef Lipski (1926-1991) was one of Poland's best known political activists. He was also a writer and a literary critic. As a soldier in the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. In 1976, following worker protests, he co-founded the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR). His active opposition to Poland's communist authorities led to his arrest and imprisonment on several occasions. In 1987, he re-established and headed the Polish Socialist Party. Two years later, he was elected to the Polish Senate. He died in 1991 while still in office. For his significant work, Lipski was honoured with the Cross of the Valorous (Krzyż Walecznych), posthumously with the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1991) and with the highest Polish decoration, the Order of the White Eagle (2006).

Listeners: Jacek Petrycki Marcel Łoziński

Cinematographer Jacek Petrycki was born in Poznań, Poland in 1948. He has worked extensively in Poland and throughout the world. His credits include, for Agniezka Holland, Provincial Actors (1979), Europe, Europe (1990), Shot in the Heart (2001) and Julie Walking Home (2002), for Krysztof Kieslowski numerous short films including Camera Buff (1980) and No End (1985). Other credits include Journey to the Sun (1998), directed by Jesim Ustaoglu, which won the Golden Camera 300 award at the International Film Camera Festival, Shooters (2000) and The Valley (1999), both directed by Dan Reed, Unforgiving (1993) and Betrayed (1995) by Clive Gordon both of which won the BAFTA for best factual photography. Jacek Petrycki is also a teacher and a filmmaker.

Film director Marcel Łoziński was born in Paris in 1940. He graduated from the Film Directing Department of the National School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź in 1971. In 1994, he was nominated for an American Academy Award and a European Film Academy Award for the documentary, 89 mm from Europe. Since 1995, he has been a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science awarding Oscars. He lectured at the FEMIS film school and the School of Polish Culture of Warsaw University. He ran documentary film workshops in Marseilles. Marcel Łoziński currently lectures at Andrzej Wajda’s Master School for Film Directors. He also runs the Dragon Forum, a European documentary film workshop.

Tags: hospital in Anin, KOR, Komitet Obrony Robotników, Workers Defence Committee

Duration: 1 minute, 20 seconds

Date story recorded: October 1989

Date story went live: 14 March 2011