Kaczyński' casus

Part V

Poland: yesterday, today, tomorrow.

      

Secret of today’s face-off among the Polish elite lies in the whole of yesterday.

Things that happen in today’s Poland were seemingly impossible to imagine merely a years or two ago. How could have cozy, comfortable and quiet country turned into a battlefield and become an arena for the cold civil war, gradually mutating into a real one? In order to answer these questions we would have to go few decades back in the past.

            Roman Catholic Church played an essentially important social-political role in the history of post-war Poland. Poles have always been very pious but after communists coming to power this piety turned into the defining element of national identity salvation. Catholic Church became the champion of Poland against the communist lawlessness. Holding an unquestionable authority in the country, Church became the stronghold of the believers, having opposed faith to the communist views. Being persecuted by the state authorities, Church was just improving its influence, while the top clerical hierarchs acquired martyr’s aura in the eyes of common Poles. As a result of feckless Polish authorities’ policy, Church became a symbol of spiritual resistance, last refuge for every dissenter, despite their attitude to the faith itself. Without doubt, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, Primate of Poland — who was later dubbed as the Primate of millennium — is the brightest representative of the Catholic clergy. Having spent three years in prison, Wyszyński became the most popular and authoritative protector of the Polish national interests. It is him, whom the Polish kościół owes great deal of respect with which the overwhelming part of elder generation of Poles treats the Church. Despite his implacability, Wyszyński had a very cautious attitude towards the “Solidarity” movement that emerged while he was still alive — he used all of his authority to prevent the Gdańsk workers from the power clashes against authorities during the mass riots.

Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński

      In 1981 Wyszyński passed away and Ksiądz-Prelate Henryk Jankowski — provost of St. Bridget’s church in Gdansk — actually headed the Polish anti-communist resistance.

Ksiądz-Prelate Henryk Jankowski

     

History of this legendary “Solidarity” chaplain and personal Lech Wałęsa’ confessor reminds Robert Stevenson’s novel of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. Given his entirely heroic biography, an extremely thick trail of unbelievable scandals, rumors and suspicions was stretching behind this priest across his whole life. According to certain English historians of “Solidarity”, Pope John Paul II funded Polish communist-fighting labor union with CIA money via Jankowski. Funds — and quite considerable at that — really were transferred via Jankowski, and part of them seemingly “glued” to the hands of not-so-cleanly prelate. Fact that in 1993 he became the 80^th richest Pole also speaks to the credit of this version. It also explains an unprecedented Pope John Paul II inclination towards Jankowski — the former, while coming to Poland, always used to demonstrate his friendly relationship with disgraced prelate, who was deprived of the right to preach from the St. Bridget’s kościół ambo (a provost of which he used to be) by Gdansk Archbishop Gocłowski for his anti-Semite and anti-Jewish statements.

            Along with Kaczyński brothers Jankowski used to be Wałęsa’s “brain” at the daybreak of “Solidarity” movement and that’s exactly the time, where his first discords with brothers originate in. Despite the fact that Kaczyński brothers demonstratively have no relations with Jankowski at all — who was once quite close to them — there was never even a slightest trace of public debates between them. Even when the National Memories Institute published the paper, accusing Jankowski of secret connection with the Security Service of socialistic Poland and allegedly having an agent’s name “Delegate”, neither of Kaczyński brother tried to publicly settle their scores with him. At the same time Lech Wałęsa — whom the above-mentioned institute also accused of cooperating with Security Service under the agent’s name “Bolek” — has repeatedly become an object of numerous Kaczyński brothers’ attacks and the knocks of their various adherents. We might assume that such restraint behavior — so uncharacteristic of the brothers — was caused by the mutual financial interests with the notorious ksiądz. Mind that brothers kept silence even after Jankowski’s accusation of pedophilia.

            Current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk along with President Bronisław Komorowski — who also used to be active “Solidarity” movement participants at the time — also don’t have such sort of immunity from brothers’ attacks. Origins of today’s struggle between the Polish political elite representatives should be sought exactly in their shared past of opposition activity. All of them came “from Wałęsa’s overcoat” and now are tearing this very overcoat apart, trying to prove the society that it was only thanks to them and their efforts that socialistic system in the country was defeated and that it was them who brought Poland to the EU and NATO membership, therefore, to the democratic form of state.

Both political camps, fighting against each other, can be certainly ascribed to the right part of political spectrum. At that, CP is rightist-liberal party, while PiS is a party of right-extremist kind (one, grounded at Catholic fundamentalism and utmost populism). To a considerable degree, “cold civil war” that burst out between them — is a war for “Solidarity” political legacy. This is proven by the scandal that took place at this year “Solidarity” anniversary convention, where Tusk was hissed off by the delegates and Kaczyński was accused of usurping the political legacy of this Polish anti-communist resistance movement.