HISTORY AND HUMAN RIGHTS - A Resource Manual

HISTORY

HUMAN RIGHTS

A Resource Manual

The project entitled ‘The Library as a platform for human rights education: a manual for educators and for training purposes’ was created within the ‘Education for Human Rights’ programme:

financed by the Foundation ‘Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future’:

The workshop scenarios were tested during training sessions for 100 librarians taking part in the ‘Digital Archive of

Local Tradition’ project, organised in conjunction the II round of the ‘Libraries’ Development Programme’,

conducted by the Information Society Development Foundation. In order to continue the project on a wider scale,

the workshops were subsequently adapted for English speakers.

Project conducted by the K ARTA Centre:

Alicja Wancerz-Gluza – overall coordination and adaptation of manual

Agnieszka Kudełka – workshops and cooperation with librarians, preparation of textual material for adaptation

Katarzyna Ziętal – concept and selection of source material

Małgorzata Kudosz – basic and supplementary text research, preparation of adapted text

Anna Kawalec – text research (cooperation)

Ewa Czuchaj – picture research

Marcin Wilkowski –IT tasks

Anna Maciąg – editingBarbara Herchenreder – translation from Polish

Authors:

Radosław Milczarski, Monika Mazur-Rafał, Magdalena Szarota, Monika Lipka, Jerzy Kochanowski, Katarzyna

Czajka

Graphic design and typesetting: A gn ie s z k a P r us / P o d p un k t , po d p un k t . p l

Preparing images for print: Tandem Studio

ISBN 978-83-61283-93-5

First (English language) Edition, Warsaw 2013

Ośrodek KARTA

ul. Narbutta 29,

02- 536 Warszawa

Tel. (+ 48-22) 844 10-55 o k @ k a r t a . or g . p l , ww w . k a r t a . or g . p l

The text of the publication (excluding visual material) is available by licence from Creative Commons, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs, 3.0 Poland (CC BY-NC-ND). The authors and the KARTA Centre Certain reserve certain rights. Information about thelicence and users’ rights to this publication, together with an introductory summary, can be found at: h t t p : / / c reati v e c o mm on s . o r g / l i c en s e s /b y -nc- n d / 3 . 0 / p l /This publication does not represent the views of the Foundation ‘Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future’. Responsibility for

the opinions expressed in the contents lies with the authors.

Contents

I. Human Rights – a historical and contemporary perspective 05

Radosław Milczarski

II. Education and human rights 25

Monika Mazur-Rafał, Magdalena Szarota

III. Workshop scenarios 51

III. 1. State interference and control 52

Monika Lipka

III. 2. Minority-Majority relationships 68

III. 3. Social rights 84

Monika Lipka

III. 4. The rights of accused and convicted persons 108

Monika Lipka

III. 5. Freedom of speech 121

IV. Interpretation of visual sources 141

Jerzy Kochanowski, Katarzyna Czajka

Short biographies of the authors 207

HUMAN RIGHTS –

A HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY

PERSPECTIVERadosław Milczarski

Milestones in Human Rights

What do human rights mean to us today, what place do they occupy in our system of values, and

is their use as a political instrument always justifiable? The significance of human rights has not

progressed proportionately over the centuries and has usually only appeared as a result of stormy

historical events. Human rights, in the context with which we are familiar today, have had a

relatively short history. The concept of ‘Human Rights’ was first voiced by F. D. Roosevelt in an

address to the USA Congress on 6 January 1941.

Characteristics. Since deliberations concerning the rights of Man are essentially a philosophical

discourse, one can hardly expect an unequivocal answer to the question: why are some rights

considered to be our prerogative simply because we belong to the human race, whilst others are

not? A starting point could be a definition of those attributes which make them a uniquely rightful

and moral form. These include: universality – these rights are binding everywhere and on

everybody, no matter whether a given state has signed a declaration to that effect, or whether it

belongs to an international organisation. This universality reconciles cultural differences and

diverse traditions relating to the treatment of the individual in society; inherent and inalienable –

these rights are ours from birth and we cannot renounce them on the basis of any agreement or act

of will; inviolability – the rule of law to which we are subject cannot take away our human rights

and any limitation on them can only be justified by exceptional circumstances.

The generation theory. Human rights are constantly undergoing development. Initially, there

was a necessity to ensure that the most fundamental needs of Man were met, needs such as

freedom, dignity and health. The application of standards was aimed at stressing the fundamental

nature of these rights. This begs the question – where do the boundaries of human rights lie, given

that the development of new rights opens up new areas? The concept of ‘generations of human

rights’ is used to define this progress.

The First Generation encompassed rights which satisfied political and civic needs: the right to

life, freedom and freedom of speech. These are the rights contained in the 1966 International

Covenant on Civic and Political Rights. These rights are characterised by a guarantee of ‘freedom

from’, which puts the onus of non-interference in the privacy of an individual on the state. Hence

these rights are referred to as a group of freedom rights.

The Second Generation of rights guarantees that economic, cultural and social needs are met.

This group of rights guarantees the individual’s ‘right to’ and thus requires the active input of the

state. This is formulated in the second 1966 act – the International Covenant on Economic, Social

and Cultural Rights.

There is also a call for a Third Generation, which would answer collective and solidarity needs.

However, according to critics of this concept, such a formulation is inconsistent with the notion

of human rights which thereby lose their aspect of protection of the individual. It is considered

that the right to peace, the right of nations to self-determination or to ‘participation in a common

human heritage’ should not appear under the category of the Rights of Man. The fulfilment of

basic collective needs, however important, does not have a place within the definition of Human

Rights but is a consequence of compliance with those rights.

Perspectives – the vertical and the horizontal. Apart from the dilemma of what and whom do

human rights protect, there is another important question: when should one call upon these rights?

The reason for the creation and development of the concept of human rights was the weakness of

the individual in the face of an organised and omnipotent state. The classic, or ‘vertical’

approach, was to demand that individuals be protected from their own state through the medium

of an authority stemming from international covenants. This, however, begs the question whether

or not an individual is equally powerless, in certain situations, vis-à-vis other people, as he is in

relation to the state. This understanding of human rights is called the ‘horizontal perspective’, and

its legitimacy is especially referred to in relation to individuals who, for reasons not of their own

making, are subject to discrimination. Traditional community structures may be no less

oppressive than the organised state apparatus. The same applies to relationships on the employer-

employee level, or to the influence on the lives of individual people of an organisation which has

considerable capital at its disposal. A state which ignored instances of breach of the inherent

human rights of one citizen by another would have avoided responsibility in the classic, vertical

approach. And yet, ensuring such protection is one of the state’s basic tasks. If the state does not

protect the rights of the individual adequately, then there has to be a possibility of appeal on the

grounds of human rights. This should, however, only apply in situations where the stronger party

denies the basic freedoms and rights of the weaker parties, or of dependant parties. Protection in

the form of human rights should not be applied to disputes in which the two parties are equal. The

basic rights of an individual in the state, and thereby also in the community, guarantee wider

application of such protection than simply in relation to the apparatus of the state.

Cultural concepts. Human rights were not created in a vacuum – in order to ensure that they

would become universal norms, it was essential to reconcile many existing concepts. The place of

an individual in a community was dependent on the culture and the power structure in force. The

Anglo-American concept accentuates an individualistic approach to the rights of the individual,

while Europeans stress the importance of the responsibility of states and communities for the

realisation of humanitarian ideals. Asian theories, which have frequently remained unchanged for

centuries, stress that the success of the individual depends on the common good. African

tradition, on the other hand, is based on principles of solidarity, and the lives and fate of man are

subject to the life of the social group. These examples demonstrate that, apart from the European-

Atlantic culture, the realisation of human rights is more relevant to collective rights than to those

of the individual.

Special protection. A further dilemma was the recognition of the need for more complex

monitoring of those groups which could not speak up for their own protection. Demand for the

classification of the rights of children, as a specific form of human rights, did not appear until

after the Second World War, although the recognition of the rights themselves was already in

existence. The Polish writer and pedagogue, Janusz Korczak, had already called for the treatment

of children as individuals before the war, stipulating that they should be granted equal rights to

those of adults. In 1946, again on the initiative of a Pole – Dr. Ludwik Rajchman – the first

international organisation for the protection of children’s rights was established; this was the

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Poland was to play yet another significant role in the

development of laws relating to children, officially originating and presenting a draft proposal of

a Convention on the Right of the Child to the UN. This was finally ratified on 20 November

1989. Another example of the successful battle for special forms of protection was the 2006 UN

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The contents of this convention define the

minimum standards which national legislators should apply in order to ensure the protection of

persons suffering from disabilities.

The history of human rights is a history of concepts and of disputes. Accusations of idealism and

impracticality have always appeared whenever there has been discussion about legalising

something which is very basic. To English conservatists, reference to rights resulting from the

very fact of being human seemed unworthy of a gentleman. Communists considered them to be

an antidote to a ‘bourgeois’ conscience. Followers of many religions viewed such laws as

competition in the field of moral imperatives. And so, human rights took shape within a

continuous process where divergent opinions, political fashions and historical experiences

clashed with each other.

The rights of Man are described as rights stemming from the very fact of being human. They give

a guarantee of inviolable autonomy to the individual and set standards for the protection of

human dignity. The central concepts around which such an idea could evolve were dignity and

equality. The history of human rights is a history of limitation of power and expansion of the

individual’s area of freedom, to which the state must not have access. It was not until powerful

20th Century ideologies raised their barbaric heads that the human race came to recognise the

necessity for official classification of these rights, confirming that they apply to every human

being without exception, It was a fear of the return of such ideologies that provided the impetus

to build a suitably strong world-wide consensus on human rights. Before this happened, however,

human rights had not ventured beyond the realms of individual aspirations and theoretical

discussion.

The laborious process of breaking down a power-based hierarchical society, which excluded any

compromise towards those who were subject to that power, had continued for centuries.

Hindsight reveals that one should demand human rights not only as a defence against the

apparatus of power but, above all, as a defence against oppression and discrimination on the part

of other human beings.

Human dignity in the ancient world

The philosophy of ancient Greece already began to recognise that every individual had inherent

rights. This came about despite the fact that the state, as perceived by the people of those times,

was at one with its citizen and that the citizen, by conforming to the laws of the state and

participating in public matters, held a guarantee of his personal freedom. Nonetheless, such

security did not apply to foreigners and to the enslaved. The Sophists contended – despite the

principles of the time – that the primordial character of natural laws could justify disobedience to

a worldly state, where such a state caused a disturbance to the natural order. In creating its

philosophy, Greek civilisation freed the human mind from tribal morality and replaced it with a

humanist approach to reasoning.

The Roman Empire deepened social divides, continuing to apply the criteria of state, citizenship,

and of family status. The Stoics of the period stressed the role of human dignity and the need to

preserve it. They claimed that an individual’s freedom of thought was a virtue which even a slave

can possess, and a Roman – lose. They were the first to reach the conclusion that people are

basically equal. Time was to show that the idea of inalienable human rights would owe its

development to those philosophers and trends of thought which placed freedom at the centre of

their deliberations. Similar accents, in the most part derived from the teachings of the Stoics,

were to be accepted by the early Christians. The new faith, whose followers of their own free will

placed themselves beyond the earthly state, stressed the equality of all people before their

Creator, and that human dignity followed naturally since Man had been created in God’s own

image. It also defined the creation and furtherance of a steadfast human community based on

higher values. The sect-like nature of early Christianity underwent a diametrical change towards

the end of the Roman Empire, when this faith achieved the rank of a state religion.

Paradoxically, however, the development of Christianity and the growing strength of the papacy

allowed for a doctrinal justification of the limitation of secular rule. As the papacy grew in

strength, aiming for supremacy over secular rule, so – in line with the theory of Peter’s two

swords – it sanctioned the division between religion (the spiritual) and public matters (the

temporal), even in relation to the minds of its followers.

The Middle Ages – regression or a new chapter?

The battles and friction arising from the newly-forming social hierarchy of early feudalism led to

a situation where weakened monarchs were forced to put their seal to laws limiting their own

power which, until then, had been absolute. The provisions of the Great Charter of the Liberties

of England, or Magna Carta (Magna Charta Libertatum) signed in 1215 were based on a specific

agreement between the monarch, King John Lackland, and the English noblemen and clergy. The

King ceremonially and formally undertook to observe the defined rights of ‘all freemen’, which

allowed the signatories to withdraw their obedience if these laws were breached. Thus limited,

the King’s authority was forced into a framework of a social order, against which his own

authority was powerless.

In mediaeval Europe, the idea of granting equal rights to all, without regard for external aspects,

and applying humanity as the sole criterium, was contrary to the social and religious order.

Despite the contemporary climate of the epoch, there were some who distinguished themselves in

successfully speaking up for the basic rights of the weaker members of the community. One such

personality was Paweł Włodkowic, the Rector of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. At the

Ecumenical Council in Constance in 1415, speaking as an advocate of the policies of the Polish

King in his dispute with the Teutonic Order, he stated that “all laws, namely natural law, God’s

law, canon and civil law, stand against the oppressor [the Teutonic Order] in support of the rights

of the pagan peoples, who wish to live in peace.” The question of humanitarianism in relation to

pagans was a matter which was to confront the Western world a century later, during the era of

geographical exploration and the exploitation of the New World. The Spanish Dominican friar,

Bartolomé de Las Casas, was virtually alone among the conquistadores in demanding that the

rights of the indigenous population be respected on a par with the rights of Christians. In his

journal, written in 1516, he noted: “...these Indians are human beings, they are free and they have

the right to be treated as both human beings and as free men.”

Freedom, equality and revolution

The Age of Enlightenment brought new philosophies of enormous importance to the problem of

the recognition of human rights – as we understand them today. It also brought about the

popularisation of the concept of liberty and freedom, voiced by the great thinkers of the epoch,

and which was to spark off the events which followed. Changes to the social order kindled by the

start of the industrial revolution, increasing requirements for acceptance of differences resulting

from reformatory movements in the Catholic Church, together with an increased political

awareness all contributed to a proliferation of literature devoted to the rights of the individual and

the individual’s relationship with the state.

The concept of inherent, inviolable rights, due to all people simply because they are all human

beings, which had its advocates before the Age of Enlightenment, now began to expand and to

break free from the religious context. Absolute power, as practised by more and more royal courts

in Europe, had to come face to face with a society which was becoming increasingly aware. The

struggle brought about by the rivalry between the English king and parliament in the period

1642–51, and during the Glorious Revolution of 1688, gave specific meaning to the issue of the

rights of the individual. The period of struggle with the absolutist practices of the Catholic Stuart

dynasty finally came to an end with the accession of a new king, William III of Orange, and the

passing of the Bill of Rights in 1689. The Bill of Rights stated that the monarch should seek the

consent of the people through their representatives and it thus established a constitutional

monarchy.

It was England, too, which provided the arena for John Locke – one of the leading exponents of

political philosophy in the Age of Enlightenment. Locke questioned the established interpretation

of social order. He argued against the theory that the king was the father of all his subjects and

pioneered the concept of a social contract, claiming that only by entering into a contract could

people guarantee each other respect for their primary rights, assigning exercise of some aspects to

the state and leaving other parts to their own autonomy. Such a contract could be terminated if the

rights and freedoms were not respected by the state. From those in power he demanded the right

to personal freedom, religious tolerance and the participation of society in taking decisions of

state. Locke’s theories became a basis for a liberal trend which aimed to temper the power of the

monarchy, limiting it by a constitution and assuring the individual of the right to life, freedom

and ownership of property.

Locke’s ideas did not have a marked influence on English society although they were

permanently incorporated into the programme of the Whig party. His philosophy was to

have a profound effect in other circumstances – when the people in the colonies on the

other side of the Atlantic Ocean revolted against the English king. Rebellion, sparked by

a desire for independence, broke out in the thirteen colonies of North America and led to

an attempt to introduce Republican ideas and Enlightenment values. Remote from

ossified Europe, the colonists were able to establish a new society, a society for which the

right to life, liberty and possessions formed the very foundation of the newly established

republic. Already in 1776 the Virginia Declaration of Rights proclaimed that Man has

inherent basic rights – to life, liberty and property. Once such a society had been

established it became impossible to revoke any of the rights by any form of convention,

either in the present, or for future generations. A month later the Declaration of

Independence repeated the guarantees set by its predecessor. It pronounced that that “all

men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable

Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. The 1787

Constitution of the United States of America, on its part, was supplemented by

guarantees of the rights and duties of the individual in relation to the state. This took the

form of 10 amendments, added to the Constitution in 1791 during the ratification

procedure. These 10 amendments were known collectively as the Bill of Rights and

guaranteed American citizens the right to freedom of religion, to a free press, freedom of

speech and free assembly, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure of property, as

well as the right to a fair trial before a court of law.

The American Revolution limited its declarations and guarantees, however, solely to those people

who wanted to partake in the creation of the new republic. The event which was to prove a

breakthrough for the concept of human rights was the French Revolution of 1789. The

breakthrough itself was in the revolutionaries’ aspirations to change the social order worldwide.

The leading thinkers who influenced the revolutionaries were the Baron de Montesquieu and the

son of a watchmaker from Geneva – Jean Jacques Rousseau. Their ideas were based on the

rationalism of the human individual, the consequent inherent natural rights of all Men, the theory

of a social contract and the necessity for a tripartite division of power. These were to be

implemented under the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, passed by the French

National Constituent Assembly on 28 August 1789. This Declaration was the first step towards

the future formulation of the republican constitution.

It was universally accepted that one of the main reasons for the despotism of the authorities of the

time was the ignorance of the majority of society as to its natural rights. This situation was to

change once they were officially defined and codified. It should be noted that the Declaration was

the first law which referred to the rights and duties of all peoples, and was not limited to the

inhabitants of a single country or single group of citizens. Yet despite its highly democratic

character – for the time – there was no place in it for women or for slaves. Activists campaigning

for the rights of women were even considered to be dangerous radicals. The announcement of the

Declaration of the Rights of Women and Female Citizens in 1791 led Olympe de Gouges to the

guillotine. Nor was the voice of Mary Wollstonecraft, an English writer and advocate of women’s

rights, given hearing when, in one of her works, she argued in favour of equal access to education

for both sexes.

The Republic of Poland, whose manner of rule was an unusual one in the European context, did

not lag behind with its ideas. “Taking advantage of the specific period in which Europe finds

itself and of this waning hour…” the Polish voice of Enlightenment found formal expression in

the ‘Government Act’ of 1791 passed by the Great Sejm and known as the Constitution of 3 May.

Transforming the system of government of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the

Constitution introduced a tripartite method of government, guaranteed freedom of speech and

religion, recognised the independence of both the nobility (szlachta) and the bourgeoisie, and

placed the peasants under the protection of the state. Unfortunately, the course of history did not

allow the Constitution to bring all its provisions into force and it remained a partially finished

document. One of its authors, Hugo Kołłątaj, advocated the approval of its second part which

would be a ‘moral constitution’ modelled on the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of

the Citizen.

The end of the world of idealism

After the Napoleonic interlude, the French Revolution lost its intellectual impetus, particularly in

the order established by the victorious monarchies. The regression in human rights did not apply

solely to the ‘real politic’ of states. Theoreticians and philosophers also began to treat human

rights as a naïveté of a bygone age and an unnecessary dogmatism. They decided that an

improvement in the position of the individual in relation to the state would be better guaranteed

by economic regulation, and that the place of ephemeral idealism should be taken by scientific

positivism. Nonetheless, this attitude did also provide certain positive effects. The new society

which emerged after the industrial revolution began to benefit from an ever increasing range of

economic and social safeguards (such as Bismarck’s social insurance programme). The second

half of the 19th Century saw the formation of an international humanitarian law, which resulted in

various regulations relating to the rights of the individual in the event of armed conflicts. These

treaties were based on the principle of mutuality being mandatory on all signatories (the Geneva

Convention of 1864 and 1929 and the establishment of the International Red Cross in 1863). The

end of the century was also marked by the victory of the first worldwide campaigns in the

struggle for the human rights of people oppressed under colonialism. In 1904 Edmund Morel and

Roger Casement shocked public opinion with a cleverly organised campaign against the crimes

perpetrated by officials of the Belgian King, Leopold II, in the ‘Congo Free State’.

The general decline of the concept of human rights in the 19 th Century did not apply to the

struggle for the rights of women. In the 1850s, American women’s movements managed to

achieve a range of changes in matters such as inheritance law and the right of women to control

their own property, and these led to the formulation of subsequent, more politically orientated,

demands. The granting of electoral rights to women, in accordance with the demands of the

suffragette movement, was the most significant achievement in human rights at the close of the

19th and beginning of the 20th Centuries (New Zealand 1893, Finland 1906, Poland 1918, Great

Britain 1928).

The end of the First World War brought independence to Poland after more than a century of

partition between Russia, Prussia and Austria. The re-establishment of the Polish state was the

culmination of the dream of many generations of Poles who had fought for the freedom of the

nation. Despite ethnic and religious differences, this was the Polish people’s own country where

they would not be subject to discrimination by invading powers and – by contrast – this new state

guaranteed the basic rights of all its citizens. Guarantees of respect for the rights of minorities

had, in fact, been one of the conditions for the recognition of the independence of Central

European countries in the Treaty of Versailles. The Polish March Constitution of 1921,

formulated in liberal terms, contained a vast catalogue of civic rights and responsibilities, which

fully guaranteed the autonomy of the individual versus the state. It was also one of the first

constitutions in the world to grant women active and passive voting rights. Further, it contained

realistic guarantees of respect for civic rights, such as prohibition of preventive censorship and

the right of ethnic minorities to representation in parliament. A subsequent fundamental

instrument, the April Constitution of 1935, was in keeping with the authoritarian spirit of the

times. It replaced the rights of the individual with the over-riding collective interest in the form of

the state. Provisions concerning rights of individuals were diffused and did not form a separate

catalogue. It was the ‘common good’ rather than the rights of other individuals which was to be

the factor limiting liberty. In practice, this ‘common good’ was open to interpretation.

The era of crematoria and gas chambers

The horrors of the First World War did not provide Europe with a turning point in the question of

human rights. Attempts were made to strengthen international cooperation in order to prevent

future wars. One such endeavour was the establishment of the League of Nations; however, its

duties were limited to mediation in disputes between countries. The organisation had no legal

power to exert an influence on governments. Despite this, the majority of western European

countries, whose systems of government had a centuries’ old tradition, aspired to the label of a

law-abiding state. Unfortunately, the failure of the order established by the Versailles Treaty and

the economic crisis which gripped the entire world gave birth to ideologies which were a direct

negation of liberty, the right to life and personal freedom and to freedom of speech. These

ideologies maintained that the good of the ‘Nation’ depended on resignation from human rights

and on order based on legalised inequality and aggression. Waves of authoritarian rule of

differing degrees affected most of Europe in the 1930s. But it was the changes on the political

scene in the defeated power – the German Republic – which were to have the most dire

consequences. The economic and political crises, and the resentment caused by the humiliating

terms of capitulation following the recent war, resulted in the German people voting for National

Socialist (NSDAP) rule in the 1933 elections. Three months after the successful election, in the

terror which followed the Reichstag fire, the Nazis managed to force through a vote giving a

mandate for extraordinary powers allowing changes to the constitution without the control of

parliament. These powers were immediately put into effect to suspend all civic liberties and

became the foundation for the most horrendous totalitarian system in history.

When considering the basic Right of Man, which no authority or society shall breach, it is worth

examining the manner in which – entirely legally – the whole process of denial of basic human

rights was effected during that period. Some time before the idea of the ‘final solution to the

Jewish question’ had taken hold in the minds of Nazi followers, systematic exclusion of Jews

from various aspects of economic and public life had already been put in motion, and then finally

they were excluded from Reich citizenship. The long list of anti-Jewish legal instruments was

launched – after just one month of Nazi rule – with the Law for the Restoration of the

Professional Civil Service, which excluded Jews from public service. Next, the door to the

professions was barred to them, and their access to higher education restricted. Subsequent years

saw Jews being barred from military service, from practicing the profession of teacher, veterinary

surgeon, tax advisor and arms dealer. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 finally revealed the character

of the new National Socialist Reich. The law on purity of race penalised marriage between people

of other ‘races’ and it was recommended that existing marriages be annulled. These most drastic

regulations were accompanied by minor but no less humiliating restrictions: from the ban on

changing Jewish surnames to non-Jewish ones, to the necessity of adding the first names ‘Israel’

or ‘Sarah’ to names which sounded ‘too Aryan’; from being forbidden to breed carrier pigeons to

a ban on possessing a radio or a motor car. The requirement that the letter ‘J’ be stamped in

personal identity documents belonging to persons with a Jewish background made it all the easier

to accept the later stigmatisation of Jews by forcing them to wear the Star of David. These and

similar regulations made it all the easier to confine these people in ghettoes or to deprive them of

their freedom in later years. And thus, gradually, society began to automatically accept the

extermination of its fellow citizens.

An individual whose rights were trampled by the entire apparatus of state, to the accompanying

passivity of the silent majority, had no legal redress or possibility of expressing his or her

opposition. There were, however, some attempts to overcome this impotence. The League of

Nations had been set up for the purpose of, amongst others, protecting ethnic minorities from the

discriminatory practices of nationalist states. Franz Bernheim (1899–1990), a German Jew living

in German Upper Silesia was deprived of his job in 1933 on the strength of the discriminatory

laws. He countered this by applying to the League of Nations with a complaint against the

practices of the German government. In his application, he cited a breach of the Polish-German

Convention of 1922 concerning protection for the ethnic minorities in Upper Silesia. After a long

and difficult legal battle, the Council of the League of Nations demanded that the German

government reinstate the rights of minorities in the territories of Upper Silesia – and only in

Upper Silesia because the Convention only referred to those territories. Berlin, which at the time

was very mindful of its international relations, toned down its discriminatory regime for that

single province, as a result of which the Silesian Jews did not have to endure Nazi repressions

until 1937. Meanwhile, the weakness of the Convention with regard to the protection of human

rights aroused an interest in the approval of a universal set of laws. The Polish Delegates,

including Professor Rafał Lemkin (who was later to coin the phrase ‘genocide’), presented a draft

resolution describing the universal rights of national minorities. The Council of the League of

Nations, however, approved the document in a considerably neutralised version.

A new beginning for human rights

The outbreak of war made the international community realise the cost of a lack of a supra-

national system of security and protection of human dignity. The need for such changes was

noted just after the attack on Poland in September 1939. The spread of military action to the

entire world resulted in the allied powers adopting human rights as one of the main motives for

continued armed action. In affirmation, the Allies signed the Atlantic Charter in 1941. Further

documents followed – the 1942 United Nations Declaration and the 1945 United Nations Charter

stressed the necessity of establishing a universal catalogue of rights, based on the tradition of the

Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

The reason for the return of these concepts in their 17 th Century form was the unfathomable evil

which Nazism had unleashed on the world. Never in the current world order had the speed and

ease of negation of fundamental rights by a civilised European nation seemed possible, nor had

crimes been legally committed by what was, after all, a democratically elected government. The

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed in 1948 following a resolution of the General

Assembly of the United Nations Organisation (established in 1945), referred to this in its

preamble in the following terms: “Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have

resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind…”. At the same time,

it established a completely new standard in the worldwide system of protection of the individual.

For the first time, there was a truly universal law, approved by countries from every continent,

with different political systems and cultural traditions. Nonetheless, it was most strongly

influenced by western ideas on natural rights and concentration on the rights of the individual.

This was made possible by avoidance of discussion about the theoretical, ethical, philosophical

and religious bases for these rights. Therefore, the question of grounds for the provisions

contained in the Declaration had to give way to their aptness, as evidenced by historical

experience.

Unlike the League of Nations, however, the United Nations did not have a specific instrument

enabling individuals to complain about breaches of human rights. The lack of any form of

pressure on governments meant that the Declaration’s main function was the education of society

in the spirit of the post-war philosophy on human rights, friendship and tolerance between the

United Nations. With the advent of the Cold War, any development of the human rights concept

was suspended. Discussions in the UN were to continue for another two decades, turning it into a

political forum and one of the arenas of the Cold War. A new opening came with the end of the

colonial era and with ‘Africa Year’ (1960) and, as many new members joined, the United Nations

began to expand. The so-called Third World (however controversial the expression may be

today) was awakening and countries soon realised that implementation of human rights on the

international arena provided one of the few chances to fight for a political identity.

It was not until 1966 that this struggle finally came to fruition. The acceptance of the

International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ( ICESCR ) put the final strokes to a worldwide system of

protection of human rights. Another ten years were to pass, however, before they finally became

law. At least 35 countries had to fulfil the ratification conditions in order for them to become

universally binding and this did not happen until 3 January 1976. All three documents approved

by the United Nations Organisation make up the International Human Rights Charter. The 1948

Declaration was universally considered the obligatory standard but it was not until the two

Covenants were ratified that the international system of protection of human rights achieved the

rank of a mandatory standard. The year 1976 also saw the introduction of the First Facultative

Protocol of the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights which opened the way to

lodging individual claims directly with the Human Rights Commission, once all other legal

means had been exhausted in the home country.

The International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights guaranteed specific rights to individuals

which could not be limited in any manner by any state. Yet the first article is already an exception

to an individual approach. The exception contained in this article is the right to self-determination

of nations and refers to a collective but not an individual. Subsequent terms describe the

obligations of a state in relation to its citizens. The obligations may only be limited in exceptional

circumstances and in a manner appropriate to the situation. Despite this, limitations of any sort

cannot be applied to only part of society and they certainly may not be based on any type of

discrimination.

The Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also firmly defines the set of rights

contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this case, however, states are

obligated to a much greater degree to guarantee their citizens such conditions as will allow them

to carry out their objectives and their interests. It encourages states to create suitable legal

conditions enabling their citizens to fulfil their right to employment and, above all, to ensure their

just rights to association in trade unions, the right to strike, the right to health care, social security

and also the right to free education. The division into the above two covenants was a result of the

diversity of paths leading to the fulfilment of the rights contained in each of them.

Europe, whilst not opting out of the development of the UN structures, developed its own

specialised mechanism for the protection of the rights of the individual. In 1950, the European

Council, as part of the system, established the European Convention on Human Rights which was

ratified and became law in 1953. Its objective was to guarantee the majority of the provisions of

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, within the territory of the European member states.

And it was on this basis that the European Human Rights Tribunal was established – currently the

most effective instrument in pursuing human rights claims once all national means have been

exhausted.

The signing of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (the

Helsinki Accord) on 1 August 1975 was particularly significant for Europe. Thanks to the wide

range of signatories from both sides of the Iron Curtain, and the guarantees of respect for human

rights contained in the Accord, the document opened up a new chapter in the history of human

rights in Europe. Most importantly, it provided a breakthrough for organisations which were

struggling against the Communist régimes in Eastern Europe. They now had a specific

international law obliging governments to respect human rights, to the terms of which they could

refer. The first opposition group in the Eastern bloc calling upon the authorities to respect the

provisions of the Helsinki Accords, was set up in the USSR. This was the Moscow Helsinki

Watch Group, established in 1976 by a group of dissidents led by Andrei Sakharov. The

following year saw the establishment of the analogous Ukrainian Helsinki Group. Supporters of

the signatories of Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia demanded that human rights determined by

international conventions be respected.

The 1970s were a turning point for defenders of human rights throughout the world. This was

influenced by the election of Jimmy Carter, who had placed the protection of human rights at the

centre of his policies, as president of the United States of America in November 1976. President

Carter’s security advisor, Zbigniew Brzeziński, had a significant influence on the presidency and

from this moment, the West began to put pressure on Communist countries. With the return of

human rights to the centre stage of politics, non-governmental organisations began to flourish.

Amnesty International, an organisation set up in 1977 in order to bring pressure on the

Portuguese government to release political prisoners, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that

same year. There followed an avalanche of organisations fighting for international recognition,

the key ones, in order of importance being: Helsinki Watch (transformed into Human Rights

Watch), Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and the International Human Rights Law Group.

Human dignity in People’s Poland

Poland in its ‘People’s Republic’ edition was a country whose familiarity with human and civic

rights was confined to declaratory orders (Chapter VIII of the Constitution of the Polish People’s

Republic dated 1952) and to the rule of law as perceived from a People’s perspective. During the

Stalinist period, Poland made use of all possible totalitarian means to strip its citizens of their

dignity, including liquidation, murder by decree and other forms of harassment. Later, these

repressions eased but the other instruments of an authoritative power remained: lack of freedom

of speech, preventative censorship, breach of confidentiality of private correspondence, and

imprisonment for political beliefs. These were often accompanied by bodily harm. Other

repressive measures, such as interference in freedom of religious beliefs, in freedom of

movement, and invigilation by secret services were to continue almost to the end of Communist

rule. The social demands of the citizens of the Polish People’s Republic (PRL) were also never

met, despite the socialist and pro-worker nature of the system declared by those in power. From

the end of the Second World War to 1989, social opposition never really abated although the last

independent political party – PSL (the Polish Peasants’ Party) – had already ceased to function in

1947, following rigged elections.

It was only after acceptance of the Helsinki Accords and demands for the ratification of the

International Charter on Human Rights that the opposition managed to draw up a suitable form of

struggle against the régime. The spark which led to the setting up of the first openly active

organisation was the desire to protect the workers who had suffered repression as a result of

strikes and street protests in Radom, Ursus and Płock in June 1976. And it was with this in mind

that the Workers’ Defence Committee (KOR) was established, its members comprising students

and members of the intelligentsia, led by Jacek Kuroń and Karol Modzelewski. The very name of

the organisation was a direct challenge to the authorities who for decades had ruled the country

under the banner of the Polish United Workers’ Party. In its appeal, announcing to the authorities

the establishment of an open auxiliary organisation, the members of KOR spoke out on behalf of

the workers, referring directly to human rights, as laid out in international law and in current

Polish law. Over the next years, the Committee was transformed into the ‘KOR’ Social Self-

Defence Committee, including in its programme the fight for institutional recognition of civic

rights and freedom, and support and protection for social initiatives seeking to defend human and

civic rights. The Committee’s activities formed a precedence – particularly in relation to its

openness – all members of the Committee were known by name and surname and, in addition,

their telephone numbers were public knowledge. Their objectives were primarily concerned with

demands for an amnesty for all detained workers, collection and distribution of funds by way of

financial help for their families, and organisation of legal aid.

Influenced by the increasing prestige of the concept of human rights in the Western world, the

democratic opposition in Poland came to the conclusion that it was essential to put a bigger stress

on human rights as the core of the Committee’s programme. On 25 March 1977, part of the

opposition community, led by Leszek Moczulski, set up (ROPCiO) – a Movement for the

Defence of Human and Civic Rights. In the Appeal to the Polish People and in their declarations,

the founders stressed that, as a social movement, they intend to cooperate with the authorities in

putting civic rights into effect, and also in changing those standards which do not comply with the

United Nations Charter. They also declared that they intended to make regular reports to the UN

regarding the status of compliance with human rights in the Polish People’s Republic. With the

failure of ROPCiO, a similar programme was adopted by two organisations which took its place:

RMP – Young Poland Movement and KPN – Confederation of an Independent Poland.

Successive rounds of negotiations within the framework of the Organisation of Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) during the period 1979/80 led to a series of understandings which

the undercover Helsinki Committee tried to implement in Poland. The Committee prepared a

report on the human rights situation in Poland and put this forward at the next round of OSCE

talks in Madrid in 1980. The report had a strong impact on the conference. It contained a

description of the practices of the state apparatus, attesting to its totalitarian nature. The majority

of the report was devoted to invigilation practices and excesses committed by the judiciary,

showing the latter to be an ‘obedient instrument at the disposal of the Party leadership’.

The first decade of the modern opposition brought an enormous influence on awareness of

breaches of natural rights and the necessity of public disapproval of the situation. The continued

evolvement of freedom movements firmly demonstrates the practical aspect of support for the

concepts of inalienable rights. The next stage was then mostly concerned with the struggle not

just for political rights, for freedom and independence but – most importantly – for social rights.

The Independent Self-governing Trade Union “Solidarność”, comprising both workers and

members of the intelligentsia, created a 10-million strong movement – the authorities had no

option but to sanction it. The régime could no longer continue to ignore the people and a

breakthrough was inevitable. Not even an attempt to stifle the public’s enthusiasm with the aid of

a military coup (Martial Law, 1981-1983) could change matters. The slow process of dismantling

the apparatus of fear now began. The political transformation in 1989 brought a radical

improvement to the question of human rights in Poland and was the beginning of the end of

Communist régimes in Eastern Europe.

Human Rights in a free Poland

The degree of respect for human rights in today’s Poland is markedly higher than it was pre-1989.

A democratic state with a rule of law is a place where each individual can be free of excessive

interference in his autonomy and where he is assured of conditions which will enable the

realisation of his personal goals and passions. However, while an authoritarian state, by

definition, limits human rights, the democratic state does not automatically give a full guarantee

that they will be respected. Although the Constitution of the new Polish state was not formulated

until 1997, from the very start the democratically chosen authorities stressed their desire to take

an active part in the worldwide system of protection of human rights and to ensure that it was

implemented in Poland. The key provisions of the Polish People’s Republic were already

amended in 1989, and Poland became a member of the Council of Europe in 1991, and a

signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights in 1993. Chapter II of the Constitution

of the Republic of Poland, which became law on 17 October 1997, contained regulations

determining “the freedoms, rights and duties of Man and of the Citizen”. The catalogue refers to

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dating back to 1948, and to its heritage. The

Constitution of the III Republic of Poland recognised the natural and inalienable dignity of Man,

and the protection of his freedom as being the very foundation of all values. The spirit of human

rights can also be seen in the description of the basic tasks of the state, and their preservation is

placed alongside the protection of independence and the defence of Poland’s territory. To this

end, in addition to the general system of justice, the Constitution appoints several institutions,

such as the Constitutional Tribunal, the State Tribunal and the Civic Rights Ombudsman to act on

behalf of the preservation of human rights.

The ability to complain to the Civic Rights’ Ombudsman is one of the main legal instruments

available to Polish citizens who can thereby signal any breach of their basic rights should state

institutions prove inadequate. The Ombudsman’s integrity and lack of dependence on any other

institution in Poland ensures its efficacy, although it is sometimes criticised for its close ties with

parliament. Nonetheless, as in most democratic countries, it is mainly non-governmental

organisations (NGOs) which carry out the majority of work in the battle to preserve standards of

human rights. An important source of information about the situation in Poland are the reports

and public campaigns run by organisations such as Amnesty International or Human Rights

Watch, which are branches of international organisations, as well as the activities of the Helsinki

Human Rights Foundation which is concerned with education and the monitoring of public

institutions, and the Halina Nieć Legal Aid Centre which gives legal advice on human rights free

of charge, and also La Strada – an organisation dealing with the problems of human trafficking.

A recurrent theme in the reports concerning Poland is the inadequate protection of the rights of

prisoners and breaches of privacy in penitentiary institutions. Another serious problem is that of

misuse of the process of temporary arrest by the Polish prosecution service, with people being

frequently detained for minor offences which do not merit this type of preventive measure. The

reports also mention that the efficiency of Polish state institutions leave much to be desired and

are a cause of breach of social rights such as the right to health care and the right to education.

The events of 11 September 2001 and the resultant escalation of the ‘war on terrorism’, added to

the global human rights crisis, and the question of secret CIA prisons on Polish territory has been

raised in this context. Serious evidence indicates that, during the period 2002–2003, imprisoned

Al-Quaida members were detained on a base in Stare Kiejkuty, and were tortured. The

Constitution was by-passed allowing foreign citizens to be detained on Polish soil in an area

which was out of the jurisdiction of the Polish authorities. This matter evoked strong public

criticism both in Poland and abroad.

The matter of preservation of human rights within the context of the war on terrorism is one of

the greatest challenges to face Human Rights since the cold war. An increased feeling of security

within the community comes at the cost of many rights and limitations of the freedom of

individuals. The challenge is a particularly difficult one because, under the pretext of a threat to

security, those in power can very easily cross the fine line between security and interference in

the autonomy of the individual.

This opens up yet another aspect of the over-activity of the state with regard to our ‘security’. As

the increasing development of technology allows ever more efficient means of street surveillance

and collection of personal data, health data etc., the boundaries of the right to privacy and

anonymity are beginning to converge dangerously close. World globalisation is also creating new

threats, different to those of authoritarian states. Supranational corporations are a growing source

of power and often have more means at their disposal than many a state. Human rights, which

until now have concentrated on protecting the individual from the state, must also be protected to

the same degree from corporations. And yet these organisations, guided by profit, are responsible

for their actions only to their owners, while frequently successfully avoiding legal responsibility.

According to the Freedom in The World 2012 report, prepared annually by the American

Freedom House organisation, there are 195 independent states worldwide of which 87 respect the

rights of their citizens. Poland has been among the latter for many years now. The percentage of

countries maintaining accepted standards of human rights has risen from 29% to 45% since the

beginning of the 1970s but it is still too early to speak of a satisfactory leap. As Human Rights

entered the 21st Century, they stepped into a new era of development and significance on the

international stage. With the source of the greatest threats shifting from repressive, non-

democratic governments to scattered events and phenomena which manage to evade the

definitions which have been in place to date, the new challenges may well prove a crucial test.

Threats of terrorist attacks, global corporations beyond the control of law and the development of

technology could all pose a threat to the authority of international human rights. This can happen

through an arbitrary restriction of human rights in the name of the common good. As reality

becomes more complex, so it can lead to increasing relativisation of human rights. In order to

guard against this it is essential to engage in education and to increase awareness of incidences of

breach of these rights. The history of human rights has taught us that diminishing their influence

on people and on states inevitably leads to the suffering of the weakest amongst us. Each and

every one of us could find him or herself in that category.

EDUCATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

AN OUTLINE OF METHODOLOGY

Characteristics, aims, Course Leader’s qualifications.

The workshop as an example of an educational process.

Method and relevant techniques

“Be the change you wish to see in this world.” These words, attributed to Mahatma

Ghandi, could well serve as the motto of education for human rights, which assumes that

every single person – whatever his or her geographical space – can help to promote

respect for the culture of human rights through his own attitude and behaviour and, if

necessary, to take action against any breach of those rights. In practice, this means that

education for human rights concentrates simultaneously on three areas: formulation of

knowledge, attitudes and skills. Thanks to this holistic approach, there is an increased

chance that a given person will be adequately prepared (i.e. will possess the necessary

knowledge of, for instance, the history of discrimination, the human rights system etc.) to

be able to interpret values which are key to human rights (such as a sense of justice,

solidarity and responsibility) in order to undertake conscious and skilful action as and

when required (e.g. by dealing with instances of discrimination in the local community).

The origin of education for human rights is inextricably bound up with the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights (proclaimed in 1948), which stressed that providing people

around the world with education for human rights may play a meaningful role in the

process of strengthening and maintaining world peace. Nevertheless, it was to take some

four decades for these ideas to be implemented; meanwhile efforts were made to establish

a cohesive base for education for human rights, an education which itself would

encompass the values being promoted (e.g. equality, tolerance, openness), and which

would have a potential for adaptation in various educational contexts and among

communities with differing cultural and historical backgrounds. It is generally accepted

that the turning point in the history of education for human rights took place in 1993

during the United Nations Organisation World Conference on Human Rights. The effect

of the conference was to give priority to the question of education in the so-called Vienna

Declaration and Programme of Action and this led to UNO’s proclamation that the period

1995-2004 should be the ‘Decade of Education for Human Rights’. The aims of

education for human rights were formulated at the time in the following terms: “… it

should involve more than just information, it should begin a long-term process during

which people at various levels of development and from differing levels of society will

be able to learn respect for the dignity of others, and will become familiar with the means

and methods which will be instrumental in ensuring that this respect becomes enshrined

in all communities.” (UNO 49/184 dated 23 December 1994). Although the official

‘Decade of Education for Human Rights’ has ended, the process which was set in motion

during that period continues and gains momentum, and is an undoubted success.

The holistic nature of education for human rights, mentioned at the beginning of this

chapter, is to no small degree the effect of continuing interdisciplinary cooperation

between experts from various areas of expertise, including teachers, psychologists,

historians, lawyers, activists and Course Leaders, who are all working out and testing

various methodological and factual solutions which would be equally effective in the

context of both formal and informal education. The good practices thus established are

generally more frequently employed in informal education (assuming the intentional

personal and social development of a given person, notwithstanding his or her age, which

takes place beyond the formal educational system, e.g. in libraries) because the member

states of the United Nations Organisation, although obliged to do so, do not make

adequate provision for the issue of human rights in their formal systems of education (for

various reasons – from political to economic).

Literature on the subject frequently contains expert opinions voiced by sociologists,

political scientists etc., who claim that we may now speak of the empirically verifiable

correlation between the degree of knowledge of human rights and perceived civic self-

agency. Indeed, it is argued that, without education for human rights, there cannot be talk

of active, responsible and aware members of civic communities who appreciate the value

of pluralism and are able to reach compromise solutions in a civilised manner. This is

because, in the process of education for human rights, stress is laid, on the one hand, on

critical and creative thought and, on the other, on empathy. In practice, this means that,

for example, in ‘laboratory’ conditions during workshops, members of a given

community have a pretext to meet and to practice, on a dry run as it were, solving

difficult problems, to discover their own limitations or to test the degree of their own

tolerance of other people. Applying the technique of role-playing, they can feel what it is

like to be, for instance, a member of a discriminated minority or a dominant majority

which exceeds its rights. In addition, by reaching out to find the analogy between

historical events, universal mechanisms (e.g. discrimination) and actual examples from

their own lives and environment, they become more aware that they, too, can ‘be the

change they wish to see in the world’. Taking into account the fact that libraries are key

centres of local community activity, it seems particularly important to make as much use

of this potential as possible, and to ensure that librarians become workshop leaders and

that the library itself becomes an area for informal education for human rights.

History and Education for Human Rights – a joint partnership

Human rights – as we understand them today – are a canon of universal principles

established after the Second World War, which had brought a certain regression in the

development of civilisation. Lessons had to be learnt from the history of mankind and

from the dark sides of that history in particular. The mission was to attempt to restore

dignity, to underline the humanity of the individual and thereby to symbolically close the

door on that inhuman chapter. From then on it was said: NEVER AGAIN. And that faith

in Man, in his wisdom, goodness and empathy, and also in his memory, was something

quite extraordinary in the history of Mankind. History and the concept of human rights

are a joint partnership. The one without the other loses a sense of purpose. Without

understanding where we come from, we do not know who we are nor where we are

headed. Today, we now realise that NEVER AGAIN is a proposal and not an irreversible

decision. We also know that human rights are only a tool and not a ‘cure for all evils’.

However, in order to make really good use of that tool, to avoid falling into a state of

inertia or cynicism, it is essential to derive difficult consequences and to draw inspiration

from history – both the ‘major’ and the ‘minor’.

In view of its interdisciplinary nature, education for human rights provides a vast area for

creative and effective use of history in the process of raising awareness and sensitivity. In

a certain sense, it is based on methodological juggling between the historical perspective

and the ahistorical. In other words, references to history help paint a picture (also in the

literal sense, through the use of source material, for instance), demonstrating that certain

universal and timeless psychosocial mechanisms exist which have considerable influence

on the course of events. Is it, then, an exaggeration to include in education for human

rights Professor Gregory Stanton’s theory that there are eight key stages leading to

genocide? Is this knowledge which someone may find useful during periods of relative

peace? The answer is ‘yes’, particularly after detailed analysis of how apparently

innocent symptoms can lead to a process of dehumanisation which, given appropriate

circumstances, can escalate dramatically... until it is too late.

The role of education for human rights is, therefore, the building of bridges between the

present and the past, so that these universal patterns may become more tangible and

easier to interpret both in theory (in workshop conditions) and in practice (in everyday

life). This type of approach also aims to increase people’s perceptions of their own self-

efficacy. Using concrete examples, it demonstrates that, for a positive change to take

place, it sometimes takes just one person or a small group of people who chose to adopt

an active rather than passive approach and to stand up in defence of injustice or

discrimination at an appropriate moment (before it is too late). The social psychologist,

Professor Philip Zimbardo, claims that his many years of empirical research demonstrate

that this type of heroism can be learnt – that it depends on the nature of a person’s skills

and that it can and, indeed, should be consciously trained.1 Our years of involvement and

experience in running workshops and creating educational programmes for young

activists and leaders from countries around the world would appear to confirm that our

educational model – which links history with human rights in an innovative manner and

is continuously up-dated (Humanity in Action24) – brings unusual and long-term results.

Educational projects whose main aim is education for human rights generally concentrate

on history and philosophy, on changing paradigms and practices. In addition, they are

constructed in such a manner as to stress those elements which workshop or training

course participants consider to be pertinent from the perspective of their own life

experiences and the world in which they live ‘here and now’. However, in order to gain

an understanding and to grasp the real meaning, it is essential to include historical

knowledge in any such educational process. Looking at the past and analysing the most

dramatic and tragic examples of breach of human rights often proves to be a particularly

traumatic experience for participants in such educational processes and can lead to a

feeling of helplessness. On the other hand, education for human rights, combined with

history, aims to motivate people to become active and aware citizens whose activities

1 More information can be found at: www.heroicimagination.org2 More information can be found at: www.humanityinaction.org

help to propagate and support social justice. Nonetheless, it must be noted that there is no

single recipe for the creation of an ideal educational model or programme which would

serve to attain the above mentioned aims. And that is why we should search for

inspiration and look to other people’s experiences.

In the case of the international organisation Humanity in Action (HIA), which has been

involved in educating young activists in the area of human rights for over 15 years, it is

possible to identify several important elements which contribute to the success of this

particular educational model. HIA’s mission is to build and support a worldwide

community of leaders and activists who are engaged in human rights activities. All the

educational projects and programmes run by HIA as part of this mission rely on: linking

theory with practice and with the history of human rights, mixed international participant

groups, inter-cultural dialogue, comparative perspectives in historical analysis with

particular attention to differing national historical narratives, and continuity of the

educational process through internet activity, after completion of a given project. The

reference point for an analysis of human rights in the historical perspective is the Second

World War and the Holocaust. Building bridges between the present and the past takes

place, above all, through learning about individual experiences (including the accounts of

people who have been witnesses to history in the making), and then analysing them in the

context of the socio-economic realities of a given country (one where HIA is active, i.e.

Bosnia and Hercegovina, Denmark, France, Holland, Germany, Poland, or the United

States of America) and of more universal mechanisms like discrimination, exclusion etc.

This knowledge is then used by the participants to create individual so-called ‘action

projects’ which aim to bring about changes – however small – in the participants’ own

communities. This approach serves to break down passivity and sense of helplessness,

while at the same time taking on board – to a certain degree at least – the lessons of

history.

The role and tasks of the Course Leader, or Trainer, in informal

education for Human Rights

Regardless of the educational context (i.e. subject matter, target group, motivational

methods, or time and place of the operation) the basic task facing the Course Leader in

informal education for human rights remains the same: working interactively and as part

of the team, he or she must inspire participants to gain and further their knowledge and

develop skills, and to contribute to the promotion/strengthening of pro-social and civic

attitudes. The implementation of these goals can be achieved in countless ways which are

dependant on the specific conditions of the given training course. That is why the

creation of workshops and training courses within the framework of informal education

for human rights can be said to be individually tailored. The degree of efficacy of the

educational process depends, on one hand, on a ‘made to measure’ scenario with clear

goals, aptly chosen methods and interesting and inspiring exercises and, on the other

hand, on the Course Leader/Trainer who controls the entire process – acting as a catalyst

for ideas and deliberation, as well as being a neutral guide who ensures support for the

equality and individualism of the participants. In other words, this is not just about

theoretical deliberation as to the essence of equality and pluralism, on the one hand, and

the essence of discrimination, marginalisation and breach of democratic freedoms on the

other. It is also about using the workshop as a ‘mini-laboratory’ to implement the

principles underlying an open civic society. In practice, this means that each workshop

participant has an opportunity to speak out while at the same time respecting the rights

and freedoms of other people and especially the right to a wide variety of opinions. That

is why the starting point should be the creation of a ‘contract’ with the given group which

defines the basic principles for cooperation during the training period. From the very

commencement of the workshops to their conclusion, the Course Leader should, in a non-

invasive manner, ensure that every single participant takes an active part in the workshop

on an even footing with the others. The workshop should also be structured and run in

such a way as to make each participant feel jointly responsible for the quality of the

educational process. Although the Course Leader holds authority by virtue of his/her

position as Course Leader, pulling rank or dominance has no place during the course.

This is a very crucial aspect of the Course Leader’s role since the workshop space should

be perceived as being sufficiently secure and friendly to encourage each participant not

only to freely voice his/her opinions on a given subject but also to share his/her feelings

and emotions. Very often the subject matter touches on difficult and controversial

questions and the Course Leader must be prepared to diagnose potential conflicts within

the group and, if such a conflict does appear, be able to help to solve it in a constructive

manner.

The role of an effective Course Leader is a multi-faceted task. Apart from possessing

concrete knowledge, an effective Course Leader should be open, flexible and possess a

creative attitude because workshop scenarios sometimes trigger off an unforeseen turn of

event which requires quick thinking in order to ensure that the aims of the workshop are

ultimately met. For this reason workshops are generally run by two Trainers. It is

sometimes said that the role of the Trainer, or Course Leader, requires constant self-

development – both as an expert and, above all, as a person. That is why a large part of

the continuous development of the art of the Trainer is concerned with interpersonal and

supervisory training, which aims to identify the Trainer’s own limitations, prejudices or

stereo-typing and thus to prevent them from having a negative effect on the Trainer’s

attitude or supervisory style. Although it is not possible to learn the art of training ‘on a

dry run’, it is essential to acquire a suitable portfolio of knowledge which will help to

make effective use of workshop scenarios and to manage the group process in a

competent manner throughout the duration of the workshops. The following presents, in a

nutshell, the minimum aspects of which the Trainer/Course Leader beginner should be

aware.

The Workshop as an example of an educational process

The educational process within the framework of informal education for human rights

should, a priori, ensure that participants develop and mature on three planes: knowledge,

skills and attitudes. To make this possible it is essential to set in motion the process of

learning through experience. Workshops are the training method which allows the fullest

attainment of these aims within the informal education process. The essence of the

workshop lies in its reliance on interactive educational methods which are intended to

inspire participants to joint participation and to cooperation, and also to help them to

develop critical and creative thought processes. In addition, the underlying theme of each

workshop is speaking and discussion, in other words sharing deliberations and opinions,

as well as experiences. In order to improve the quality of the educational process it is

worth concentrating on inductional teaching which assumes that participants reach the

core of a problem ‘bit by bit’ – a gradual approach to the final conclusion. This is a

particularly productive approach because the workshop formula allows drawing on, and

creative use of, participants’ intuition, as well as their previously acquired knowledge or

life experiences. When examining a specific subject, such as the rights of minorities, for

instance, the starting point should always be reference to experiences and personal events

(real experiences taken from one’s own life, or imagined as a result of role-play), as well

as the personal deliberations of participants which, on confrontation, begin to form a

greater whole – as a theory, a model or a social mechanism (e.g. the discrimination

process).

The workshop, by its very nature, is a very flexible form of training which can be

modified and tailored to concrete requirements and educational aims, or to the specific

nature of a given group (e.g. how advanced is the group in its work on a given subject, or

is the group composed of young people, adults, or is it a mixed group), and on the

technical-organisational facilities (e.g. how much time is allocated to the workshop, what

facilities do the premises offer, what equipment or teaching aids are available).

Stages of a workshop

It has been established that the scenario of a workshop relies on a three-part framework

which comprises an introduction, development and a conclusion. With the help of

various exercise modules, each of these three stages fulfils a different task in the

educational process. Successive exercises should be based on various methods and

techniques which take into account individual learning styles and a wider educational

context. Set out below are the specific aspects of each of the three workshop stages,

presented in a very condensed form.

Introduction. The basic aim of the introduction is to present the subject matter of the

workshop, to usher the participants into a secure and friendly educational experience and

to enable them to introduce themselves and to get to know each other (even if the

members of the group had known each other previously). This is also the time to make

the participants aware that the workshop space is a form of simulated reality which will

help them to look more closely at various real aspects of human rights (by enacting a

scene or role play, for example) and to gain a better understanding of complicated themes

(through discussion, among others). It should be stressed that the degree of interest and

value of this experience will depend, to a considerable extent, on their own activeness

and tolerance for the other participants. So, on the one hand, it is necessary to encourage

everyone to ask questions and to voice their thoughts and, on the other hand, to make the

participants aware that there is no obligation during any of the stages of the workshop to

speak out – if, for instance, for reasons of his own, someone does not wish to share his

opinions on a given subject, then he is free to withhold them. It is also important to stress

the rule that, should any criticism occur, it should relate to opinions or views and not to

concrete persons – this helps to maintain a constructive working atmosphere. In order

that everyone treats these rules with all seriousness and that they are adhered to, it is

worthwhile including them in a so-called contract, or workshop/training course micro-

constitution. Even if the workshops are short ones, it is still worthwhile preparing such a

contract. It is the consensual nature of the contract which makes it effective; it is a jointly

prepared document, each participant must agree to the final wording of the rules (e.g.

‘one participant speaks at a time’, or ‘we are switching off our mobile phones’). It is also

good practice for the Course Leader and each of the participants to sign the agreed

contract, and for it to be displayed in a visible place. The Course Leader should

remember that participants’ engagement throughout the workshops depends to a great

extent on whether they have been sufficiently motivated by an interesting and intriguing

introduction to work as part of a team and to enjoy joint experiences.

Development. This can consist of a couple or several modules (depending on the length

of the training course) which, with the aid of active and interactive methods and

educational multimedia tools, help to fulfil the main aims of the workshops. As to the

dynamics of the cognitive process, the workshop scenarios generally have a graded

degree of difficulty, i.e. less complicated modules (for instance those that are based on

widely known facts) come first, while the more difficult modules (such as those which

require more in-depth knowledge or skills on the part of the participants) are at the end.

Notwithstanding the degree of difficulty, however, the Course Leader should always try

to ensure that instructions are given in clear and simple language and the Course Leader

should ascertain whether everything has been understood. If, during the exercises, any

doubts should occur relating to the programme, the role of the Course Leader or Trainer

must be swift and explanations must be non-invasive (i.e. not causing a disturbance to

sub-groups). Exercises always take place during this stage of the workshops, no matter

what their duration, and these exercises are based on work in smaller sub-groups. Such

sub-groups should, if possible, be spread out so that they do not interfere with each other.

At the same time, the Course Leader should monitor the work of each sub-group on a

continuous basis, making sure that all participants have an opportunity to voice their

opinions in varying degrees. If the Course Leader notices that someone is clearly

dominating the group in a negative fashion, then he/she should intervene in a tactful

manner by posing a direct question to the less active participants, for example, or by

assigning them the role of spokesman for the sub-group (who will then present to the

entire group the conclusions or solutions reached by the sub-group and/or any comment

on the current exercise). Should any person be seen to be breaking the rules of the

contract and thereby ruining the atmosphere and the quality of the work, it is essential

that he/she be made reminded of the terms of the contract. It is also crucial for the Course

Leader Trainer to carefully manage the time allotted to various exercises and to conclude

modules on time, without either shortening or lengthening them. This is important in

order to maintain appropriate dynamics for the given educational process and, in practice,

it results in a smooth transition to subsequent stages. It is also important to ensure that

exercises which require participants to take on a specific role (based on simulated reality)

be concluded by a clear withdrawal by the participant from the role he has assumed – this

is referred to as ‘breaking the spell’. Where the situation calls for it – if, for example, the

process of ‘breaking the spell’ has not taken place and the participant needs help in

reverting to his own self – the Course Leader Trainermay promptly announce a short

(technical) break.

Conclusion. This phase of the workshop is as important as the two preceding ones and

should never be conducted in a hurry (for lack of time, for example). During this stage

two very crucial tasks take place, both in terms of emotion (as in total ‘spell breaking’)

and intellectually/cognitively (e.g. sorting out acquired knowledge and skills). This is

also the time for summarising the effect which these experiences have had on each of the

participants (by asking, for instance, what had been the biggest surprise for them, or what

important message had they learnt). Additionally, if at all possible, the Course Leader

should encourage and help with the formulation of any conclusions arising from the

workshop and which could have an effect on the everyday lives of the participants

themselves. And, finally, an assessment should be conducted – either verbally or in

writing – of the value of the workshop. This has the effect of providing constructive

feedback for the Course Leader and could include information on such matters as what

was the most successful part of the workshop, and what needs amendment or

modification. If the Course Leader thinks it appropriate, he may (but does not have to)

provide his contact details, should participants later have any further questions.

The process of group dynamics

It is true to say that, once an educational process conducted on activation methods

commences, the group begins to ‘live its own life’. Teaching by activation means that

participants set in motion a more or less conscious process of ‘co-creation’ of a

temporary community with a unique identity. As participants search for mutual synergies

and work out compromise solutions, they acquire a group sense of belonging. This

complex process, known as group dynamics or group process, plays according to its own

rules which means that certain phenomena and events occur naturally depending on the

stage of work at which the given group finds itself. The role of the Trainer is to monitor

and diagnose the group process and to consciously mould its course using various

techniques in order to enhance the quality of the educational experience and to aid the

consolidation of the given group. In order to do this effectively, the Course

Leader/Trainer must not only possess knowledge about these natural mechanisms but

must also possess relevant practical skills. The starting point for understanding how

group dynamics works is to learn about its individual phases.

Social psychology theory identifies several models which explain the successive stages of

group processes. Currently, the most popular model is the Tuckman model. It was created

by Professor Bruce Tuckman who, in the 1960s and 1970s, carried out a synthesis of the

most important elements of the theories of group dynamics and group processes.

According to this model, the development of the group can be divided into five stages

which can be repeated cyclically, depending on the length of the educational process. The

duration of the individual stages depends on various factors such as the subject of the

workshop or the number of participants, factors which may speed up or slow down the

educational process.

Stage 1 – Forming. This is specific to a group whose participants do not know each

other and who are only just beginning to work together. This stage is characterised by a

dominant sense of unease relating to the unknown – both in terms of subject matter and

in interpersonal relations. The participants do not feel secure among their new, unknown

colleagues and try to show off their better self, frequently choosing solutions which only

seem to be compromises but, in reality, do not lead to genuine integration. Since the

group as a whole does not yet possess a clear identity, there is an unmistakable tendency

to submit to the authority of the Course Leader/Trainer. In the long term, however, the

lack of authenticity in presenting opinions, emotions and attitudes does not help in

solving the tasks set successively by the Course Leader, in a creative and collective

manner. As a result, there is an accumulation of underlying pent up emotions which need

to be released.

Stage 2 – Storming, i.e. confrontation. In this process the participants are removing

their masks and are now wanting to confront each other and air their own views,

expectations and needs. At this stage, most participants concentrate their efforts on

achieving a stronger position in the group which frequently results in rivalry with other

members. This usually takes on an intense form which can be classified as a crisis or

even a conflict within the group. During this stage, the attitude of the group to the Course

Leader also changes and the group usually stops treating him/her as a reference point (as

was the case during the previous stage) and often rebels against him, for example by

attempting to undermine his authority, competency etc. It must be remembered, however,

that these are normal signs at this stage and are not motivated personally. It is not that

particular Course Leader/Trainer who is the target but the actual position of the Trainer.

Paradoxically, the fact that open confrontation of views occurs in the group means that

the participants are beginning to feel more at ease and that their confidence in each other

is growing.

Stage 3 – Norming. Put figuratively: there is unity in numbers, in other words group

identity becomes increasingly evident. The group cooperates in working out the values

and norms which indicate the common purpose and effectiveness of the given group’s

teamwork. Opposition to the Course Leader/Trainer fades because the participants are

finding their own places and roles which suit them, and leaders tend to emerge naturally.

In effect, teamwork within the group is beginning to give everyone a sense of

satisfaction.

Stage 4 – Performing. This is a period of intense work directed at solving problems as a

team. The constructive atmosphere achieved in the third stage increases the perception of

self-agency. Participants also find inspiration in the store of knowledge and skills of the

other members of the group which enables them to achieve the goals set in successive

workshops more effectively.

Stage 5 – Adjourning and transforming. Once all the tasks have been effectively

completed, there comes a moment when the group, supported by the Course Leader,

successfully reaches the finishing line. Experiences are summed up and the educational

process is concluded.

Crises

From a social psychology standpoint, crises in groups are quite natural. Their occurrence

should be accepted as being inevitable without worrying as to whether there may, or may

not, be conflicts or difficult situations in the course of a given workshop. This is a factor

which has nothing to do with a Course Leader’s degree of experience or the

attitude/maturity of the participants. Some subjects may, however, be less liable to cause

conflict while others are more likely to do so, especially themes which clearly touch on

fundamental matters of opinion or politics. Although conflicts need not necessarily occur

in every workshop, the duration of a given workshop may have an influence on the

degree of any tension which might arise. It is more likely that certain group mechanisms

will not take place during workshops of a shorter duration but it is highly probable that

they will do so in longer ones.

Difficult situations may take place at any stage of a workshop and, depending on the

nature of the situation, the Course Leader should take an active part in the given process

and use special techniques to influence the train of events. In particular, conflicts of an

interpersonal nature should not be left in the hope that they will resolve themselves. Such

interpersonal conflicts might occur between two participants, or between an individual/a

couple of participants and the rest of the group, or between a participant and the group, or

even the participant/group and the Course Leader. Should such a conflict occur, the

Course Leader should employ relevant techniques which will help the group to work the

conflict out as positively as possible, and this will lead (in the short or long term) to a

genuine consolidation of the group. Experience shows that those groups which are able to

progress skilfully through a serious crisis are later far better integrated than those groups

where the process was carried out in a clumsy manner. It is necessary to be especially

sensitive to conflicts on the participant-group level, as this could lead to exclusion of the

given person from the group which – psychologically – may later be difficult to resolve.

One of the most common aspects of a crisis situation is defiance. This can manifest itself

in the entire group and happens most often during the second stage, i.e. ‘Storming’. It

does also occur at other stages but then it is usually the effect of the negative attitude of

one or more participants. Defiance takes on various forms but it is always an attempt to

contest the course of the workshop. It sometimes occurs due to a temporary slump in

form or in motivation on the part of a participant or participants. It can also be the effect

of other, more profound, difficulties which the participant may have in dealing with the

subjects under discussion, or even the need to confront himself with his own prejudices.

In practical terms, this means that the participant/participants is undermining the

necessity to carry out a given task because of its subject matter or form of exercise.

Defiance may manifest itself in open criticism or in actions which aim to interfere in the

running of the session (e.g. being noisy, making unnecessary jokes, intentional slowing

down of the educational process). There is no single effective remedy for dealing with

defiance. The first move could be to draw attention to the contract; in a situation where a

given participant is disturbing the group, the Course Leader should remind him/her of the

provisions in the contract which concern mutual respect, active listening etc. It is

sometimes worth calling an unexpected break, during which the Course Leader conducts

a short and fun exercise whose aim is to both literally and figuratively get the group

moving and to revert to a positive and constructive atmosphere. Defiance is often a

warning sign that a given exercise is simply not working at that point. If the Course

Leader decides that this is the problem, then he/she must be prepared to suggest a

different exercise.

A crisis situation can also occur within the group. Conflicts are a natural part of both the

educational process and of group dynamics. If they are correctly diagnosed and then

worked through in a creative manner, they may become a source of very important

lessons and experiences for the participants. The role of the Course Leader is to define

the causes and the type of conflict in order to be able to use relevant techniques to help

solve it. It is worth noting that a conflict might occur which will be impossible or difficult

to resolve completely. In such cases, the Course Leader must monitor the situation and

not allow it to escalate leaving a negative effect such as open hostility or aggressive

statements/behaviour. Another possibility is to openly discuss the situation with the

group, pointing out that it is in the interests of all the participants to accept and abide by

the principle that ‘we agree to differ’ and, at the same time, show respect for each other.

If the Course Leader decides that the source of the conflict is the attitude and behaviour

of one person, then he/she should speak to that person on a one-to-one basis (preferably

during a longer break), asking what is causing this behaviour and pointing out the

negative effects it is causing. Practice shows that such intervention inevitably brings very

good results and the given person becomes more involved and constructive during

successive sessions. It is often a good idea to allot extra tasks to the person concerned, for

instance by appointing him as moderator of a discussion in a smaller group, or as

spokesman for the given group – in other words someone who reports on the course of

the discussion and its results to the rest of the group. This will increase his sense of

responsibility.

Another successful technique for coping with a conflict is the ‘freeze frame’ approach. Its

aim is to engage the entire group in discussing the conflict from a so-called meta-

position. In order to carry this out, the Course Leader signals to the group that it must

symbolically ‘freeze-frame’ the current discussion/group situation and take a step back to

view what is going on and to treat the event as a special study. The role of the group

participants is to imagine that they are looking at a picture which illustrates what

happened earlier – like an obvious conflict within the group. Their task is to try to take on

the role of external observers/experts who see what has happened as a whole and not

through the perspective of their own emotions. This is not about deciding who is right;

the group as a whole must consider what were the causes and mechanisms of this state of

events. Once they achieve this other view, the participants can even go on to propose

solutions which could be successful in breaking down the impasse. An interesting way to

increase the involvement of the participants in searching for constructive solutions is to

invite them to take part in a brain-storming session (e.g. timed generation of ideas). The

use of this technique helps to calm earlier bad emotions and to redirect participants’

attention to the new task. If the underlying cause of the conflict lies in an outlook on life

or in politics, it can be treated as a pretext for discussion of similar problems on a macro-

scale (e.g. national, or international) and for seeking out conciliatory solutions.

The occurrence of a conflict is usually synonymous of a deterioration in the quality of

communication and loss of empathy/understanding between the participants. People who

hold differing views frequently begin to consciously or subconsciously apply judgements.

Instead of using factual argumentation relating to a given topic, they will make a personal

attack on the other party, saying things like “my, what a prejudiced person you are!”.

This has the effect of evoking a defensive reply by the other party who then begins to

counter-attack in the same terms saying, for instance: “No, I’m not, you’re the one who’s

narrow-minded”. If this happens, the Course Leader must intervene immediately and

encourage communication in the first person. This technique involves stating in the first

person what our emotions/feelings are, as a result of the behaviour/opinions of the other

party. In addition, this feedback should show our expectations of the other party in terms

of behaviour or views within the context of a given problem. If the situation is very

volatile it is worth pointing out the consequences of maintaining such an atmosphere.

This sort of feedback could be worded as follows: “I feel uncomfortable and sad when

you speak of human rights and yet exclude the peoples of Africa, saying that they are not

yet ready. A statement like that which is not backed by any rational arguments means

that I lose faith in the possibility of a sensible dialogue. I would rather your opinions

were not tinged with racism. If this goes on, I will be forced to discontinue the

discussion”. As a preventive measure, it is worth drawing attention to the principles of

personal communication in the contract and discussing them with the participants at the

beginning of the workshop.

Conflict is also a process which has its own internal dynamics. Awareness of its

individual phases helps the Course Leader to identify a suitable coping strategy. One of

the most popular models which accurately describe the escalatory dynamics of a conflict

was created in the 1990s by an Austrian professor of economics and psychology. This is

the Friedrich Glasl model 3 . It assumes that conflicts comprise several successive stages.

In workshop conditions there are usually five stages.

3 F. Glasl, The process of conflict escalation and roles of third parties, in: Conflict management and industrial relations, G. B. J. Bomers, R. B. Peterson (ed.), The Hague 1982

Stage 1 – Hardening. This occurs when the parties reveal their differing views, opinions

etc. It gradually becomes obvious that there is a definite problem which will require

further discussion. The aim is to understand the other side or to persuade it of one’s own

convictions. Since contradicting attitudes are increasingly becoming clear, irritation, too,

grows on both sides.

Stage 2 – Debate. During this stage a clear polarisation and hardening of attitudes

evolves, even if they were not so fundamental at the start. This is the stage where each of

the participants fights for supremacy, constructive discussion becomes less important, the

objective is to show one’s own right. This type of rivalry causes a growth of emotion

which often veils rational assessment of the situation

Stage 3 – Images. The participants in the conflict begin to see each other in terms of

stereotypes (e.g. believing that the other side is “quite simply naturally prejudiced”) and

generalisations. This, in turn, causes an increase of belief in one’s own right and an

attempt to find allies among the other participants/observers of the situation.

Stage 4 – Loss of face. Drawing people who were originally unbiased into the conflict

brings about the next stage, the aim of which is to discredit the opponent and to ‘pin

something on him’. At this stage everything becomes black and white, factual arguments

cease to count, the battle is fought on a verbal scrimmage level.

Stage 5 – Threat strategies. At this stage matters come to a head. It is now practically

impossible to find a compromise solution. It might happen that one of the parties resigns

from his/her standpoint but this will be seen as giving in and as the victory of the other

party. The level of negative emotions in the final stage is so considerable that further

workshop activities may not be possible. For this reason it is essential that the Course

Leader intervene by using one of the techniques described earlier – before escalation

occurs.

Activation methods and educational techniques

Analysis and solution of problems This is one of the most frequent educational methods

and involves, on the one hand, an attempt to find the causes of given problems (e.g.

social problems) and, on the other hand, an attempt to find potential solutions to the

problem, indicating – where possible – the optimum solution. Depending on the

educational technique used, the above process will be more or less structured. The three

most commonly implemented techniques are: brainstorming, the SWOT analysis and

case studies.

◊ Technique: brainstorming. This involves creative and unfettered generation of as many

ideas and associations, which occur in the context of a particular problem, as possible, or

seeking answers to a given question. This technique allows the participants of a group to

think up/collect frequently innovative and surprisingly apt ideas, even in a short space of

time. Often, there are two parts to this technique: generation of ideas and selection. The

first part begins when the Course Leader poses an open question (e.g. beginning with the

words ‘how’ and ‘what’). The participants must now share all the associations (even the

most original or bizarre) which come to mind in the context of the posed question. At this

stage it is accepted that there are no good or bad solutions and, therefore, every idea put

forward must be written down (on a flipchart, for instance). As long as this stage is in

progress, neither the Course Leader nor the participants should assess or discuss the

proposals. It is important to note down the ideas in the form of short ‘buzz words’ which

succinctly sum up the essence of the idea. Participants should be encouraged by the

Course Leader to look for inspiration in other people’s ideas because the more interesting

ideas generally result from spontaneous association. In the second part of this exercise,

the group of participants starts a selection process, the aim of which is to pick out from

the list of ideas the best solutions, i.e. solutions which have the potential to be both

innovative and realistic.

◊ Technique: mental maps/mind maps. This is an effective and interesting technique

created by Tony Buzan, an English-born psychologist and trainer. Its aim is to help in

analysing problems/issues with the aid of associations, buzz words or symbols which,

when recorded in a special graphic form, serve to aid innovative thinking. For example, if

we wanted to analyse the word ‘tolerance’ we should write this ‘buzz word’ in the middle

of a sheet of paper with lines radiating from it. On each line we write one of the

associations as a key word (e.g. ‘openness’). If the given key word gives rise to more

associations, these are written down on branching lines. Thanks to this graphic

representation it is easy to see what associations link individual concepts and which of

them are more, or less, important – this can be ascertained by the distance of a given

association from the centre, i.e. the main key word. The mental map technique proves

very useful both when working individually and in groups.

◊ Technique: SWOT analysis

This technique enables a structured analysis of even the most complex problems and, at

the same time, helps to activate a workshop group in a creative manner. SWOT is an

acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and the technique is

based on a simple analytical scheme which concentrates on these four areas. When

implementing this scheme, participants are able to divide a given issue into basic parts

and then to formulate the best strategy for action, or to continue on and take the most

appropriate decision and solve the given problem. This technique can be used for

individual work (each participant must carry out a thorough SWOT analysis), for

comprehensive group analysis (sub-groups carry out a full SWOT analysis), or a partial

group analysis (the group is divided into four teams and each of them is responsible for

one SWOT area). On the practical side, it is important to write down the results of a

comprehensive SWOT analysis on one flipchart page, which is divided into four equal

parts. Despite the fact that the SWOT technique is time-consuming, when carried out

with precision it enables identification of major key aspects which can either help or

hinder the solution of a given problem.

◊ Technique: case study. This technique is based on the assumption that effective

analysis of issues which are typical of, for example, a certain type of social mechanism,

will enable the workshop participants to identify similar cases in real life and, as a

consequence, will make it easier to find a solution for a real problem. Case studies

usually provide a wide range of data and information for analysis and are most frequently

based on well documented past events. The task facing the participants is to make the

best possible use of this interpreting medium. In practice, it means carrying out a precise

deconstruction of a particular event, which includes a diagnosis of the given situation,

searching for ways to resolve the problem, and defining any consequences of such

solution. It is important to extract and define universal or representative elements at the

end of the process.

Discussion. This is one of the most basic communication methods and educational

techniques because its aim is to delve into the core of differences and similarities in order

to seek out grounds for understanding. In the workshop context, a so-called informal, or

loose, discussion relies on an exchange of views, confronting one’s own opinions with

the opinions of others, but also seeking mutual inspiration. In other words, this type of

discussion can also be called a conversation and it forms a part of all the stages in the

workshop. Leading a discussion (as a moderator or a participant) is also a skill which can

be developed and improved in the workshop situation. Educational techniques are helpful

◊ Technique: ‘for and against’ debate

This is particularly useful when facing complicated and controversial issues. Above all, it

serves to analyse ‘both sides of the coin’ by seeking convincing arguments and counter-

arguments. There are two main ways of ending this analysis process – one can be

summed up as a presentation of the arguments of both sides without opting for one of

them at the end. The second possibility requires group voting in order to choose the

option which, in the opinion of the participants, was most successfully ‘defended’. This

technique gives an effective opportunity to practice the art of cultural debate and

discussion which is based on factual and concrete presentation of arguments. Further, it

demonstrates that it is opinions which should be assessed or analysed, and not the people

representing those opinions. Often those persons who are to represent a certain viewpoint

for the purpose of the workshop exercise, do not, in reality, hold such views themselves.

It is, therefore, important that the Course Leader explain to the group that the purpose of

the exercise is simulation of reality and the participants are to take on the role of

advocates of a given stance solely and exclusively for the purposes of this particular

exercise. It is also imperative to ensure that every person/subgroup has an equal amount

of time to collect the arguments as well as to put forward their arguments. Once the

discussion has come to an end, the Course Leader may ask the participants which

arguments they found most convincing (on a factual level) and what conditions must be

fulfilled in order to ensure that the presentation of a given stance is effective (in the

context of rhetorical skills).

◊ Technique: panel debate

Panel debates can be used in the course of workshops in conjunction with, for instance,

the simulation technique, where participants take on the role of experts in order to discuss

a given issue. The aim is to present a wide range of opinions/facts on a given subject in a

way which enables members of the audience to make up their own minds on the basis of

the panel discussion, or to choose the option which suits them. A panel debate comprises

three phases: in the first, the panel members, or ‘experts’ put forward their own opinions

on a given topic (taking just a few, or several minutes); the second phase is directed by a

moderator, and the panellists can give brief responses to opinions voiced by other

members of the panel; in the third phase they answer questions from the audience (i.e. the

other workshop participants who assume the role of the audience). The moderator is

responsible for controlling the course of the discussion (collecting questions from the

floor, directing them to particular ‘experts’, keeping a watch on time) and, at the end of

the debate, carrying out a short synthetic summary of the major conclusions of the

debate.

Role play. This is a unique method which allows analysis of the motivations which form

the basis of the behaviour and attitudes of other people. When compared to other

educational methods, this method is intended to teach empathy rather than an intellectual

and analytical approach to problems/people/situations. It is based on the premise that, by

acting out certain events and situations in a suitably structured workshop context,

participants are given the opportunity of ‘wearing a different hat’ – for example by taking

on the role of a member of some marginalised minority. As he settles into his new

identity, the participant can make use not only of his knowledge but can also try to

imagine what it is like to be that particular person and what the consequences of this

might be, in the context of attitudes and behaviour. Since this method demands of the

participants that they engage in the role play on both an emotional and intellectual plain,

it is imperative that it is only used with groups whose members feel secure in each

other’s presence. Bearing in mind that this method is very successful in relation to

controversial issues, it is extremely important for the Course Leader to remain neutral

and not to side with any of the options. Another major condition is that, at the start, the

Course Leader explains clearly that the exercise in question is purely symbolic, i.e. that it

is a simulation of reality which lasts only as long as the exercise. The task should be

carried out within a time frame ordered by the scenario. Where absolutely essential, the

Course Leader may marginally change the time frame to enable the group to complete the

exercise but this is not a decision for the participants themselves. The final stage of each

such role playing exercise is the clear ending of the simulated reality and exiting from the

roles, i.e. ‘breaking the spell’. At the end of the session, the Course Leader must sum up

the newly acquired knowledge and discuss with the participants the emotions which they

encountered during the exercise. He/she must also be able to skilfully separate the

interaction between the participants during their role plays, from their mutual relations in

the real world. Many educational techniques are based on the role playing method –

these include, among others, games and simulation.

◊ Technique: simulation

Simulation is often based on real events and people, and/or historical characters. Using

pre-prepared material, the participants must familiarise themselves with the context of the

events and the characters of the people who will be the subject of the simulation process.

Once the exercise has been introduced and roles have been assigned to the participants,

the simulation begins. The dynamics and dramatic effect (e.g. the accepted solution to a

given problem) are dependent on the creativity and imagination of the participants.

During this stage, the Course Leader should not interfere in the course of events unless

there is a concrete reason for such intervention – should the participants prove to be

aggressive, for example. It is good practice to repeat the simulation but assign different

roles to the participants (those who have been given the role of a marginalised character,

for instance, should be given the role of a member of a stronger majority). The simulation

ends as the characters exit from their roles and ‘the spell is broken’ and this is followed

by a detailed discussion of the motivation driving a given character, and of the emotions

of the participants themselves.

History and Education for Human Rights – Project Examples

1. “Human Rights Education and Beyond” Second Luxembourg Forum on Human Rights

and Higher Education, 7th of March 2013, Abbey Neumünster - Luxembourg

The Forum brought together a group of outstanding personalities from all parts of

Europe:

http://www.campuseuropae.org/en/campus/forum/2nd_Luxembourg_Forum_on_Human_

Rights_and_Higher_Education.html

2. Human Rights Exhibition in Paris, 30 September 1949. Less than a year after the

signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this exhibition was created by the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to give meaning,

history and content to the yet elusive document. This research project, hosted by

Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights, seeks to uncover,

research and exhibit the insights provided by the first attempt to visualize and historicize

human rights.

http://www.exhibithumanrights.org/

3. The Humanity in Action

The Humanity in Action Fellowship

Intensive and demanding, the Humanity in Action Fellowship brings together

international groups of university students and recent graduates to explore national

histories of discrimination and resistance, as well as examples of issues affecting

different minority groups today.

http://www.humanityinaction.org/programs/14-hia-fellowship

4. European Trainings

European civil society . To raise awareness and develop tools on European issues related

to diversity. Ex. Five years into the Decade for Roma Inclusion, what do Europeans know

about their Roma minorities?

http://www.humanityinaction.org/programs/36-roma-workshop

5. You Also Have Rights Senior Fellows project, 5. In 2010, Denmark

The main intention was to pass on values about mutual respect and understanding to the

students in the hope of influencing the community that they are a part of. The project is

expected to be repeated. Approximately 30 students have received education through

You Also Have Rights.

http://www.humanityinaction.org/Denmark/198-action-projects

6. European Transitions from Dictatorship to Democracy in the Late 1980s, February 3-9,

2013, Berlin

One-week workshop focused on the political transitions in the late 1980s in Europe and

its repercussions. 14 Participants from 11 European countries shared their experiences

and discussed with eyewitnesses and experts.

http://www.humanityinaction.org/programs/38-eutra-european-transitions-from-

dictatorship-to-democracy-in-the-late-1980s

6. The IHRC's Human Rights Education and Training Project was set-up in March 2010

with philanthropic support as a pilot project to support the Civil and Public Service.

The Project's two publications, the Human Rights Guide for the Civil & Public

Service and the European Convention on Human Rights Guide for the Civil & Public

Service, are available free to the Civil and Public Service and can be read on-line or

downloaded from this site. It is complimented with more in-depth human rights

information both by this e-learning platform (www.ihrc.ie/training) and through face-to-

face training delivery developed on request and tailored to specific needs.

http://www.ihrc.ie/training/about/

7. Holocaust and human rights education

In many EU Member States, visits to memorials, commemoration sites, original historical

sites and historical exhibitions play an important role in Holocaust education and human

rights education. The FRA, therefore, decided to launch a project that studies the role that

such visits play in school education across the EU from a comparative perspective. The

project will include an assessment of the pedagogical approaches and educational

programmes of a selection of such sites in the EU.

http://fra.europa.eu/en/project/2006/holocaust-and-human-rights-education

8. Virtual exhibition “Faces and rights”

This exhibition celebrates the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human

Rights with a series of portraits and scenes of everyday life: a mosaic of individual

situations illustrating both the enjoyment and the deprivation of our most cherished rights

and freedoms.

http://human-rights-convention.org/exhibitions-events/

9. Human and Minority Rights in the Life Cycle of Ethnic Conflicts

cientific project which was funded under the 6th framework program of the EU (Start

date: 05/2006; end date: 10/2008). EURAC was the lead partner and successfully

orchestrated the interplay of six universities and research institutions from Italy, Austria,

Germany, the UK and the Balkan countries.

http://www.eurac.edu/en/research/projects/ProjectDetails.html?

pmode=4&textId=2893&pid=8381

WORKSHOP SCENARIOS

III. 1. STATE INTERFERENCE AND CONTROL

Monika Lipka

1953. Warsaw. Propaganda poster designed by Tadeusz Trepkowski, publisher:

Trade Unions Central Council. KARTA Centre collection

In the Polish People’s Republic (PRL), the state tried to control all occurrences of independence

of thought and action. Source material shows not only instances of human rights being breached

by the state when it interfered in citizens’ political and freedom rights but it also shows the

opposition of the individual to limitation of his/her independence. The purpose of the workshops

is to show the issue of respect for human rights against the background of two political systems –

a Communist régime and a democratic system.

We would like to encourage discussion on the topic of contemporary instances of breach of

human rights in confrontation with historical sources: how far can the state go in interfering in the

lives of its citizens, does the state have a right to censure art, is the security of the state more

important than the right to privacy? What happens when the attitude to personal freedoms is

dependent on state politics?

During the workshop, the participants learn:

◊ the meaning of the concept of human rights and freedoms in the context of state interference

and control relating to the right to privacy, to education, to association, and the right to freedom

of artistic expression,

◊ about current state interference and control in the lives of its citizens (examples),

◊ about historical sources which give an example of breach of human rights by the state.

After the workshops, the participants:

◊ are able to explain what state interference and control means in relation to human rights and

freedoms,

◊ know how the government of the Polish People’s Republic breached human rights,

◊ understand the difference between the lives of people in a democratic state and life under a

régime based on continuous control,

◊ understand the difference between the guarantees of civic rights in the Polish People’s

Republic and today’s civic rights.

Key concepts:

human rights, civic rights, censorship, freedom of association and the right to protest, the right to

privacy, the right to personal inviolability, the right to freedom of artistic expression, propaganda,

state repression.

Methods and techniques:

◊ Lecture and ‘brain-storming’,

◊ Mental maps,

◊ Analysis of source texts,

◊ Discussion,

◊ Exercise: ‘True – False’.

Teaching aids:

◊ sheets of paper, markers,

◊ supporting and source material.

Duration:

115 mins.

Target group:

Adults.

Workshop programme:

1. Welcome, workshop participants introduce themselves. (5–10 mins. depending on group

numbers)

2. Introduction and presentation of the aims of the meeting. (5 mins.)

3. Course Leader discusses the subject of human rights and freedoms. Explains the basic issues

using the ‘brain-storming’ or ‘mental map’ methods. May use the board/flipchart and a marker to

note down the participants’ suggestions and ‘buzz words’. When all ideas have been exhausted,

he/she discusses the associated terms. (10 mins.)

4. Course Leader divides participants into four groups. Next, he issues pre-prepared materials:

catalogue of rights and freedoms in the III Polish Republic [1989 onwards], extracts from the

Constitution of the Polish People’s Republic various historical sources and related questions (see:

Supporting Material on page 56). (3 mins.)

Group I (pg. 57) is given supporting material and source texts no. I. Right to privacy;

Group II (pg. 59) is given supporting material and source texts no. II. Right to education;

Group III (pg. 62) is given supporting material and source texts no. III. Right of association.

Right to personal inviolability;

Group IV (pg. 65) is given supporting material and source texts no. IV. Right to freedom of

artistic expression.

5. The first task for the groups will be familiarisation with the allotted material. After the

participants have read the texts, the Course Leader discusses the historical context, also referring

to today’s realities. Participants can help in this. The Course Leader may use commentaries on

individual articles of the PRL Constitution (see: Supporting and Source Material on pg. 56 and

next pages). (15 mins.)

6. The task of each group is to create a catalogue of rights and freedoms which would be

mandatory in a country in which the participants would like to live, and to set up an imaginary

state with division of social roles. Each group thinks up a name for its country. (3 mins.)

7. Questions on the source texts will be helpful in creating the catalogue (see: Supporting

Materials on pg. 56 and next pages). The catalogue created by the group may contain references

to the source texts received, as well as own ideas. Each group may lay stress on the problem

addressed in the source material, making it the key issue in its imaginary country. When ‘building

a new state’, the participants should also refer to the contemporary problem of the (given) human

right(s). (15 mins.)

8. The Course Leader may approach each of the groups as it works and offer solutions. Listening

to the discussions, the Course Leader acquires information which he will use to sum up the

workshop and to help in explaining difficult issues. (15 mins.)

9. Once the exercise is finished, representatives of each of the groups take turns to speak. They

express their attitude to the problem presented in the source material. The Course Leader draws

attention to the contemporary functioning of rights breached by the authorities in the days of the

PRL. Next, the participants of each group describe their role in their state. The group

representative then discusses the catalogue of rights and freedoms compiled by the group. (25

mins.)

10. There follows an attempt to describe the common characteristics of the ‘new states’ which

have been established during the workshops. At the same time, the Course Leader refers to

today’s realities and initiates a discussion on the topic of state interference and control in relation

to the Polish People’s Republic and to contemporary Poland under a democratic system. (5 mins.)

11. As part of the summing up process, the Course Leader proposes a ‘True and False’ exercise. (

► see: Supporting Material below – True answers are: 1, 2, 3, 4). He makes statements which

refer to the material discussed earlier. The object of this exercise is to consolidate the knowledge

acquired during the workshop. (5 mins.)

12. Time for questions from the floor. Thanks to participants for taking part in the workshop and

encouraging them to future work. (5 mins.)

Supporting and source material for work in groups

Exercise: ‘True – False’

1. ‘True – False’

The Law of the Polish People’s Republic protected the inviolability of the home and

confidentiality of correspondence.

The higher education system in the Polish People’s Republic was based on a class discrimination

criteria.

Citizens of the Polish People’s Republic had a legal right to freedom of speech, press, association

and mass gathering, marches and demonstrations.

An aim of the Polish People’s Republic (as a state) was concern for the development of literature

and the arts, expressing the needs and aims of the nation in keeping with the best traditions of

Polish creativity.

Group I. The right to privacy

Declaration by the government of the Polish People’s Republic – the Law according to the PRL

Constitution of 1952:

Article 74

2. The Law of the Polish People’s Republic protects the inviolability of the home and

confidentiality of correspondence. Carrying out a search of the home may only be allowed in

circumstances defined by the Law.

Commentary:

In the Polish People’s Republic, control of correspondence was illegal but, nonetheless,

censorship did exist. Specially trained units of the Security Services were responsible for ‘the

invigilation of correspondence’. Every day its employees carefully unsealed envelopes and

studied the contents of other people’s letters in order to include the information in reports on the

state of public opinion for the authorities. It should be noted that the office of Ombudsman for

Civic Rights was not set up by law until 15 July 1987.

Catalogue of Rights and Freedoms of the III Republic of Poland – the Law according to the

Constitution of the Republic of Poland, dated 1997:

Article 47

Every person has the right to legal protection of his private and family life, of respect and his

good name and to make his own decisions with regard to his personal life.

Article 76

The public authorities protect consumers, users and tenants from any action endangering their

health, privacy and safety and from dishonest market practices. The range of these protective

rights is defined by the relevant Act.

Source I.

The year 1958. Letter from an accused person to the Provincial Court in connection with a charge

of preparing and distributing literature containing false information about the political system in

the PRL:

[…] I did not know that letters were subject to censorship and that you have to avoid openly

expressing your views in them. I had read so often in the press that correspondence in sealed

envelopes will not be monitored and that is why I wrote so profusely. And yet, not only was it

monitored but it was forwarded, so that the author could be punished. There should have been

clear warnings in the press about the consequences, I would have known then and would not have

written letters with such contents. I blame the press, the security services and the post for

interfering with my letters, and those of people close to me. The Deputy Prosecutor states how

the militia revealed that I had been posting letters in the post box in Poznań, he goes on to quote a

statement from Westphalia made by the temporary Headmaster of the Raciborz High School […],

the women employees in the Gas and Waterworks Board in Darłowo […]. The authorities should

have been commended on their efficient investigation… to ensure that the state machinery in

other areas is no less well organised.

I have a question, too – do I not have the right to sit at home and make notes and write sketches

on historical, economic and literary subjects? Am I to be held responsible for essays found in my

own house and taken away by the militia but which had not been sent anywhere? I consider

removal of these works from my home to be a breach of the law.

KARTA Centre Archives, The Aniela Steinsberg Collection, ref: AO III/214K.11.34

Source II.

Warning to parents. Leaflet RKW NSZZ ‘Solidarność’ [Regional Executory Committee of

Independent Self-Governing Trade Union Solidarity] dated 31 January 1982:

For several days we have been receiving information from nursery schools in Kraków about

attempts to persuade teachers to question children as to whether their parents have typewriters at

home and whether they use them. In one documented case, a uniformed militiaman actually

questioned children himself. We have had similar information from Wrocław. Parents be warned!

We propose that children should be cautioned not to speak about family matters. […]

KARTA Centre Archives, Section: Stan wojenny [Martial Law], ref.: AO IV/230.8

Questions on source texts for Group I:

◊ How far did state interference and control in the Polish People’s Republic reach into the private

lives of citizens in relation to legal regulations, and in reality?

◊ Which state institutions were a key instrument in the state’s control and interference in the

private lives of citizens?

◊ Today, does the state, or representatives of the government, interfere in private lives? If so, how

does this take place? Do you know of any examples of such interference? What happens? What

social groups are affected? What is the scale of this action? Are there any institutions or

organisations which actively oppose this? How effectively?

◊ How will people react if the state begins to seriously interfere in their privacy?

◊ Is the security of the state more important than the right to privacy?

Group II. The right to education

Declaration by the government of the Polish People’s Republic– the Law according to the PRL

Article 61

The citizens of the Polish People’s Republic have a right to education. The right to education is

implemented on a widening scale by:

14. universal, free and compulsory primary [basic] schools,

15. constant growth of comprehensive secondary and vocational school, and of higher education,

16. state aid for citizens employed in industrial plants and other places of employment in towns

and in the country in order to improve their qualifications [...].

Article 63

The Polish People’s Republic is committed to the comprehensive development of education,

based on the leading achievements of the human mind and on progressive Polish thought –

education in the service of the nation.

Commentary:

In article 63 of the PRL Constitution we read about the commitment of the state to the

comprehensive development of education, in service to the nation, of course. In the Constitution,

the PRL authorities guarantee concern for school pupils and students. This concern is interpreted

differently by the PRL authorities and differently by society in general. The higher education

system was based on a class discrimination system (so-called ‘marks for peasant/working class

origins’). Schools had just one single, correct curriculum. As regards the teaching of Polish

history in schools, certain facts were removed from textbooks; these included Soviet repression,

including deportations, labour camps, and exile. Set texts were also strictly controlled. Books

which carried dangerous trends and messages – according to the authorities, of course – were not

viewed favourably; these included the works of the poet Czesław Miłosz, Alexander Solzhenitsyn

or George Orwell. Officially prohibited books could only be obtained in the so-called ‘alternative

distribution of publications’, i.e. outside the censorship system. It was not possible to publish

such works officially. The Central Office for Control of the Press assessed what was suitable for

official publication and what was not suitable. Editors could remove pieces of text from a

potential publication on their own judgement. Independent authors were thus excluded from

official cultural life during the days of the Polish People’s Republic. It was not until 1990 that the

‘Contract Sejm’ [the interim Sejm between Communist and democratic rule] approved a bill

repealing the law on censorship of publications and performances, abolishing the institutions

dealing with such control and introducing changes to the Press Law.

Catalogue of Rights and Freedoms of the III Republic of Poland – the Law according to the

Constitution of the Republic of Poland, dated 1997:

Article 70

Every person has the right to education. Education is compulsory up to the age of 18. The

conduct of compulsory schooling is described by the law.

Education in state schools is free-of-charge. The Act may allow certain educational services to be

provided by state schools of higher education for a fee.

Parents have the right to choose schools other than state schools for their children. Citizens and

institutions have the right to establish primary [basic] schools, middle and secondary schools and

schools of higher education as well as youth detention schools. […]

The public authorities provide citizens with universal and equal access to education. To this end,

they create and support systems of individual and organisational financial aid for pupils and

students. Conditions for grant of such aid is defined in the Act.

Source I.

Jacek Kuroń, Kto był u mnie [Who visited me]? Report on disruption of lectures organised by the

Society for Educational Courses, which took place in Jacek Kuroń’s home from 1979.

On 17, 21 and 26 January and on 7 March, numerous guests – in addition to the more or less

regular group – attended lectures on social pedagogy given in my home under the auspices of the

Society for Educational Courses. At each session they used various means to make these lectures

impossible. The methods were fairly simple. During the first visit (on 7 February) they tried to

interrupt my lecture with questions, shouts, and talking – however, the content of what they said

generally had nothing to do with the subject of my lecture. […]

I presume these were activists from the SZMP [Socialist Union of Polish Youth] and SZSP

[Socialist Union of Polish Students], students and workers. […] Then, too, we recognised a

security police functionary who took part in detaining our colleagues. […] Near the building there

was a stationary radio car and calls made by neighbours trying to intervene were answered with

the words “we know all about it, and we’re taking action”.

A least a few of the participants taking part in the described attacks on 10 January had been

listening to my lecture for 40 minutes. Two or three of them had taken part in several complete

lectures of mine. So, if they understood anything of the material, they knew that what I was

saying had nothing to do with any attacks on the system they wanted to defend, or on its official

ideology. Anybody else could easily have found this out – simply by asking their colleagues.

Therefore, either they are not interested in the content of the lectures under attack, or they are

attacking, knowing that the lectures are not of a political nature.

On 24 January, when a dense crowd packed my flat, I tried to reason with them. They were not

interested. They told me: we have nothing to say to each other, we’re not listening. From time to

time, I was called on to say something but after two or three sentences, they would interrupt me,

bellowing, shouting epithets and insults. […]

20 March 1979, Jacek Kuroń

PS: The events which took place right after I wrote this article, changed my perspective. On 21

March, I had to call off my lecture as my father announced he could feel a heart attack coming

on. He is 74 and has already had his fill of battle and suffering; he was a volunteer in the Polish-

Bolshevik War of 1920, took part in the Silesian Uprising, he was a member of the Polish

Socialist Party and a soldier in the AK underground resistance army during the Second World

War. I called an ambulance and put a notice up on my door about my father’s condition. Despite

this, a band of several dozen militant activists, several of whom were drunk, broke into my

apartment. They beat up my wife, my son and some friends (Adam Michnik, Henryk Wujec).

This was no fracas, it was more like an execution – two of them held the victim and the third one

laid into him. Both my son and Henryk Wujec lost consciousness during the beating. Henryk had

injuries to his head, his temples bleeding they dragged him, unconscious, down the stairs. All this

time my father was moaning, in the throes of a heart attack. Despite demands and pleas, in which

our neighbours also joined, the militants did not interrupt their action. They only withdrew when

the ambulance and resuscitation crew arrived and took my father off to the hospital in a very poor

condition. It is almost morning on 22 March, and I am wondering whether everything I wrote

about yesterday is still valid. When a thug breaks into the home of a man who is at death’s door

in order to beat up a woman whose arms are twisted behind her back by his two accomplices –

can one really speak of idealistic motives and opinions? […] And yet these people are acting as

an arm of the law of the land. What is going on in their souls – if they have souls?

KARTA Centre Archives, Jacek Kuroń collection, ref.: AO IV/12K.01-

Questions on source texts for Group II:

◊ During the days of the Polish People’s Republic, were there alternatives to the educational

courses provided by state institutions? Who undertook their organisation?

◊ Do you know of any instances of state interference in the curriculum after 1989. If your answer

is yes, then how does this take place?

What subject matter is involved? What is the scale of this?

◊ What might be the consequences of too much state interference in the school curriculum (what

set books can we, or should we, read, what languages should we learn)

Group III. The right to association. The right to personal inviolability.

Declaration by the government of the Polish People’s Republic (PRL) – the Law according to the

PRL Constitution of 1952:

Article71

1. The Polish People’s Republic guarantees its citizens freedom of speech, press, public

gatherings and manifestations, marches and demonstrations.

Article 72

1. In order to further development of the political, social, economic and cultural activity of

working people in towns and villages, the Polish People’s Republic assures its citizens of the

right of association.

2. The establishment of associations and participation in associations whose aims or

activities strike at the political or social system, or at law and order in the Polish People’s

Republic is prohibited.

Article 74

The Polish People’s Republic guarantees its citizens personal inviolability. A citizen may only be

deprived of his liberty in circumstances described by law. A detained person must be freed if

within 48 hours of his being detained, he has not been served with charges or a court/procurator’s

order for arrest.

Comment:

During the days of the PRL, the freedom of association and of public demonstration of

one’s opinions was only theoretical. Private parties organised by students could be treated

as illegal gatherings. People who publicly demanded respect for their rights were treated

brutally and called ‘enemies of the people’ or ‘hooligans and trouble-makers’. Force was

frequently used to disband demonstrations, and included beatings, ‘running the gauntlet’

of militia truncheons (Poznań’s June ’56), and even arms (the events of 1970 during

strikes in the coastal provinces).

Catalogue of rights and freedoms in the III Republic of Poland – the Law according to the

Constitution of the Republic of Poland dated 1997:

Article 57

Each person is assured of freedom to organise peaceful gatherings and to take part in them.

Limitation of such freedom may be described by law.

Article 58

Each person is assured of freedom of association. Those forms of association whose aims or

activities are contrary to the Constitution or to the Law, are prohibited. The court decides about

the registration or prohibition of such an association. The Law defines the types of associations

which are subject to registration in the court, the form of such registration and forms of

supervision of such associations.

Article 59

The freedom of association in trade unions, in social-professional farmers’ unions and in

employer organisations.

Source I.

May 1988. Gdańsk. Extract from an appeal to world opinion issued by striking shipyard workers:

For seven days, militia units have been blocking access to workers striking in the Gdańsk Lenin

Shipyard with a tight cordon. The militia is stopping transport of provisions. People bringing

food, medicines and blankets are being stopped by the militia. Supplies are being confiscated.

Correspondence with families is not allowed through, even in cases of serious illness of family

members at home. There have been instances where ambulances have been turned back. We

appeal to international public opinion and especially to trade unions throughout the world: help us

to prevent the authorities using such shameful practices.

Upadek Peerelu [The Fall of the People’s Republic] 1986–1989, ed. A. Dębska, Warsaw 2009

Source II.

Grzegorz Lilpop’s account of the events of 10 November 1982 in Warsaw:

On 10.11.1982, at about 4.30-5 p.m., a group of about one hundred people was walking from the

crossroads of Traugutta Street and Krakowskie Przedmieście in the direction of Nowy Świat

Street. Some people were walking along the curb of the road, the majority were on the pavement.

The crowd was behaving calmly, no stones were being thrown, shop windows were not being

smashed, and the capital city’s public property was not being damaged.

At the section between the ‘Ruch’ kiosk and the stairs to the Church of the Holy Cross, a ‘Nysa’

type militia vehicle passed the group, driving on the right side of the road in the direction of

Świętokrzyska Street. The vehicle braked at the head of the group which at that moment was

level with the bus stop, and a shot was fired at the people on the pavement from a distance of

some 2 to 4 metres. I saw the flash. As I was standing by the wall of a building next to the ‘Ruch’

kiosk and the shot had been fired in my direction, I expected that the tear gas or flare would land

somewhere near me. However, nothing like that happened. The hissing sound was very short

which indicated that the shot was being fired directly at the people. After firing the shot, the

vehicle quickly took off in the direction of Świętokrzyska Street, and there was a commotion

among the people on the pavement. I saw some men, three I think, carrying a young man into the

church. The wounded man’s head was drooping and it was obvious that he was unconscious.

What happened? I asked. One of the men told me that the wounded man had been shot in the eye.

KARTA Centre Archives, Martial Law collection, ref.: AO IV/189.5

Questions on source texts for Group III:

◊ How did people react to prohibitions ordered by the authorities in the PRL? How did the

authorities react in the face of mass demonstrations against oppression?

◊ Does the state prohibit demonstrations today?

◊ Does it employ preventive means to stop demonstrators from going out into the streets?

◊ Do people in the III Republic of Poland have limitless rights of association?

◊ What role do demonstrations play today?

Group IV. The right to freedom of artistic expression

Declaration by the government of the Polish People’s Republic (PRL) – The Law according to

the PRL Constitution of 1952:

Article 62

Citizens of the Polish People’s Republic have the right to benefit from the cultural heritage and to

make a creative contribution to the development of national culture.

Article 64

The Polish People’s Republic is committed to the development of literature and the arts, which

express the needs and aims of the nation and which accord with the best progressive traditions of

Polish creativity.

Article 65

The Polish People’s Republic is especially committed to the development of the creative

intelligentsia – people working in the areas of science, education, literature and the arts, as well as

pioneers of technical development, efficiency coordinators and inventors.

Commentary:

Preventive censorship in the PRL was a radical tool which made freedom of expression

impossible. The underlying intention of the régime was to make artistic expression yet

another tool of the Party apparatus. The authors of Charter 59 noted: “When there is no

freedom of speech, there is no freedom of development of national culture. […] The

results of a state monopoly of publication is particularly serious in literature and the arts,

which are not able to fulfil their socially essential functions. That is why preventive

censorship should be abolished and any instances of breach of the law relating to the

press should be arbitrated only by a court of law”.

Catalogue of rights and freedoms of the III Republic of Poland – the Law according to the

Article 73

Every person shall have the right to freedom of artistic creativity, scientific research and the right

to publish the results thereof, freedom of education as well as the freedom to make use of the

fruits of culture.

Source I.

16 January 1945. Maria Dąbrowska’s comment on censorship of the works of the Polish poet,

Adam Mickiewicz:

On Friday, I was in the offices of ‘Czytelnik’ [, Publishing House, Reader]’ and asked Mrs

Szymańska why we had not yet received the four volumes of Mickiewicz’s works even though

we had completed an application and paid the fee.

‘Everyone’s still waiting,” she replied “if you only knew what problems we have been having

with this. Problems with footnotes. Everything has to be started from scratch. The trouble is, you

see, they were all written by people who have been doing this for thirty years, and they’re set in

their ways, the footnotes are generalisations, they follow a set pattern.”

“I see,” I answered.

It’s obvious, really. The footnotes had not been written according to either Marxist-Leninist rules,

or theories of class warfare. Unable to change Mickiewicz’s texts, they can only manage to distort

their sense with the help of specially construed footnotes. Perhaps they even found Mickiewicz’s

texts themselves suspect. After all, you can see – you can feel – that Mickiewicz is entirely taboo.

One would hope to see something good in today’s régime, many good things. I am trying to be as

positive as possible but a system built on such over-inflated lies, on such social injustice, on such

discrimination with regard to class and to origins, and now also religious beliefs; a system built

on dogmas such as these cannot possibly endure, it has to crash – having first created social

inequalities and hatred, the likes of which no industrialised capitalism could ever have dreamt up.

M. Dąbrowska, Dzienniki powojenne [Post-war Diaries], vol. 1, 1945–1949, Warsaw 1996

Source II.

22 October 1978. Warsaw. Chairman of the Radio Committee, Maciej Szczepański, on the

subject of censorship of Pope John Paul II’s homily:

Staszek Cześniń, MD of Polish TV and Head of News Services, and I are sitting in the studio.

The broadcast is about to begin and I’m giving final instructions to the commentators that when

the German bishops kneel down before the pope, the commentary must be ‘German bishop kneels

before the Polish Pope’. [...] The Party phone rings. Who is it? [First Secretary] Kania. He asks:

“Have you read Wojtyła’s homily?” [...] “And have you noticed,” asks Kania “that bit about

‘Mother of God who shines in Ostra Brama’ [miraculous painting of the Madonna in Vilnius]?”

“That’s Mickiewicz,” I tell him, “the opening invocation in his [epic poem] Pan Tadeusz.” Well,

it has to be removed, I am told. “What do you mean - removed?” “Distort it – so it doesn’t get

broadcast.” I try to be patient with him: “Staszek, I have spent a fortune to ensure we don’t have

technical hitches, I have communication with Rome on three channels, one even goes via

Stockholm. And you want me to distort it?” To which Kania replied: “Comrade Szczepański, this

is a Party directive”. “But why?” “Why? So that our Soviet comrades don’t get the idea that we

have our eyes on Vilnius.” T. Torańska, Byli [They were], Warsaw 2006

Questions on o source texts for Group IV:

◊ Were the arts – music, film, literature – independent in the Polish People’s Republic?

◊ What was the role of the censor in the PRL? Can you give examples of constraints on artistic

freedom?

◊ Does the state interfere in the right to freedom of artistic expression, today? Does an artist

have the right to express his controversial views through art? Is he censured for this?

◊ Should the authorities limit freedom of artistic expression? If yes, then under what

circumstances?

III. 2. RELATIONS BETWEEN MINORITIES

AND MAJORITIES

November 1938. Anti-Semitic poster. KARTA Centre collection

Discussion about respect for the rights of minorities in today’s Poland seems largely theoretical

because the inhabitants of Poland live in what is essentially an ethnically homogenous society

and they do not have regular contact with representatives of easily identified minorities, as do

people in multi-cultural societies. This is why the attitudes of Poles frequently stem from

ideology, religion or automatic repetition of behaviour typical for a given community. Even when

some of them have personal experience and contact with specific defined minorities (e.g. people

with disabilities), such episodic relations do not lead to an increased sensitivity to the rights of the

given minority on a social scale. In order to provoke reflection on this status quo, workshop

participants should be encouraged to put themselves in the shoes of members of minorities, so

that they can ‘personally experience’ and ‘get a taste’ of what it feels like to be discriminated

against, excluded or marginalised.

During the classes, the participants will:

◊ experience what it is like to be a member of a discriminated minority, and will become

familiar with other points of view on the subject of minorities-majorities,

◊ become aware of the interaction between majorities and minorities of such mechanisms as

discrimination, exclusion, marginalisation,

◊ learn about inter-ethnic relations in the pre-war Second Polish Republic, the Polish People’s

Republic and the Third Republic of Poland – on the basis of several examples),

◊ reflect on their own attitudes towards representatives of minorities/majorities.

Key concepts: minority/majority, discrimination, exclusion, marginalisation, extermination.

Methods and Techniques:

◊ Discussion,

◊ Group work,

◊ Role playing,

◊ Analysis of source texts.

Teaching aids:

◊ supporting and source material,

◊ flipchart/sheets of paper and markers.

Duration:

90 mins.

Target group:

Young people (13–16 years).

Workshop programme:

1. Welcome, workshop participants introduce themselves (5–10 mins.);

2. Introduction and presentation of the aims of the meeting. (5 mins.):

– learning the roles which an individual may assume as a member of a given group: aggressor,

passive observer, victim and protector; mechanisms interacting between various groups:

discrimination, exclusion, and marginalisation;

– awareness of various types of behaviour/attitudes in situations of clash between a majority and

a minority.

3. Exercise 1:

Experience of being a member of a minority. (Up to 30 mins.)

Each of the participants choses a random book from a specific shelf. The books contain

bookmarks. Those who choose white bookmarks automatically become members of a minority.

Every other colour signifies a majority. To ensure that the exercise is meaningful only about 30%

of the participants can choose a book with white bookmarks, therefore the number and colour of

the bookmarks should be checked before the session and adjusted according to the number of

participants.

Exercise no. 1:

Commentary: The exercise refers to instances where Roma people in Poznań, and people with disabilities

in Warsaw were asked to leave restaurants. This can be mentioned at the end of the exercise.

Description: members of a Minority (participants with white bookmarks) enter a restaurant whose

clients are members of a Majority.

The ‘Majority’ considers that the physical appearance of the ‘Minority’ is ruining their enjoyment

and that these people should be made to leave the restaurant.

The ‘Minority’ is unaware and reacts to the actions of the ‘Majority’.

The Course Leader asks the group to split up according to the colour of the bookmarks and

explains the exercise, telling the participants to imagine themselves in the role allotted to them by

virtue of the colour of the bookmarks, and not according to their own attitudes. Holders of white

bookmarks are asked to leave the room and to wait outside for further instructions.

The Course Leader explains to the ‘Majority’ that its task is to show the ‘Minority’ that its

presence in the restaurant is unwelcome and upsetting. Reasons for this mainly concern personal

appearance (darker skin colour), lack of hygiene (unpleasant smell, dirty clothes), as well as bad

past experiences (drunken brawls). The aim is to force the ‘Minority’ to leave the restaurant.

The ‘Minority’ is instructed to enter the restaurant, to order food and drink and possibly to react

to the course of events.

When the allotted time is up, the Course Leader asks the participants to ‘exit’ from their roles and

to return to their places.

Exercise no. 2: (optional)

Commentary: This exercise refers to the policy of numerus clausus (limited numbers) in the Second Republic of

Poland. This can be mentioned at the end of the exercise.

Description: The ‘majority’ comprises people with red and blue bookmarks. Those with blue

bookmarks want to study at a top university where places are strictly limited. Only a small

number from each of the groups can study there so competition is fierce. The candidates are all

on a similar level. The recruitment committee is composed of participants with white bookmarks

and each member of the committee has asked 2 people with red and blue bookmarks to attend for

an interview. The task of the ‘committee’ is to admit as few people with red bookmarks and as

many as possible with blue bookmarks. It is generally considered that those with red bookmarks

are extremely ambitious and will achieve success at the cost of holders of blue bookmarks.

As in the previous exercise, the Course Leader explains the roles to the individual groups,

ensuring that the others do not hear them. Members of the ‘recruitment committee’ have to

prepare questions which will enable them to achieve their aim, i.e. to keep the number of students

with red bookmarks to a minimum. The groups with red and with blue bookmarks choose 2

people from their groups who are to make the best impression. The object of the exercise is to act

out the scenario of an interview during which the participants with red bookmarks are treated

particularly harshly.

4. Talking about the exercise/discussion:

– In exercise 1, what did the holders of the white bookmarks feel? What did the others feel?

– In exercise 2, what did the holders of red bookmarks feel? What did the others feel?

– What do these situations demonstrate? What mechanism do they refer to?

5. Exercise 2:

Work with source material. (Up to 30 mins.) The participants are split into roughly equal

groups. The task of each of the groups is work on source material concerning members of the

Jewish and Roma minorities during different periods of Polish history. Each group has a moment

to familiarise itself with its source materials (see: Supporting Material, pg. 73).

The task facing each group will be to attempt to define what position members of minority groups

hold in relation to the majority group. In order to make the definition easier, they will have at

their disposal a collection of concepts, prepared earlier on A4 sheets, describing how a

representative of a given minority might have felt/defined his situation in the real circumstances

illustrated by the source material.

Key concepts: isolation/loneliness, lack of understanding, being laughed at, coercion, lack of

acceptance, futility, terror, lack of freedom, fear, hope, disbelief, a sense of defiance/rebellion, a

sense of total exclusion, resignation.

Each group may use more than one key concept for each of the texts, but no more than three. It is

important to choose those key concepts which, according to the workshop participants, most

precisely define the potential feelings/emotions of the participants in those events and to apply

them to a concrete text.

Once the groups have discussed the above issues among themselves and have chosen relevant key

concepts, the Course Leader asks group leaders to firstly give a short summary of the situation

presented in the given source material and then to present the chosen key concepts relating to the

concrete source material, at the same time giving grounds for their choice. Once all the group

presentations have been concluded, there will be time for any questions.

6. Exercise 3:

Linking the past with the universal mechanisms of

discrimination/exclusion/marginalisation. (Up to 30 mins.)

Using a flipchart, the Course Leader presents a graphic illustration of the discrimination process,

as follows:

Start Finish

Freedom/Equality Sense of total exclusion

The ‘Start’ point is a state where everyone feels free and the ‘Finish’ is the point which represents

total exclusion from society (in extreme situations physical extermination). The task of the whole

group is to locate on this graph all the key concepts which were available to them in Exercise 2.

They should be positioned according to an upward graded system, based on an analysis of which

states/emotions might have followed one after another. When the first graph of the discrimination

process has been concluded, the Course Leader, together with the participants, creates a positive

version of the graph by drawing a second axis with reversed vectors. He asks the participants to

name the conditions which might lead to a reversal of the process, i.e. retreat from a state of total

exclusion from society in the direction of acceptance/tolerance, and he enters these on the axis. At

the same time, the Course Leader asks the participants to give examples of how – in their opinion

– the process of increasing tolerance could be strengthened, for instance by referring to source

material and assuming the principle ‘what not to do/what to avoid’, as well as taking into account

the positive behaviour/activities which may contribute to this process.

7. Summing up the workshop and time for questions relating to all the exercises.

SUPPORTING MATERIAL AND SOURCE TEXTS FOR GROUP WORK

Comparative lists of laws, institutions and the situation of national

minorities in the Second Polish Republic, during World War II, in the

Polish People’s Republic and in the Third Polish Republic – teaching aids

for the Course Leader

Author: Radosław Milczarski

II Republic of Poland

Rights of national minorities:

◊ The Small Treaty of Versailles (or the Polish Minority Treaty) – signed on 28 June 1919,

together with the Treaty of Versailles. Agreement to this treaty was a condition of Poland’s

admission to the ‘big’ Versailles Treaty. According to the ‘small’ treaty, national minorities were

given the right to take their complaints directly to the League of Nations, by-passing the Polish

judiciary.

◊ Article 95 of the May Constitution of 1925 assured every person of the right to respect for life,

freedom and property “without differentiation as to origin, nationality, language, race or

religion”.

◊ The April Constitution of 1935 confirmed the equality of citizens in the face of the law but

also introduced the principle of loyalty towards the state and prohibited any action by national

minorities which might adversely affect the interests of the II Republic.

Institutions concerned with national minorities:

◊ The League of Nations

◊ The Committee for National Issue – from 1935.

The situation of national minorities:

National minorities were able to run their own schools, charity organisations and their own

community activities. They also created their own political representative body, which had its

place in parliament, or Sejm.

However, parliament never passed any executory laws relating to the establishment of self-

governing bodies for national minorities; nor were minority-language schools financed by the

state.

In the Eastern Borderlands (Kresy Wschodnie), there was a policy of intensive ‘polonisation’

which made it difficult to set up minority organisations, Polish military settlers were brought in,

and access to higher education was limited. At the end of the 1930s, discriminatory regulations

affected Jews: a law was passed limiting ritual slaughter (which was a breach of religious

tolerance); in practical terms, the principle of numerus clausus (closed/limited numbers) was

observed, while a ‘school-bench ghetto’ was introduced in universities.

The Second World War (Poland)

The rights of national minorities:

◊ ‘Standgericht’ Directive issued by German Governor-General, Hans Frank, on 2 October 1943

referring to summary courts: “People of non-German nationality, who intend to block or interfere

in the German Rebuilding Process are breaching laws, directives and regulations and shall be

sentenced to death”.

◊ General Władysław Sikorski’s declaration to the people of Poland: “Poland will ensure justice,

and freedom to develop their national and cultural heritage and the protection of the law to people

of all national minorities who have taken part in the fight and have remained loyal to the Polish

State”.

Institutions working on behalf of national minorities:

◊ The Red Cross

◊ The Central Welfare Council

The realities of the German occupation of Polish territory excluded any non-German national

from public, economic and cultural life. In accordance with the racist ideology of National

Socialism, the population was divided into Aryans and non-Aryans. The aims of the occupying

power was economic exploitation and biological extermination of conquered nations. The Nazis

also applied the ‘divide and rule’ method, intensifying ethnic antagonism (Polish-Ukrainian,

Polish-Jewish) and promoting artificial national divides (e.g. Goralenvolk – Highland peoples).

Displacement, deportation, ethnic cleansing and summary justice were all an everyday

occurrence.

Polish People’s Republic (PRL)

◊ The Constitution of the Polish People’s Republic of 1952, did not contain specific guarantees

of rights of national minorities. Only Article 69 guaranteed all Polish citizens, whatever their

nationality, race or religious beliefs, equality under the law and a ban on discrimination in all

walks of life.

◊ Bill passed by the III Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party

(PZPR) on 20 February 1976 concerning the “broadening of the patriotic unity of the nation, the

strengthening of the state and of socialist democracy” – i.e. sanctioning a nationally homogenous

Polish state.

Institutions working on behalf of national minorities:

The only organisations which spoke out on behalf of the interests of minorities were the Social-

Cultural Associations, which comprised active members of individual nationalities.

Despite their declared stance, which was primarily centred on class origin, the PRL authorities

pursued a policy aimed at consolidating national homogeneity in Poland. Not only were people

displaced immediately after the war (the ‘Wisła’ campaign 1947-1950) but the authorities also

carried out a wide-ranging programme of ‘polonisation’ of names and surnames, and of

geographic names. In Śląsk (Silesia) and in the Opole district, the teaching of the German

language was prohibited.

The anti-Semitic campaign of 1968 forced a considerable part of the remaining Jewish minority

in Poland to emigrate and it also had its influence on the rights of the remaining national

minorities which were increasingly limited (e.g. in aspects of education). The dogma of the

moral-political unity of the nation continued right up to the end of the Polish People’s Republic.

The Third Republic of Poland (III RP)

◊ The 1994 EC Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities – ratified by

Poland in 2000.

◊ Article 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland

“The Republic of Poland guarantees Polish citizens belonging to national and ethnic minorities

the preservation and development of their own language, the preservation of customs and

traditions and the development of their own culture. National minorities shall have the right to

establish their own educational and cultural institutions, as well as institutions serving to protect

religious identity and they shall have the right to take part in solving matters concerning their

cultural identity.”

◊ Law of 2 May 2005 in the matter of national and ethnic minorities and regional languages.

Institutions working on behalf of national minorities: The Sejm Commission on National and

Ethnic Minorities – since 1989,

The Inter-departmental Group on National Minorities – since 1997,

Joint Government and National and Ethnic Minorities Commission – since 2005. Provincial

governors (so called ‘Voivodes’) have the right to appoint a Commissioner for National

Minorities.

In a government declaration in 1989, the first non-Communist Premier, Tadeusz Mazowiecki,

stated: “Poland is a state and a motherland not just for Poles. We live alongside representatives of

other nations. We want them to feel at home, to be able to preserve their language and to enrich

both their culture and our society”.

Nonetheless complete institutional homogeneity of state policy towards the non-Polish population

did not come until 2005. Until then, the inadequate coordination of issues concerning minorities

was a frequent cause of conflict. A current problem is the overly liberal treatment of offences of a

xenophobic and nationalist nature.

The major challenges facing policy on minorities is the issue of the social integration of the

Roma, and the definition of ‘nation/nationality’ in view of the demands posed by the Movement

for the Autonomy of Śląsk (Silesia).

Group 1: II Republic of Poland

Source I.

1 February 1919. Stanisław Wojciechowski, the Minister of the Interior, in an information

bulletin:

I am in receipt of numerous complaints about abuse of authority by representatives of the state

and military administrative authorities, and by private individuals, in relation to the Jewish

population. I am forced to remind you that the civic rights of the Jewish population are on a par

with those of the indigenous Polish population and that the Jewish people should not be subject to

attacks or abuse. There is no place in an independent Poland for division of citizens into

categories. Everyone is equal in the face of the law, everyone shall have the right to fulfil his

aims provided only that they do not strike at the foundations of the Polish state. […]

I warn you, therefore, that any acts of wilful lawlessness targeted against the Jewish population,

carried out by administrative bodies or by private individuals will be investigated and penalised

with the due impartiality and severity of the law. There is no place in an independent Poland for

injustice, aggression and for flouting the law.

R. Żebrowski, Dzieje Żydów w Polsce. Wybór tekstów źródłowych 1918–1939 [The History of Jews in Poland. Selection of source

texts 1918-1939], Warsaw 1993

Source IV.

December 1938. ‘Taran. One-day issue devoted to economic matters”

Poster reads:

BOYCOTT OF JEWISH SHOPS- the duty of every responsible PoleJews are strangling our trade and our industryPolish industry, trade and crafts – guarantee of economic independenceSHOP FOR CHRISTMAS ONLY IN POLISH SHOPS

Group 2: Second World War

Source I.

12 February 1942. Krajno. Dawid Rubinowicz, a Jewish child:

A village watchman came to pin up an advertisement. It wasn’t an advertisement after all, just a

caricature of Jews. There’s a picture of a Jew with a mincing machine and he’s putting a rat in the

machine. Another is pouring a bucketful of water into milk. The third picture shows a Jew

kneading leaven with his feet, and worms are crawling all over him and the leaven. The title of

the advertisement is: “The Jew’s a cheat, he’s your only enemy”. And underneath it says: “Stand

and read, my dear friend, how the Jews have got you in their claws [...]”.

As the watchman was putting up the notice, some people who had been clearing the snow passed

by; they were laughing fit to burst. My head reeled with the shame of what Jews have to put up

with these days.

D. Rubinowicz, Pamiętnik Dawida Rubinowicza [Dawid Rubinowicz’s Diary], Warsaw 1987

Source II.

Interview about rescuing people from the ‘march of death’:

[…] Do you remember the march of death passing through Paniówki?

Yes. […] It was the winter of 1945. Prisoners from the Auschwitz [concentration] camp were

being led westwards along the main Gliwice road. It was a very shocking sight for me, I’ll never

forget it to my dying day. A woman neighbour helped 14 prisoners escape. She brought them into

our house through a window.

Why to your house in particular?

Because we had soldiers with a radio-station quartered in our house. Our neighbour must have

thought that would be the safest place. Later, she took 13 of them to her mother’s place in

Borowa Wieś but one of them stayed on with us.

And who was this prisoner?

It later turned out that he was a Jew. His name was Leon. But his nationality wasn’t important.

Jew, German, Pole – what did it matter? What did matter to me was that he needed help.

Where did you hide him?

He was hidden in one of the rooms. I was terrified when the German officer ordered that the

house be searched. My heart missed a beat when the German went into the room, where Leon

was hiding. When we went into the room, he wasn’t there. The German walked round the room

and then left. I heaved a sigh of relief.

But what happened to him, where did he hide?

It later turned out that he’d hidden behind the ceramic stove. He was so thin that he managed to

squeeze into the narrow gap between the wall and the stove. That really was a miracle. […]

What made your neighbour want to help those people?

I don’t know. She was 22 at the time. She was very brave and despite the grave danger, she took

an enormous risk, I think those people were more important to her than any danger. All around us

there were German soldiers and yet she led those ‘stripe-garbed’ people out.... […]

And how do you rate that action in hindsight?

I helped a man even though I was terrified because we could have been shot there and then. I

don’t regret it. I would do the same today.

E. Bartoszek, M. Skiba, Tak blisko, a tak daleko. Tragiczna historia Ślązaków – 1944–45 [So near and yet so far. The tragic history

of the people of Śląsk – 1944-45], in: KARTA Centre Archives, History at Hand Archive, ref.: HB 9/443-Z/05

Group 3: The Post-War Years

Source I.

4 July 1946. Kielce. Maria Welfman, an inhabitant of Kielce:

This month, on Friday 4th, I was at home and had not yet dressed for the day. At about 10 a.m.

some people from the town arrived and said that a Jew had been arrested. Within half-an-hour our

building was surrounded by men in uniform and the crowd shouted: “Where are our children?

What have you Jews done with our children?” [...] the inhabitants were panic stricken, they were

afraid of the crowd in the street, which had forced its way into the courtyard (a school

playground) after having torn down the fence. I went down to our Jewish neighbours on the first

floor. On the stairs I saw a man in uniform who was waving his rifle and shouting: “Where are

our murdered children? We’ll show you!” Citizeness Mira Łokciowa was with me and she asked:

“What harm have we done you?” To which the uniformed man replied: “Just you wait, we’ll

show you!” and he went off down the corridor and ordered that everyone give up their firearms

whether they had a permit, or not. [...]

Half an hour later I made my way to the Jewish Committee, where the window was broken by a

series of shots fired from the direction of the schoolyard. [...] I then went into the Committee

room where there was a telephone – Citizens Kubiecki and Tyzemberg were on the phone, trying

to get help from various departments. I went out into the corridor with Citizen Proszowski; we

heard the crowd in the street yelling and several times we heard the sound of firing. At about 2

p.m., or perhaps it was a little later, we made a barricade near the door leading to the stair-well

(corridor) and we barricaded the entrance. A moment later there was a banging on the door and

demands that it be opened. The barricade was moved aside and the doors opened. Three

uniformed functionaries came in and ordered the men to leave the building, then the women were

ordered to raise their hands and they were led out, through the stair-well and into the school yard.

Five minutes later, a few of them returned, beaten up and covered in blood. At that we began to

shout and once again three men in uniform came and said: “Stop that racket – those who are still

alive, will live”. They told us to keep quiet and we remained in that room until the end, and again

we heard shouts and shots being fired.

Zeznanie w WUBP świadka Marii Welfman, po 6 lipca 1946 [Maria Welfman’s witness statement made in the WUBP (Provincial

Public Security Office) after 6 July 1946] , in: Investigation case files, vol. 8, record 1537, type-script copy, quoted from: Wokół

pogromu kieleckiego [About the Kielce Pogrom], ed. Ł. Kamiński and J. Żaryn, Warsaw 2006

Source II.

11 July 1946. Kielce. Appeal issued by the Kielce Diocese Bishops’ Council and read out in

churches:

To all Reverend Fathers and Parish Priests of the Kielce Diocese.

The Kielce Bishops’ Council directs that the following appeal be read out from the pulpit at all

Holy Masses this coming Sunday – without any accompanying comments.

Appeal

The basic principle of Catholicism, next to the love of God is love for one’s neighbour –

whatever his origin, nationality or creed. The highest values held by Man in this world are his life

and health, and respect for that life and health is the primary purpose of the commandment to

love one’s neighbour. The events which took place in Kielce on 4 July, this year, contrary to

those holy and steadfast principles, resulted in the deaths of many people and left many more

with serious injuries. It is with the deepest regret that we must inform you of this, and it must be

clearly understood that deliberate murder is a crime which calls to God for vengeance and, as

such, is worthy of absolute and categorical condemnation. The crime is all the more heinous

when it is committed in the sight of adolescents and children.

Dzieje Żydów w Polsce 1944–1968. Teksty źródłowe [The History of Jews in Poland 1944-1968. Source Texts], ed. A. Cała, H.

Datner-Śpiewak, Warsaw 1997

Group 4: March ’68

Source I.

19 March 1968. Mieczysław F. Rakowski in his diary:

When Gomułka ascended to the podium, the whole audience began to yell: “Wiesław, Wiesław”.

He couldn’t quieten them. Then they sang “Sto lat [equivalent: ‘For he’s a jolly good fellow’]”.

Finally he managed to speak. As he spoke, the enthusiasm of the audience abated. Every so often,

he was interrupted with shouts of: “Wiesław, get on with it! Wiesław, get on with it!” People also

began to chant:

“Gierek, Gierek” and “Wiesław – Gierek”. […] When Gomułka referred to Jews, saying that

anyone who wants to leave can go, we won’t stop them, shouting broke out: “Today if they

want.” […]

In the corner of the hall, banners were being changed. Initially they were in support of Wiesław,

then they disappeared and were replaced by others: “All power to the people with just one

motherland”. From which it would appear that the Politburo has two motherlands. Another

banner was unfurled: “Sionists go home to Israel”. Someone else shouted: “To the gallows with

the Jews”. […]

M. F. Rakowski, Dzienniki polityczne 1967– 68 [Political diaries 1967-68], Warsaw 1999

Source II.

Łódź. Ewa Rosenbaum:

Gomułka’s speech – it was the first time that the whole family watched it together. All Jews sat in

front of their televisions that day. I remember mother saying: “I think we’ll have to leave”. It

wasn’t a decision just then, just a sort of feeling that something strange was going on.

Quote from the film Dworzec Gdański [Gdańsk Railway Station], directed by Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz, quote taken from: Rok

1968. Środek Peerelu [The Year 1968. The Middle of the Polish People’s Republic], ed. A. Dębska, Warsaw 2008

Source III.

1968. Wrocław. Alfred Jahn:

Dead of night, a light here and there, crowds of people, sweaty atmosphere. Exhaustion is setting

in. Towards morning I received a message that representatives of the security services and the

militia want to enter the university. They were demanding that students ‘of Jewish origin’ who

are plotting against the state be sent out. They claimed that the students were producing leaflets

which were finding their way outside the university. The allegation was serious: inciting the

population. Negotiations begin, a militia officer, banging on the gate in the name of his

commander, demands to be let in. The lads on sentry duty report that the officer has a list of 10

Jewish students, and that he has orders to arrest them. I did not agree to let him in.

A. Jahn, Z Kleparowa świat szeroki [From Kleparów the world is open wide] , Wrocław 1991, quote from: Rok 1968. Środek Peerelu

[The Year 1968. The Middle of the Polish People’s Republic], ed. A. Dębska, Warsaw 2008

Source IV.

16 April 1968. Warszawa. M. F. Rakowski in his diary:

Various people continue to be removed from office, especially Jews. The anti-Sionist campaign

continues. There is a continuous atmosphere of tension. If things carry on like this, I wonder who

else will be in the firing line. After all, we don’t have that many Jews in Poland. They’ll have to

think up another group of people to attack.

M. F. Rakowski, Dzienniki polityczne 1967– 68 [Political diaries 1967-68], Warsaw 1999

III. 3. SOCIAL RIGHTS

Monika Lipka

1950s or 1960s, Nowa Huta, Kraków. Interior of room in workers’ hostel. Photo: Irena Jarosińska, KARTA

Centre collection

Man’s social rights relate to the right to work, to social security, health, family life, participation

in culture and to education. Each of the above rights hides a variety of others: the rights of

women and men to equal treatment and equal chances in employment, the right of an employee to

earn his livelihood in a freely chosen field, the right to medical care, to housing of a suitable

standard, the right to reunion of families, the right of citizens to leave their own country. These

rights are defined in the European Social Charter – a Council of Europe international convention,

ratified in Turin in 1961 by 28 countries worldwide. In Poland, these rights are guaranteed by the

1997 Constitution of the Republic of Poland.

In extraordinary situations, the social rights due to Man are frequently forgotten. During the

Second World War, nobody asked Poles displaced from their homes in the Pomorze (Pomerania)

province where they would like to live in exchange. The German occupier decided that Poles

were to be evicted and that there should be a Germanic way of life in Pomerania. When we read

about everyday life in the Polish People’s Republic, we see that social rights were breached as a

matter of course. Lack of medication which was only available abroad, working according to

production norms, waiting for allocation of an apartment – waiting lists were sometimes well

over a dozen years. Situations like those portrayed in the satirical soap opera ‘Alternatywy 4’

(No. 4 Alternatives Street), which we watch with amusement today. This begs the question – does

a democratic system assure people of the security of their social rights? Can everyone make use

of these rights and are social rights really respected today?

During the course of the workshop, the participants will learn the following:

◊ What are social rights, and how are they apportioned,

◊ What are ‘second generation’ rights,

◊ About basic documents relating to social rights,

◊ About the bodies which monitor whether social rights are being respected,

◊ Can Man’s social rights be classed as extraordinary (e.g. in wartime)?

After the workshop, participants will be able to:

◊ explain what the European Social Charter is about,

◊ name the tasks of the European Court of Justice in relation to the protection of social rights,

◊ define what social rights are and classify them,

◊ give examples of breach of Man’s social rights, with reference to historical examples.

Key concepts:

boundaries of human rights, ‘second generation’ rights, European Social Charter, European Court

of Justice in Luxembourg, Man’s social rights.

◊ Introductory lesson,

◊ ‘Brain storming’,

◊ Discussion,

◊ Work in groups,

◊ Work with pictorial material,

◊ Work with source material.

Teaching aids:

◊ sheets of paper, markers,

◊ supporting and source material.

Duration:

90 mins.

Target group:

Adults

Workshop programme:

1. Welcome, participants introduce themselves. (5–10 mins.)

2. Introduction and presentation of the aims of the meeting. (5 mins.)

3. The Course Leader presents the European Social Charter, containing a basic catalogue of

Man’s rights and freedoms, and describing how they are protected (see: Supporting Material on

pg. 88). He/she compares them with clauses in the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of Poland.

(5 mins.)

4. Explanation of key concepts.

The Course Leader discusses the role of the European Court of Justice in relation to compliance

with the European Social Charter. He uses the ‘brain storming’ method for this and writes the

answers on the board/flipchart. Once all ideas have been exhausted, he/she discusses the answers

and adds his/her own comments. (10 mins.)

5. Exercise 1.

Participants divide into groups (no more than 7 in a group). Each group is given a questionnaire

(see: Questionnaire No. 1 in Supporting Materials, pg. 94), which it has to complete with the help

of the text of the European Social Charter, received earlier. Once the Questionnaire has been

completed, the Course Leader discusses the participants’ answers. (15 mins.)

6. Exercise 2.

The Course Leader divides the participants into 2 groups:

Group I receives source texts nos. I–III;

Group II receives source texts nos. IV–VI.

Participants give examples of breaches of human rights on the basis of an analysis of the source

texts they received. They also attempt to answer the question contained in the Questionnaire (see:

Questionnaire No. 2 in Supporting Materials, pg. 95) and to fill in the missing information. The

aim of this exercise is to familiarise oneself with examples of breaches of social rights in the

Polish People’s Republic. Once the Questionnaire has been completed, the Course Leader

discusses the answers given by the participants and initiates a discussion about today’s breaches

of social rights. (20 mins.)

7. Next, the Course Leader presents the visual material (see: pgs. 97-101) and examines it

together with the participants. Summarising, he/she hands out comments which relate to the

photographs. The Course Leader initiates a discussion about modern-day forms of breach of

social rights, comparing them with the situation in the Polish People’s Republic. He/she writes

the comments on the board/flipchart. (25 mins.)

8. Summing up the workshop and time for questions from the floor relating to the entire

workshop. Next, the Course Leader thanks the participants for taking part in the workshops and

encourages them to expand their knowledge by familiarising themselves with source materials. (5

mins.)

SUPPORTING MATERIALS AND SOURCE TEXTS FOR WORK IN GROUPS

European Social Charter (revised)

Part IThe Parties accept as the aim of their policy, to be pursued by all appropriate means both

national and international in character, the attainment of conditions in which the following rights

and principles may be effectively realised:

1 Everyone shall have the opportunity to earn his living in an occupation freely entered

2 All workers have the right to just conditions of work.

3 All workers have the right to safe and healthy working conditions.

4 All workers have the right to a fair remuneration sufficient for a decent standard of living

for themselves and their families.

5 All workers and employers have the right to freedom of association in national or

international organisations for the protection of their economic and social interests.

6 All workers and employers have the right to bargain collectively.

7 Children and young persons have the right to a special protection against the physical and

moral hazards to which they are exposed.

8 Employed women, in case of maternity, have the right to a special protection.

9 Everyone has the right to appropriate facilities for vocational guidance with a view to

helping him choose an occupation suited to his personal aptitude and interests.

10 Everyone has the right to appropriate facilities for vocational training.

11 Everyone has the right to benefit from any measures enabling him to enjoy the highest

possible standard of health attainable.

12 All workers and their dependents have the right to social security.

13 Anyone without adequate resources has the right to social and medical assistance.

14 Everyone has the right to benefit from social welfare services.

15 Disabled persons have the right to independence, social integration and participation in

the life of the community.

16 The family as a fundamental unit of society has the right to appropriate social, legal and

economic protection to ensure its full development.

17 Children and young persons have the right to appropriate social, legal and economic

protection.

18 The nationals of any one of the Parties have the right to engage in any gainful occupation

in the territory of any one of the others on a footing of equality with the nationals of the latter,

subject to restrictions based on cogent economic or social reasons.

19 Migrant workers who are nationals of a Party and their families have the right to pro-

tection and assistance in the territory of any other Party.

20 All workers have the right to equal opportunities and equal treatment in matters of

employment and occupation without discrimination on the grounds of sex.

21 Workers have the right to be informed and to be consulted within the undertaking.

22 Workers have the right to take part in the determination and improvement of the working

conditions and working environment in the undertaking.

23 Every elderly person has the right to social protection.

24 All workers have the right to protection in cases of termination of employment.

25 All workers have the right to protection of their claims in the event of the insolvency of

their employer.

26 All workers have the right to dignity at work.

27 All persons with family responsibilities and who are engaged or wish to engage in

employment have a right to do so without being subject to discrimination and as far as possible

without conflict between their employment and family responsibilities.

28 Workers’ representatives in undertakings have the right to protection against acts

prejudicial to them and should be afforded appropriate facilities to carry out their functions.

29 All workers have the right to be informed and consulted in collective redundancy

procedures.

30 Everyone has the right to protection against poverty and social exclusion.

31 Everyone has the right to housing.

Freedoms and economic, social and cultural rights – the Law according to the 1997

Constitution of the Republic of Poland

Article 64

1. Every person shall have the right to ownership, to other property rights and the right to

inherit.

2. Ownership, other property rights and the right to inherit are subject to equal protection under

the law for all.

Article 65

1. Every person shall have the right of freedom of choice of professional employment and to

carry out his work, and to freedom of choice of place of work. Exceptions are defined in the

relevant Act.

Article 67

1. The citizen shall have the right to social security when he/she is unable to work as a result of

illness or invalidity, and after reaching retirement age. The range and form of the social security

are described in the relevant Act.

Article 68

1. Every person shall have the right to health care.

2. The public authorities shall assure citizens, regardless of their financial situation, of equal

access to health care services financed by public funds. The conditions and range of available

services are described in the relevant Act.

3. The public authorities shall be responsible for ensuring special health care for children,

pregnant women, the disabled and elderly people.

Article 69

The public authorities shall ensure that, in accordance with the law, disabled persons have the

right to secure living conditions, vocational training, and social contact.

Article 70

1. Every person shall have the right to education. Education up to the age of 18 is compulsory.

The manner of schooling is described in the relevant Act.

2. Education in public [state] schools is free-of-charge. The Act may allow certain educational

services to be provided at a charge by public institutions of higher education.

3. The public authorities shall ensure that citizens are assured of universal and equal access to

education. To this end they shall create and support systems of individual and organisational aid

for school pupils and students. Conditions for the provision of aid shall be defined by the relevant

Article 73

1. The social and economic policies of the State shall take into consideration the good of the

family. Families which find themselves in difficult material and social conditions, especially

families with many children and single parent families, shall have the right to special help from

the public authorities.

Article 75

1. The public authorities shall pursue a policy which will help to ensure that the housing needs

of all citizens are met and, in particular, they shall take action to prevent homelessness, they shall

support the development of social housing and shall support the endeavours of citizens in seeking

to obtain their own home.

2. Protection of the rights of tenants is defined by the relevant Act.

Group I

Source I.

25 May 1956. Franciszek M. from Zator:

I am a night guard in the Timber Woodworking Cooperative in Kraków. Production Plant No. 2

in Zator, Oświęcim. I am on duty 12 hours a day without a day off, year round – in other words I

work 360, or sometimes even 372 hours per month. My pay is 1 złoty 93 grosze per hour. When

the new regulations setting the minimum wage at 2.50 złoties per hour came into force on 1st

April, I thought I would be getting a rise. When pay day came round I was disappointed and

asked the manager of the plant for an explanation. He informed me that, according to the

explanation given by the board of the cooperative and by the legal advisor, night guards are not

workers and, therefore, pay rises do not affect them. Please explain to me – is that fair? True, the

monthly pay for 360 hours amounts to 694.80 złoties gross, but to earn it I have to work 160

hours more than any other employee, who works an average of 200 hours. If the interpretation of

the wage rise regulation is correct and does not apply to us night guards, then I would ask you to

intercede for us so that our 12 hour working day is abolished, and we are allotted days off, and for

an end to all that ‘slave labour’. I am making this plea on my part but also in the name of

thousands of others like me. After all, night guards are usually elderly people (I am 67 years old),

tired after a lifetime of work, shattered by war and experiences in camps, or they are disabled

people.

Księga listów PRL-u [Letters to the People’s Republic], vol. 1, 1951–1956, selection and editing: G. Sołtysiak, Warsaw 2004

Source II.

May 1973. Employees of Parts Supply Department at FSO Car Production Works in Warsaw:

We have been working at FSO on average some 4 years, although there are more long-term

employees among us, too. This is the first time that we have had to deal with the type of

management we have now. Stores no. 477 is jam-packed, it is chaotic and disorganised. The

containers in which car parts are stored are piled one on top of another – 6 containers high – and

each container has an average height of 1.5 metres. Management literally forces us to climb up

onto them in search of parts. If any of us refuses because she is afraid to climb so high, she is

punished with a reprimand or does not receive her bonus. We are continually being threatened

with reprimands, with loss of bonuses or dismissal. Our pleas for improvement in working

conditions are to no avail. Quite literally, when we want to ask Manager P. For something, he

either runs away from us or turns his back on the employee and sometimes even answers back in

obscene language. There are also instances when Manager Z. comes on an inspection visit and

when he checks our work stations he throws out the lunch packs we keep on side tables, claiming

that they are rubbish. So for 8 working hours we go hungry. Please note that we do not have a

canteen or lockers, where we could keep our lunch. Our working conditions deteriorate day by

day. Currently, a mouse could not squeeze between the containers let alone a person; sometimes

we have to rummage around for a part and go from container to container, using one hand to keep

our balance and holding parts in the other which often ends up with the employee falling and

hurting herself because production must not, of course, be disrupted.

Księga listów PRL-u [Letters to the People’s Republic], vol. 3, 1970 –1989, selection and editing: G. Sołtysiak, Warsaw 2004

Source III.

4 May 1956. Zygmunt W. from Ustrobna:

In 1949 I was arrested and imprisoned. I was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and

confiscation of my property – i.e. 90 ares, of land. My two children and my wife were left

without a roof over their heads because my home was taken away by my firm which said that

since I am not working I can’t leave the apartment to my children. Friends and family took pity

on the children and took them in temporarily. Seeing that her life had collapsed and not wanting

to wait, my wife is now living with another man. In February 1955, I left prison. Bereft of

everything, I fought for life. Naturally, in the first place I turned to the Employment Department

for work and to the Housing Office for somewhere to live. I applied for work in my profession

but did not get it. It was not until 3 months later that I found employment in the Krosno Linen

Industry Plant, where I am still earning 528 złoties per month. As to housing – despite having

spent the whole of last year’s summer months on a park bench, and rainy days in a market hall, I

have not been assigned any housing. What next? I am not being housed – to which I have a right,

my stay in prison left me disabled because of the conditions there. I have never done anything to

deserve such a fate and my life is permanently ruined. Now that I have left prison I want to live

honestly and to work as I always did in the past. Please advise me: to which God must I turn to be

given a roof over my head – a roof which was taken from me? To whom should I turn to get

work, the sort of work I trained for and sacrificed my youth for?

Księga listów PRL-u [Letters to the People’s Republic], vol. 3, 1970 –1989, selection and editing: G. Sołtysiak, Warsaw 2004

Group II

Source IV.

8 April 1958. Warsaw. Izabela Wciślińska to the General Board of the Commercial Employees

Trade Union. Social Welfare Department:

Since 1.IV.1949 I have been working in a commercial cooperative. During my working life I

went up all the rungs of the ladder in the financial/book-keeping department and in 1955 I was

appointed to the position of Chief Book-keeper of MHD Foodstuffs in Central Warsaw. [...] We

have two children: a daughter aged 14, and a son aged 12 – the children are anaemic. Since 1949

we have been living in two-room premises with a total area of 36m2 (room and kitchen), together

with my parents-in-law and my husband’s brother, i.e. a total of 7 people. The premises are very

primitive – cold, damp and dark, there is no sanitation – water comes from a well, and there is a

privy in the yard. Proof that the room is unsuitable as a dwelling is a certificate from the doctor in

the Health Centre who issued the report in view of the damp and lack of suitable lighting [...] To

get to the tram stop you have to walk for a kilometre along an unmade muddy tract. The

conditions in which I have been living for 9 years have totally exhausted me, both physically and

mentally. Joint sleeping arrangements, relieving oneself, dressing and undressing in the presence

of adolescent children is very embarrassing and intolerable in the long run. [...] As these

conditions have badly affected my health and as I am now at the end of my tether, I would ask the

Presidium of the National Council for the Warsaw-Mokotów District for help.

KARTA Centre Archives, Section: Housing Problems in the Polish People’s Republic, ref.: AO IV/2.1

Source V.

18 December 1981. Warsaw. ‘Jan Kowalski’ [John Smith]:

My wife has received a directive to report at a mustering point as she has been assigned for snow-

clearing work on the Trakt Lubelski route. The whole operation was directed by a Mr Dworzanin,

a retired Colonel, until recently a simple employee in the ‘Makowianka’ Invalids’ Cooperative,

working part-time to boost his army pension, and for a few days now the ‘Makowianka’ Military

Commissar. My wife tried to protest but Mr Dworzanin threatened her, saying that refusal to

carry out an order under martial law conditions was punishable by imprisonment.

A few dozen workers were driven to the operation area in official vehicles, taking with them

some very basic equipment (shovels, spades and sledge-hammers). The ‘Staff Command’ was

stationed in the cab of one of the vehicles. Apart from a break ordered at 3 p.m. and lasting less

than twenty minutes, during which hot tea with rum (i.e. ordinary vodka) was provided, the

people were ordered to work in icy conditions with gusting winds until 6 p.m. In exchange, the

following day – a Saturday – was declared a work-free day (until now all Saturdays had been

work-free for employees of ‘Makowianka’). Apart from healthy employees – like my wife –

many invalids were employed in snow clearing, there were even some who were crippled and had

no arm, or leg.

Source VI.

December 1981. Warsaw. Marianna Łazanek:

Thanks to martial law I learned how to cope by myself in an asthma attack, even a serious attack.

I knew that help would not come and that if I wanted to live I would have to work hard, forcing

my lungs to function. First of all, the air trapped in my lungs as a result of narrowing of the

bronchi had to be forced out. As it was forced out, the air slowly, very slowly, reduced the

blockage and prolonged life, little by little. A friend didn’t make it. She lived alone and she died

with the telephone receiver clutched to her heart. But her heart was in a very poor state. Every

day supplies of drugs diminished, new ones were not available. If one could have asked someone

who was going abroad, preferably a pilot or an air-hostess but there were no flights abroad. And

day by day supplies of medication, particularly Euphyllin and inhalers originating from Germany,

dwindled. The last tablet, the last inhalation would be the last day of life. Days were counted in

terms of disappearing tablets… several acquaintances were left without medication but I was

lucky, I managed to hold on until a crack appeared in our tightly guarded borders.

Z. Gluza, W stanie [Under martial law], Warsaw 1991

Questionnaire No. 1

Rights recorded in the European Social Charter:

Guaranteed social rights Complete:

Availability of housing 1. Availability of housing of suitable standard

2. …………………………………………………………………

3. …………………………………………………………………

4. …………………………………………………………………

Access to health care 5. …………………………………………………………………

6. …………………………………………………………………

7. …………………………………………………………………

8. …………………………………………………………………

Access to free-of-charge education 9 ………………………………………………………………….

10. ………………………………………………………………….

11. ………………………………………………………………….

12. ………………………………………………………………….

The right to employment 13. ………………………………………………………………….

14. ………………………………………………………………….

15. ………………………………………………………………….

16. ………………………………………………………………….

Relocation of people 17. ………………………………………………………………….

18. ………………………………………………………………….

19. ………………………………………………………………….

20. ………………………………………………………………….

Protection from discrimination 21. ………………………………………………………………….

22. ………………………………………………………………….

23. ………………………………………………………………….

24. ………………………………………………………………….

Questionnaire No. 2

Have the individual’s social rights been breached in the situations described? If so, which:

Poland is in a state of martial law, pharmacies do not have any

medicines for asthma. Marianna’s asthma is very serious. Her

medication is running out and, unfortunately, she is not able to get any

more in the pharmacy. The only way is to smuggle it in across the

border.

Zygmunt was arrested and imprisoned in 1949. He was sentenced to 15

years imprisonment. His property – just under a hectare of land – was

confiscated. His wife and two children have been left without a roof

over their heads.

Izabela, together with her parents-in-law and her husband’s brother – 7

people in all – have been living in 2-room premises with a total area of

36m2 (room and kitchen). These premises are very primitive, they are

cold, damp and dark, with no sanitation – water comes from the well

and there is a privy in the yard.

Mrs Kowalska – a clerk in the ‘Makowianka’ Invalids’ Cooperative –

was ordered to report at a mustering point by the Cooperative’s

Military Commissar as she had been assigned for snow-clearing works.

Apart from healthy workers such as Mrs Kowalska, many disabled

people were employed for the snow clearing work and among them

were even invalids without an arm or a leg.

When he left prison, the convicted person turned to the Department of

Employment for work and to the Housing Office for somewhere to

live. He asked for work in his profession but did not get it.

The women employees are constantly being threatened with

disciplinary notices, loss of bonuses or dismissal. Their pleas for an

improvement in working conditions falls on deaf ears.

A man employed as a night guard says: “my pay amounts to 1 zł. 93

grosze per hour. When the new regulations setting the minimum wage

at 2.50 złoties per hour came into force on 1st April, I thought I would

be getting a rise. When pay day came round I was disappointed and

asked the manager of the plant for an explanation. He informed me

that, according to the explanation given by the board of the cooperative

and by the legal advisor, night guards are not workers and, therefore,

pay rises do not affect them...”

VISUAL MATERIAL

1. August 1942, Pahlevi, Persia (Iran). Evacuation from the USSR of Polish civilians who had been

forcibly deported from Poland at the beginning of the war. Photo: Polish Institute and Gen. Sikorski

Museum in London, KARTA Centre collection

2. 1955, Wrocław. Black marketer being stopped by Civil Militia functionaries during anti-

racketeering campaign. Photo: WFDIF

3. 1950s or 1960s, Nowa Huta, Kraków. Interior of room in workers’ hostel. Photo:

Irena Jarosińska, KARTA Centre collection

4. November 1976, Warsaw, Stegny housing estate. Photo: Andrzej Rybczyński, PAP

5. 1980s. Crowd storming the doors to a meat shop. Shop sign reads: MEAT, COLD MEATS

Photo: Jacek Kucharczyk

6. 1993, Kraków, the Kazimierz Jewish quarter. Photo: Jerzy Szot, KARTA Centre collection

Illustration 1. Following the Polish-Soviet Sikorski-Majski Pact, a Polish Army was established

on USSR territory which, by mid-1941, already numbered some 41,000 people. The volunteers,

released on the strength of an amnesty from labour camps and other places of exile, were often

accompanied by their families and by others who saw this as a chance to escape their places of

banishment. Problems with supplies grew because whilst the Soviets were ready to feed the

army, civilians were another matter. The Polish Government-in-Exile in London appointed

General Władysław Anders as Commander of the Polish Armed Forces in the Soviet Union.

Increasingly difficult relations with the government of the USSR resulted in talks between

General Władysław Sikorski, the Polish Premier and Commander-in-Chief, and Joseph Stalin in

January 1941. In the course of the negotiations, Gen. Sikorski threatened to withdraw the newly

formed Polish Army from the Soviet Union to Persia (today’s Iran). In his talks with the Polish

delegation, Stalin made certain compromises and agreed to release Polish citizens who continued

to be kept in labour camps and Soviet prisons. On 24 March 1942, the first stage of the

withdrawal of the Polish Army from the USSR took place. By November 1942, over 115,000

people had been evacuated to Persia – this sum included approximately 78,500 troops and 37,000

civilians. Amongst the civilians were almost 18,000 children.

During the period of exile, some of the children and young people were forced to hard labour and

many of them died – both during transport from Poland to the location of their banishment and as

a result of difficult living conditions, lack of food supplies and lack of medical care. Throughout

the period of the evacuation and their travels with the Polish Army, the children were especially

well cared for but, nonetheless, they still lacked normal living conditions, family life and access

to normal education. – K.C.–

The photograph shows the difficult situation in which the children found themselves and

demonstrates the effects of breach of their rights, including the right to (a good, dignified) life,

family up-bringing, happiness, freedom, protection of health, medical care and social welfare,

education and learning, all-round development of their personalities, protection against

exploitation and humiliating treatment.

Illustration 2. Although the Manifest of the Polish Committee for National Liberation dated 22

July 1944 declared that “private initiative which boosts the tempo of the economy shall have the

support of the state”, the spring of 1947 saw the start of a so-called battle for trade, aimed against

small traders, craftsmen and manufacturers. As a result of repression, aggressive propaganda and

a cruel taxation policy, many shops, restaurants and workshops closed down. Whereas the private

sector (apart from farming) employed 884,800 people in 1947, by 1955 when this photograph

was taken, this figure was reduced to just 237,400. Repression on the one hand, and chronic

shortages on the other led to the development of illegal manufacture and, in particular, of illegal

trade. The body delegated to deal with these illegal activities during the period 1945-1954 was

the Special Commission for Combatting Economic Abuse and Detrimental Activities

(Nadzwyczajna Komisja do Walki z Nadużyciami i Szkodnictwem Gospodarczym). This body

was given special powers which included investigation, prosecution, conviction and execution of

sentence in the Commission’s own camps! Later, the Civil Militia was primarily responsible for

dealing with such illegal trading. The sentences meted out (usually in the form of fines but

sometimes even imprisonment) were frequently made public. It has to be said that a sizeable

proportion of the general public supported the anti-speculation measures adopted by the

authorities, although there were representatives of the latter who understood the necessity of the

unofficial economic activities of Polish citizens.

These mixed attitudes are also demonstrated in the photograph in question, taken in 1955. While

one of the militia functionaries detaining the woman trader is undoubtedly a stickler for the law,

his colleague who is standing behind him gives a quite different impression. Or perhaps he feels

pressure from the bystanders who seem to be in favour of the detained woman rather than the

arresting officers? The gestures and faces made by the witnesses to the event would seem to be

directed towards the militia functionaries and certainly do not appear friendly. The only woman

with a smile on her face is the woman on the right. However, her smile can be interpreted in two

ways: is it directed at the woman trader, or at the militia officers who are arresting her (perhaps

she feels victimised?). The behaviour of the arrested woman is also noteworthy. She does not

intend to be searched (characteristic gesture protecting her briefcase). Other questions spring to

mind when we realise that the event could have been intended as propaganda. – J.K.–

The photograph relates to breach of rights to:

◊ Economic freedom and the right to earn a living through freely chosen work,

◊ Work, freedom of choice of work, adequate and satisfying working conditions,

◊ Just process of law and being considered innocent until proven guilty.

Illustration 3. The urbanisation and industrialisation of post-war Poland was only possible

thanks to the migration of people from the country to towns. The newcomers were housed in so-

called ‘workers hostels, or hotels’. Błażej Brzostek, author of several works about the People’s

Republic of Poland, writes that these ‘hotels’ were intended as a sign of “solicitous care for the

working man”, and provided a roof over his head and an opportunity for suitable cultural

development.

Adam Ważyk wrote in his Poemat dla dorosłych [Poetic drama for adults] (1955):

From villages and from towns they come in wagons

to build a steelworks, to conjure up a town,

to dig up a new Eldorado from the grime,

an army of pioneers, a collective rabble

they crowd in huts, in barracks,

and in hostels, they squelch and whistle their way

through the muddy roads:

a great migration, frustrated ambition,

a string around their necks – a crucifix from Częstochowa,

a profusion of invectives, a soft downy pillow,

a bellyful of vodka and an appetite for strumpets,

a wary soul, grabbed from the land,

only half awake and half crazy…

Only a small number of workers’ hotels offered reasonable living conditions – particularly in the

1950s – the majority, however, were overcrowded, dirty, devastated and with appalling sanitation

facilities. Of the 134 such hotels in Warsaw in 1951 (housing some 10,000 people), half were

located in wooden barracks, only 45 had drainage systems and only five had laundry facilities. In

the provinces, conditions were considerably worse. The cultural programme said to be provided

by the hotels often proved entirely fictitious and even when literary evenings were organised,

they met with little interest on the part of the inhabitants. In the 1950s, in particular, the ‘cultural-

educational classes’ were packed with blatant propaganda (although it must be said that thanks to

his stay in a workers’ hotel many a villager learnt to read and write). Time off was generally

filled with alcohol and gaming. Although these hotels were designed to be a temporary measure,

people lived in them for years at a time, sometimes with their families (in a single room, with a

joint kitchen and bathroom). Sometimes, a husband would live in one hotel, his wife (and

children) in another. It is hardly surprising, then, that life in workers’ hotels was a frequent

subject of complaints to the authorities, as well as a recurrent theme in literature and film. – J.K.–

It is quite likely that these conditions were actually better than the tenant of the hotel seen in the

photograph had in her own family home. Nonetheless, it is still valid to speak of breach of rights:

◊ To a dignified life and upbringing for children,

◊ Of the family to the protection of the state,

◊ To adequate and satisfactory pay ensuring living conditions which accord with human dignity,

and supplemented by social welfare in case of necessity.

Illustration 4. “Every family in its own home” – this promise, made in the very first years of the

Polish People’s Republic, never actually came to fruition and each successive government made

attempts to solve this gargantuan problem – but to no avail. A home of one’s own was one of the

most important dreams of citizens of the Polish People’s Republic, and also one of the most

difficult dreams to fulfil. The road to one’s own place was frequently strewn with thorns; the wait

for a so-called housing cooperative home often lasted well over a dozen years, purchase on the

open market was an option available only to the most wealthy citizens, whilst those who decided

to build their own homes had to cope with official obstruction and lack of building supplies. The

end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s saw the coming of age of the post-war baby

boom – 10 million young people, 65% of whom reached the age of 20 before 1975! Prime

Minister Edward Gierek’s team tried to speed up the construction process, replacing traditional

building methods with pre-fabricated units produced by ‘house factories’. The opening of the first

factory in Warsaw’s Służewiec district was heralded in the following terms: “The factory will

produce 9 thousand rooms a year and in 1973 this quota will rise to 13 thousand rooms. One

(efficient!) working shift will be able to construct two apartments in the space of a single shift.” It

is, indeed, true to say that during the decade when Gierek was in power more homes were built

than in the times of Gomułka and Jaruzelski: (1971–80) – 2428,500 homes, and during the

period 1981–90 – 1807,700). However, the quality of the buildings frequently left much to be

desired. The new estates, located at some distance away from the city centre, were frequently still

lacking basic infrastructure even after the tenants had moved in – pavements, children’s

playgrounds, nurseries and schools, shops, services, medical centres and efficient transport. To be

honest, today’s developers behave in much the same manner – despite the diametrically opposite

political, social and economic situation!

The photograph shows a sight typical of all larger towns – first the residential buildings went up,

next people moved in, and the infrastructure was then added over subsequent years. There is not a

single shop or any services in the photograph. The primitive pavements which are already badly

damaged did not make life any easier. The tower blocks have clearly been constructed from

prefabricated elements. The shabby manufacture of the elements themselves, and their subsequent

construction meant that energy loses in the buildings was extremely high. The wooden telephone

poles may have been left over from the previous village infrastructure or may be a method of

providing a temporary telephone connection to some (privileged) apartments. – J.K.–

Apart from the fact that the people living on this estate were happy to be in possession of their

own home, one can claim that the following rights have been breached:

◊ Access to homes of a suitable standard,

◊ A dignified life.

Illustration 5. Shop sign reads: MEAT, COLD MEATS.

The chronic shortages of meat supplies in the Polish People’s Republic now provide a focal point

to any collection of memorabilia relating to Poland’s past under Communist rule. Images

showing empty meat shops, queues a kilometre long in front of such shops and ‘ration cards’ are

an integral part of any text-book or publication devoted to the Polish People’s Republic. What

was the cause of these shortages? The public saw ineptitude and an ineffective economic policy

as the basic reason (which, of course, is undeniably true). However, the causes also lay in the

urbanisation and industrialisation of the country which resulted in changes in patterns of

consumerism and in the public’s expectancy of low meat prices (thanks to enormous subsidies).

The increase in meat production lagged behind, both in relation to wage increases and the

demographic rise. As the growth of inhabitants of towns increased fairly rapidly, so the quantity

of meat per statistical head decreased. Subsidies applied to the price of meat meant that peasants

– particularly in the 1970s – were paid as much in state meat purchase points, as the actual retail

price of the meat in shops. It is not surprising, then, that they, too, began to queue up for

subsidised ‘shop meat’. However, supplies were short and there was not enough meat to go

round. The authorities tried to give precedence to large urban communities and to ‘large working

class centres’, while the so-called ‘green areas’ were left to fend for themselves. Rationing,

introduced in 1981, did not solve the problem and queues outside meat shops often started to

form during the night. Friendly relations with the shop assistant were invaluable.

The photograph shows a meat shop. It is more likely to be in the provinces than in a large town.

This is borne out by the look of the shop itself (with a rough shop sign reading ‘MEAT – COLD

MEATS) and the clothes which are characteristic of village and small town communities (e.g.

headscarves). As previously mentioned, supplies to provincial shops were far smaller than in

large towns and were not even sufficient to satisfy allocated ‘ration cards’. This led people to

employ various strategies to ensure access to meat supplies. A person standing near the head of

the queue had a better chance of buying meat (here, a man’s superior strength was of great help),

as did one who was authorised to shop without queuing (e.g. pregnant women, the elderly,

disabled persons). It is no coincidence that the photograph portrays both elderly women and

women with small children who counted, not always with success, on respect for their rights. –

J.K.–

The photograph relates to breach of rights:

◊ assuring the individual and his/her family of a living (in return for work) commensurate with

human dignity,

◊ To equal treatment,

◊ To protection due to elderly people, women etc. from humiliating treatment.

Illustration 6. Although egalitarianism was one of the basic slogans of the political system of the

Polish People’s Republic, social inequalities were blatantly obvious. The process of

transformation from communism to democracy deepened this rift and shortly after 1989 it

became clear who would benefit under the new system and who would be at a loss. While young

people who were better educated and qualified found it comparatively easy to adapt, the situation

of workers in the State Agricultural Enterprises (PGR), for instance, or in large (and ineffective)

state industrial plants was often grave. These institutions had functioned thanks to government

funds and economic shortages which made it easy to sell just anything. Both in villages and

towns, it soon became easy to identify the areas where these ‘rejected’ people lived. In the

villages these were predominantly the former state farms (wound up by an Act of Parliament on

19 October 1991). Regions which had once been a dominant force began to be conspicuous for

their mass unemployment and the former workers became a national symbol of people who could

not cope in the new reality. In towns, they favoured the old, ravaged, and neglected districts,

which had not been renovated for decades (in Kraków, Łódź, Warsaw, or in Górny Śląsk – Upper

Silesia), or the huge tower-block estates of the 1970s and 1980s. Social problems

(unemployment, alcoholism, family pathologies etc.) occurred more frequently here than in other

places and left their mark on the children who consequently had a far more difficult start in life

than their peers in better-off families which had found it easier to adapt to the new conditions.

The photograph shows a group of children from just such an old, neglected urban district. The

buildings are dilapidated, and even partially ruined. The basic (and probably sole) place where

the children who live here can play and entertain themselves is the tiny courtyard with its built-in

‘infrastructure’ (a carpet beating frame, a discarded bowl and a bundle of old net fencing). –

J.K.–

What are these children in the photograph doing now, 20 years on? Who are they now? One

might ask whether they have had the same access to rights as children from ‘better’ families –

rights guaranteed by the Convention on Children’s Rights to: comprehensive personal

development, to life in dignified conditions, and to equal access to educations, schooling and

entertainment.

III. 4. THE RIGHTS OF ACCUSED AND OF

CONVICTED PERSONS

Monika Lipka

1985. Postage stamp, issued by the underground Poczta “praworządności” [Law

and Order Post]. KARTA Centre collection

Every person accused of a crime has the right to defence and to a just hearing. The concept is

obvious and unambiguous yet throughout the world these rights are frequently breached. We need

only look back at the period of the People’s Republic of Poland and at the show trials of members

of the democratic opposition. Arbitrary arrests, constant house searches and harassment by the

security services, inhumane interrogation of prisoners, trumped up proceedings – these are just a

few examples of breach of human rights. These rights are particularly meaningful in relation to

political prisoners, considered by the Polish People’s Republic to be a threat to the existing order.

The issue of respect for human rights under exceptional circumstances, such as war, is especially

difficult. Directives issued by the Germans during their occupation of Polish territories frequently

speak of a death sentence for disobedience – and even what might appear to be minor acts were

subject to the death sentence.

The universal nature of human rights is often undermined by those in power, and their

interpretation depends on a given philosophy. That, in itself, is clear evidence of injustice.

During the workshop, the participants:

◊ gain basic knowledge of the rights due to both accused and convicted persons,

◊ learn the basic concepts relating to human rights,

◊ find out about the basic laws which stand guard over human rights: (European Human Rights

Convention, European Union Fundamental Rights Charter),

◊ learn to interpret historical source texts concerning human rights,

◊ learn about the limitations of human rights relating to accused and convicted persons (with

historical examples).

On completion of the workshop, candidates are able to:

◊ indicate instances of breach of human rights,

◊ analyse source texts,

◊ name the limitations of rights relating to accused and convicted persons.

Key concepts:

European Human Rights Convention, European Court of Justice in Strasbourg, European Union

Fundamental Rights Charter, dignity, freedom, boundaries of human rights.

◊ Didactic lesson,

◊ ’Brain storming’ discussion

◊ Work in groups,

◊ ‘True or false’ exercise,

◊ Working with pictorial material,

◊ Working with source documents.

Teaching aids:

◊ Sheets of paper/flipcharts, markers,

◊ Supporting and source material.

Duration:

90 mins.

Target group:

Adults.

Workshop programme:

1. Welcome, workshop participants introduce themselves. (5–10 mins. depending on group

numbers)

2. Introduction and presentation of aims of the meeting. (5 mins.)

3. Course Leader discusses the issues of: human dignity in the context of the rights of accused

and convicted persons − ’brain storming’. Question: Is human dignity the same as human rights?

(10 mins.)

4. Course Leader discusses the entries in the European Human Rights Convention and the

European Union Fundamental Rights Charter relating to accused and convicted persons.

Participants are given extracts from these documents for analysis (see: Supporting materials on

pg. 112). The aim is to acquire basic knowledge about the rights of accused and convicted

persons. (10 mins.)

5. Exercise 1.

Participants are split into groups. Each group is given source texts as follows:

Group I – source texts nos. I–III;

Group II – source texts nos. IV–VII;

The task of each group is to analyse the source texts and to note down, in a Questionnaire, the

examples of breach of human rights mentioned in them (see: Questionnaire No. 1 in Supporting

Materials, pg. 118). Lists of rights due to accused and convicted persons, described in the

individual Acts and discussed earlier by the Course Leader (EU Fundamental Rights Charter,

European Human Rights Convention) may be helpful in this. The Course Leader draws attention

to the issue of acceptance by Poland of the documents mentioned. The spokesman for the group

reads the answers and the Course Leader notes them on the board/flipchart, and adds his/her

comments. (15 mins.)

6. Exercise 2.

The Course Leader initiates a debate ‘for and against’, the subject of which is the death sentence

(this issue appears in source texts nos. VI and VII on pg. 117 and 118). Helpful question to start

the discussion: Is the death sentence justified in exceptional circumstances, such as in wartime?

The Course Leader notes arguments for and against the death sentence on the board, creating a

mental map. He asks for grounds for the decision. (See: Arguments in Supporting Materials on

pg. 119 and 120). (25 mins.)

7. Exercise 3.

Each participant is given a ‘True/False’ Questionnaire (see: Questionnaire No. 2 in Supporting

Materials, pg. 119 – the ‘True’ sentences are 2, 3, 6). The Group completes the Questionnaire

together and the Course Leader comments on the answers given by the participants, and gives

them the solution. He refers to historical sources in his comments, comparing today’s situation

with the situation at that time. (15 mins.)

8. Summing up the workshop. Time for questions from the floor to the Course Leader. (5 mins.)

Supporting Material and Source Texts for work in groups

European Convention on Human Rights and additional protocols relating to accused and

convicted persons:

Article 6

Right to a fair trial

Article 7

No punishment without law

Article 13

Right to an effective remedy

Protocol No. 6

The Abolition of the Death Penalty

A State may make provision in its law for the death penalty in

respect of acts committed in time of war or of imminent threat of

war; such penalty shall be applied only in the instances laid down

in the law and in accordance with its provisions. The State shall

communicate to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe

the relevant provisions of that law.

Protocol No. 7

Right of appeal in criminal matters

Compensation for wrongful conviction

Right not to be tried or punished twice

Protocol No. 13

The abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances

European Union Fundamental Rights Charter (collection of fundamental human rights,

approved and signed on 7 December 2000, during the European Council Summit in Nice).

Title VI – Justice:

Article 47

Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial

Everyone whose rights and freedoms guaranteed by the law of the Union are violated has the

right to an effective remedy before a tribunal in compliance with the conditions laid down in this

Article.

Everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and

impartial tribunal previously established by law. Everyone shall have the possibility of being

advised, defended and represented.

Legal aid shall be made available to those who lack sufficient resources in so far as such aid is

necessary to ensure effective access to justice.

Article 48

Presumption of innocence and right of defence

1. Everyone who has been charged shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to

2. Respect for the rights of the defence of anyone who has been charged shall be guaranteed.

Article 49

Principles of legality and proportionality of criminal offences and penalties

1. No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which

did not constitute a criminal offence under national law or international law at the time when it

was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the

time the criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the commission of a criminal offence,

the law provides for a lighter penalty, that penalty shall be applicable.

2. This Article shall not prejudice the trial and punishment of any person for any act or omission

which, at the time when it was committed, was criminal according to the general principles

recognised by the community of nations.

3. The severity of penalties must not be disproportionate to the criminal offence.

30.3.2010 Official Journal of the European Union C 83/401 EN

Article 50

Right not to be tried or punished twice in criminal proceedings for the same criminal offence

No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again in criminal proceedings for an offence for

which he or she has already been finally acquitted or convicted within the Union in accordance

with the law.

Group I

Source I.

27 March 1956. Stanisława S. from Kozienice:

On 28 April 1953, I was arrested and put in prison. At that time I was a 2nd year student of

dentistry at the Medical Academy in Gdańsk. The reason for the tragic events of that day was a

letter written to my parents at the time of Joseph Stalin’s death. At the moment it is difficult for

me to quote the exact words I wrote at the time, save that they were not flattering. The letter

found its way into the hands of the security police, as a result of which I was given an 8 month

prison sentence, was crossed off the list of students and expelled from the ZMP [Association of

Polish Youth] as an enemy of the people. When I left prison (I was let out earlier – i.e. in July

1953), I tried to return to my former status – but without success. One fact (that letter) had

changed my entire future.

I wanted to get at the truth but decided this was a stupid and pointless idea because the truth

would never be on my side. I had become an enemy of the people, not fit and not having the right

to take advantage of the privileges which the People’s Republic had granted us. What made me

write now – after an interval of almost three years? Nothing more than the desire to return to the

rank of student.

Give me a sincere answer, don’t beat about the bush, do I have to work in a profession which

doesn’t give me any satisfaction (white collar worker), or is there another road open to me, a road

Księga listów PRL-u, t. 1, 1951–1956 [Letters to the People’s Republic], vol. 1, 1951 –1956], selection and editing: G. Sołtysiak,

Warsaw 2004

Source II.

20 December 1965. Warsaw. The start of the trial of Ludwik Hass, accused of having

connections with Trotskyite organisations.

Ludwik Hass:

Our trial started on 20 December. Badowski and I agreed that we wouldn’t let ourselves be done

away with quietly. […]

They led us into the court room. I was immediately annoyed by the fact that my wife wasn’t

there, although I had seen her earlier in the corridor. The Prosecutor applied for the proceedings

to be held behind closed doors. I asked to be heard. The woman judge was so astounded by this

that she allowed me to speak. I got up and made a speech. “Montesquieu said that the people

themselves cannot be the judges but by their very presence in court the people have a control over

the judiciary – and yet you do not want to allow this. Indeed, I can see that everything in this

court has already been pre-judged.” I turned to the court usher who was standing by the door:

“Tell me, Madam, who told you to stand by the door and not allow anyone in? Do you know that

you are breaking the law?”

The usher was an elderly woman, she looked at me, then at the woman judge – she was

completely taken by surprise; the accused is asking her questions – worse still, the accused is

accusing her, though the good Lord knows it’s not her fault. The judge reprimanded me, asking

me not to keep my voice down. I protested – nothing in the rule book says that one should speak

loudly or softly. “There, in the corridor, are my friends, acquaintances, comrades – I will not let

them learn about the proceedings from snitches (the whole bench was occupied by security police

officers who were on duty as observers). I will speak loudly enough to make sure my voice is

heard in the corridor”. At that point Badowski joined in and supported my demand. The court

adjourned for a conference. Less than twenty minutes later there was an announcement that the

proceedings would take place in open court.

G. Sołtysiak, Trockiści [Trotskyites’], in: “Karta” Issuer 7, 1992

Source III.

1 December 1975. Radom. For the attention of the Procurator General of the Polish

People’s Republic, Citizen Lucjan Czubiński:

We, the families of the accused in the Radom trials which took place following the events of 25

June 1976, hereby declare that the trials took place without adequate evidence. We were not

allowed into the court room, despite the fact that the proceedings were taking place in open court.

Only one or two family members were allowed to hear the charges being read and

pronouncement of the sentences. It was then that we saw our sons and our husbands, and they

bore obvious signs of beatings. During visiting times, they told us that their statements had been

obtained by beatings and torture. During the court hearings, the Civil Militia officers treated the

accused and their families with contemp. […] On the basis of the above we would ask that you

review all the proceedings which took place after 25.VI.76 and look into the legality of the

preliminary and evidence gathering proceedings in these cases.

KARTA Centre Archives, Section: June 1976, ref.: AO IV/194.5

Group II

Source IV.

1981. Jan Olszewski in Obywatel a służba bezpieczeństwa [The Citizen and the Security

Services]:

The above text is not a manual for conspirators nor is it intended as a text book for

revolutionaries. It is aimed at everyone who lives in a totalitarian dictatorship such the Polish

People’s Republic. […] The witness should first be informed in which (or whose) case he has

been summoned. If he has not been given this information, he should demand it. […]

It is very easy for the role of a witness to turn into the role of a suspect. It often happens that a

person who is actually suspected of having committed crime, is first questioned as a witness by

the investigative authorities who thereby obtain incriminating evidence, on the basis of which

charges are subsequently formulated. […]

During the course of an investigation, the suspect – particularly when temporarily detained – is

usually totally disorientated both as to procedure and the intentions of the investigating officers.

He is usually denied a lawyer, has no right to view the investigation files, does not know who else

may be a co-suspect in his case and has no idea what evidence has been gathered against him […]

In such conditions the only effective form of defence is for the suspect to remain silent

throughout the entire period of the investigation. Any explanation, whether true or false, may be

cunningly used by those conducting the investigation against the subject. Silence is the sole

means of protection against incrimination. That is why, in an investigation of a political nature, it

is essential to persevere and steadfastly refuse to provide any explanations. […] The strategy of

complete silence is a difficult test of character, particularly for someone who has been denied

liberty. […]

Normally, when attempting to persuade someone to make a statement, the investigating service

officers will declare “We know everything anyway. We just want to correct some inaccuracies in

the court material and it is to your advantage to help us with this”. Frequently, the officer leading

the investigation does, indeed, know a great deal about the matter and he may not be exaggerating

when he says that he knows everything (phone taps, bugging devices and invigilation). However,

one can never be sure what the investigating officer knows, what he suspects and what he has

absolutely no idea about. […] At the start of a conversation with officers of the investigative

services, it must be borne in mind that they do not necessarily pose direct questions. The

interrogator will try to conduct a friendly dialogue, he will offer cigarettes and brandy and will

not actually pose any questions. The aim is to create an atmosphere of old friends chatting (when

the investigation lasts several months and the interrogator is one of only a few people with whom

we have dealings, then one really can speak of ‘old acquaintances’). To allow oneself to be

caught out because you feel somehow obliged towards this gentleman (because you’re short of

fags and he’s offering, because a drop of alcohol wouldn’t come amiss) – that is bad. […]

The interrogator is carrying out the task allotted to him and one element of it is to ‘become

friendly’ with the suspect in order to psychologically prevail on him to provide statements (‘I’ve

offered you brandy, and you…?’). Proof is only of value when it has been signed. And that is

why the record of interrogation is often prepared after an 8-hour session when the interrogator

knows that the other party is so exhausted that he does not have the will to fight over precise

details. […] It is, therefore, important right at the start to demand that questions are formulated

and noted in the record, and then to refuse to answer them. No conversation should take place off

the record.

J. Olszewski, Obywatel a służba bezpieczeństwa [The Citizen and the Security Services], Wrocław 1981

Source V.

23 May 1985. The following appear before the District Court in Gdańsk: Władysław

Frasyniuk, Bogdan Lis and Adam Michnik. They are accused of “acting in a manner which

causes unrest” and participation in “the activities of an illegal society known as the

Temporary Coordinating Committee”. Sentences will be: Frasyniuk – 3.5 years, Michnik –

3 years, and Lis – 2.5 years’ imprisonment.

Adam Michnik:

At that time, the authorities were already trying to keep up appearances. In our case, however,

they dropped all pretences. A very simple and clear message went out to the world: “the Polish

authorities are completely flouting the law”. Judge Bieniuk did not even allow us to give our

statements. He interrupted us every two sentences and kept ordering us out of the courtroom.

Judge Krzysztof Bieniuk summing up grounds for the sentence:

This matter – despite the intentions of the accused and the defence was not – because it could not

have been – a political trial since Polish criminal law does not recognise the concept of ‘a

political trial’ nor that of ‘a political prisoner’.”

Stan wojenny. Ostatni atak systemu [Martial Law. Communism’s Last Stand], ed. A. Dębska, Warsaw 2006

Source VI.

3 November 1939. Warsaw. Proclamation issued by the Command of the Garrison of the

Metropolitan City of Warsaw:

The following have been sentenced to death by a summary military court: – Eugenia Włodarz, a

widow, and a student, Elżbieta Zahorska, for an attack on a German soldier, and for sabotage i.e.

tearing down posters.

The Office of the Commandant

H. Frank, Okupacja i ruch oporu w dzienniku Hansa Franka 1939–1945 [The Occupation and the Resistance Movement in Hans

Frank’s diary 1939-1945], Warsaw 1972

Source VII.

Directive aimed at countering acts of aggression in the ‘General Gouvernement’, dated 31

October 1939

Whosoever damages equipment belonging to the German authorities, items intended for use at

work by the German authorities, or public services equipment is liable to the death sentence.

Whosoever exhorts or persuades others to disobey the directives or orders of the German

authorities is liable to the death sentence. […]

Trouble makers and their helpers shall be sentenced as perpetrators, attempted acts shall be tried

as committed crimes. […]

Whosoever receives information about the intention of committing a crime described in §§ 1–5

and fails to inform the authorities, or the intended victim, of the said crime immediately, or as

quickly as possible to enable prevention of the intended crime, shall be sentenced to death.

H. Frank, Okupacja i ruch oporu w dzienniku Hansa Franka1939–1945 [The Occupation and the Resistance Movement in Hans

Frank’s diary 1939-1945], Warsaw, 1972

Questionnaire No. 1:

Due right Example of breach of the right:

1………………………………………………………

2…………………………………………………………

3…………………………………………………………

4…………………………………………………………

1……………………………………………………………

2……………………………………………………………

3……………………………………………………………

4……………………………………………………………

Questionnaire No. 2:

True False

1. A person can be sentenced without legal grounds (according to today’s laws).

2. A person may not be sentenced a second time for the same crime (according to today’s laws).

3. Perpetrators of crimes may be deprived of their liberty and soldiers may be tried by summary court

martial during wartime (according to today’s laws).

4. The sentence of death may be applied during wartime (according to today’s laws).

5. During the rule of the Polish People’s Republic, every accused person was regarded as being

innocent.6. In extraordinary conditions, certain duties of the state with regard to human rights may be suspended

(according to today’s laws).

* Place a cross (X) next to the correct answer.

* The Questionnaire relates to conditions in Poland.

Arguments which generally appear during a discussion for and against the death sentence.

Typical arguments against the death sentence:

◊ It is unethical and at odds with a sense of justice;

◊ The relations (parents, children) of the criminal suffer;

◊ It is irreversible – mistakes do occur;

◊ The death sentence is frequently applied to political prisoners (Stalinist times);

◊ It rules out the possibility of the criminal changing his ways in the future;

◊ The death sentence is not as strong a deterrent as life imprisonment;

◊ This issue is used by politicians because everyone can take part in the discussion and, instead of

establishing concrete legal solutions, the death sentence becomes a ‘political football’ to

manipulate the public – just as with the issue of abortion;

◊ It means that many people have the death of a human beings on their consciences;

◊ Human life is of superior value in comparison to criminal law;

◊ Revenge is evil;

◊ A sentence must be lived out otherwise it is not a sentence but an execution.

Typical arguments for the death sentence:

◊ Deters potential criminals;

◊ Ensures that the criminal will never harm anyone again;

◊ Prevents the possible escape of the convict;

◊ Prevents crimes being committed in prison;

◊ Costs of keeping a murderer in prison are very high, and the victims (e.g. the family of the

murdered person) must also bear these costs;

◊ The family of the victim feels more secure;

◊ Imprisonment is not a sufficient penalty for the criminal, the criminal becomes used to the

prison and his livelihood is assured;

◊ It is a just penalty: a life for a life.

III. 5. FREEDOM OF SPEECH

September 1981. Censored leaflet issued by the Western Pomorze Region of NSZZ

‘Solidarność’. Leaflet headed: I National Rally of NSZZ ‘Solidarność’ Delegates,

Gdańsk-September 81. Slogan reads: “We will defend Solidarność as we defend

independence and the sovereignty of the nation.” Overprint reads

“PUBLICATION BANNED!” with stamp of Censor in Szczecin. KARTA Centre

collection

Ostensibly, the phrase ‘freedom of speech’ could be regarded by young people as something

which does not concern them, as something from another epoch. However, the reaction of young

people to the alleged attempts to monitor the Internet demonstrated that freedom of speech is a

value by which they set great store. And yet he entire debate surrounding ACTA revealed how

little people know about the limitations associated with responsible exercise of this freedom/right,

about conceptual misunderstandings (e.g. treating freedom of speech as an absolute value without

respecting the rights of others) and populist referral to history (in many discussions, political

correctness was confused with censorship – and particularly with censorship in the Polish

People’s Republic – whereas it is actually a manner of expression of opinions without resorting to

hate speech). In this context it would appear that there is a need for systemisation of knowledge

about the actual concept of ‘freedom of speech’, and of historical and international references.

Making young people sensitive to the limitations associated with the right to freedom of speech,

making them aware of the impact of words and the shades of meaning which result from

choosing one’s words, could contribute to a decrease in the use of hate speech and in the

aggressive nature of the language of public debate in democratic societies.

In the course of the classes, the participants:

◊ work out their own definition of the concept of ‘freedom of speech’, they reflect on the content

and meaning of this right for a working democracy, and also on the limitations and potential

dangers of the right to freedom of speech,

◊ familiarise themselves with historical and contemporary examples of breach of freedom of

speech in Poland; using source texts, they will expand their knowledge of breaches of freedom of

speech in the Polish People’s Republic, and this will give them a case history to relate to other

non-democratic regimes.

◊ will consider how to make responsible use of freedom of speech while also respecting the rights

and freedoms of other people.

Key concepts:

freedom of speech, the right to information, censorship, propaganda, hate speech, political

correctness, tolerance, discrimination.

◊ Discussion,

◊ Work in groups,

◊ Mental map,

◊ Work with graphic material,

◊ Work with source documents.

Teaching aids:

◊ Supporting and source material,

◊ Flipchart/sheets of paper and markers.

Duration:

90 mins.

Target group:

Young people (aged 13–16).

Workshop programme:

1. Welcome, participants introduce themselves (5–10 mins. depending on group numbers)

2. Introduction and presentation of aims of meeting. (5 mins.)

3. Exercise 1:

Discussion of visual material chosen by the participants (approx. 20–30 mins. depending on

group numbers).

The Course Leader splits the participants into sub-groups of 2-3 people (e.g. by asking them to

number off to two or three). Once the sub-groups are ready, each of them is asked to choose a

photograph/poster/drawing (see: visual material on pgs. 133 and next) and to reflect for a few

moments on the message contained in the given image. Next, the Course Leader asks the

representative for each of the sub-groups to give grounds for their choice (why they chose a

particular photograph/poster/drawing) and then to share their reflections on the message

contained in the given material with the whole group.

Instructions for the Course Leader:

For reasons of time, this exercise may be omitted although it is expected to help the participants to form their own

thoughts and to demonstrate that the issue of freedom of speech is not a distant or abstract concept but one which is

fundamental to democracy. The exercise should make the participants aware that lack of freedom of speech is always

related to a limitation of liberty and usually occurs in non-democratic systems. The images present various aspects of

limitation and refer to various situations: discussion on the subject of copyright and freedom in the Internet which

resulted from the ACTA project; the history of Poland/Europe (showing that freedom of speech in

totalitarian/authoritative régimes must be eliminated because it has no place in such a system).

4. Exercise 2: Work on the definition of the concept of ‘freedom of speech’ (up to 20 mins.). The

Course Leader splits the participants into sub-groups of 4-5 people. Once the sub-groups are

ready, each is asked to prepare its own definition of freedom of speech (containing 2 – 3 key

words from the above list of key concepts) and to write it down on a large sheet of paper from the

flipchart so that it is legible to others. The definitions should preferably be short, approximately 1

– 2 sentences.

The aim of this exercise is to lead the participants towards a definition of the term ‘freedom of speech’ which should

contain the following elements:

− the right to express one’s own views or opinions publicly

− recognition that this right should be respected by others and that others also have the right to express their own views.

Other aspects may also crop up, such as the statement that freedom of speech lies at the foundation of a democratic

state, although it is not an absolute freedom even in a democracy where certain limitations (such as not insulting other

people) are placed on it.

The Course Leader then collects the definitions of freedom of speech from each sub-group and

places them so that everyone can see them. He/she discusses each of the definitions and asks the

participants which aspects are repeated and are key to a correct understanding of the concept. A

joint definition for the whole group is formulated on this basis.

This exercise can be carried out in less time, depending on the characteristics of the group and the level of awareness of

the topic (based on the Course Leader’s assessment of the flow of Exercise 1). Another variation might be to give out

work sheets with several definitions of the concept, asking the participants to choose the correct options and to give

grounds for their choice (see: Work Sheet in Supporting Materials on pg.s 126- 127– correct answers are b and d).

5. Exercise 3:

Past and present examples of breach of the right to freedom of speech in Poland (up to 45 mins.)

◊ Participants remain in the sub-groups from the previous exercise. The Course Leader hands

each sub-group 1 source text which relates to Polish history, and a task (see: source materials on

pgs 128-132).

◊ The Course Leader asks the sub-group representatives to chat about their source material

according to the instructions attached to the given material.

◊ Next, the Course Leader initiates a discussion about the likenesses and differences in limitation

of freedom of speech in Poland in the past, and in the present: what were the causes of these

limitations; is it possible to indicate situations where limitation of freedom of speech would be

justified; what were the consequences of breaching the right to freedom of speech at a national

level and in individual cases?

◊ The Course Leader notes down the key concepts in the discussion, creating a mental map.

Where necessary he can direct the discussion to help the participants name key aspects of the

problem, for instance: obedience, resistance, criticism, (historical) truth, independent thought,

responsibility, the safety of/threat to the state, alliances/political partnerships, collaboration/spy,

defeatism, terrorism, anti-Semitism, religious sentiments, dignity, the freedom of the individual,

lack of information/knowledge/awareness, black spots (shameful events) and white spots

(admirable events).

◊ The final issue: is freedom of speech basically unlimited, or should it have its limitations and if

so, what? The participants should stand opposite each other, those in favour on one side, and

those against on the other. The Course Leader asks volunteers – at least 1 from each group – to

justify their positions. Those who are undecided stand in the middle.

It is important that the Course Leader have sufficient knowledge of the subject to be able to direct the discussion. This

exercise is a key point in the workshop and it should be allotted as much time as necessary.

SUPPORTING MATERIAL AND SOURCE TEXTS FOR WORK IN GROUPS

Glossary

ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), –– a multilateral agreement aimed at establishing

international standards in the battle against breach of intellectual rights. The subject of the

regulations is the issue of trading in counterfeit goods, the principles of trading in generic drugs

and the problem of media piracy, i.e. distributing copyrighted works through the Internet.

Censorship (Latin: censere – to judge) – state control of publications, performances, radio and

television broadcasts; two different types of censorship exist: preventive censorship − guarding

against distribution of works, repressive censorship − following distribution (leads to confiscation

of the work and administrative or legal liability); abolished in Poland in 1990.

Hate speech – oral and written communication, drawings and musical works which abuse, accuse,

deride and humiliate groups and individuals for reasons such as racial, ethnic or religious

affiliation, and for reasons of gender, sexual preferences or disabilities.

Political correctness – the practice of avoiding descriptions which could be construed as being

discriminatory in relation to race, nationality, religious beliefs, class origins or sexual

preferences.

Worksheet

Underline the correct answers (there can be more than 1):

Freedom of speech is:

a. the right to express one’s opinion and views publicly,

b. the right to freedom of views and expression; this right comprises the freedom to hold one’s

own views and unfettered freedom to seek and distribute information and ideas, without regard

for state borders, both in spoken and written or printed form, in artistic expression or by the use

of any other form of communication. This right, however, may be liable to certain limitations in

order to ensure respect for the rights or good name of other persons, or for purposes of national

security, public order, protection of health and morality.

c. the right to freedom of views and expression; this right comprises the freedom to hold one’s

own views and unfettered freedom to seek and distribute information and ideas, without regard

for state borders, both in spoken and written or printed form, in artistic expression or by the use

of any other form of communication.. This right, however, may not be subject to limitations in

order to ensure respect for the rights or good name of other persons, or for purposes of national

security, public order, protection of health and morality

d. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland guarantees all persons freedom of speech and

contains strictly defined limitations on this freedom. The freedom to express one’s views and to

seek and distribute information which is guaranteed by the Constitution has a wide range of

meanings. Freedom of expression guarantees the freedom to express one’s views with the aid of

all available means to make them public. Such means can include: gestures, works of art, the

press, posters, television, radio, computer networks (e.g. the Internet), records, exhibitions, or

lectures. Freedom of speech is also access to existing national and foreign sources of information.

This freedom is also contained in the freedom to seek information.

Group I

Source I.

12 January 1919. Warsaw. Statement made by Marshall Józef Piłsudski after the censor

suspended the ‘Kurier Poranny’ [Morning Courier] newspaper:

I must admit that, on the whole, the Warsaw press has not proved itself at this time – a

particularly difficult time for Poland when its very existence is under threat. Our people are not

used to taking responsibility for their actions and words. And for this reason the press may not

always deserve to take advantage of freedom. On the other hand – as one whose entire upbringing

was centred on aspiring for freedom – I am an opponent of all limitations on freedom of speech

and, for instance, even objected to the draft bill protecting my person against attacks by the press.

In your particular case, it should be borne in mind that a state of emergency has been declared

and that is no pleasant matter – not only for you but for me, too. Of course, it’s a pity that

tomorrow morning, as I take my morning tea, I will not be reading the fascinating ‘Kurier

Poranny’, to which I have become accustomed. From my discussion with the Prime Minister,

however, I come to the conclusion that I will not be missing it for long. You will not suffer

unduly.

J. Piłsudski, O państwie i armii [Of the State and the Army], vol. 1, Wybór works [Selected writings], selected and edited by J.

Borkowski, Warsaw 1985

Questions relating to the source material:

◊ What shocked and/or surprised you in the text?

◊ Do you agree with the reasons given in the text for limiting freedom of speech? In your opinion,

are there any special circumstances/reasons which could justify this type of limitation?

Group II

Source I.

1981. Censorship recommendations.

◊ All information about the direct threat to people’s lives and health posed by industry and

chemicals used in agriculture must be eliminated.

◊ No information must be published concerning the disaster in the ‘Katowice’ coal mine where

four miners were killed.

◊ Material relating to the third session of the Second Synod of Bishops, which is to take place in

the Vatican in 1974, is not to contain any speculation about the theme of Cardinal Wyszyński’s

address, or the assessments endorsing the role of the Polish participants in the Synod and the

excellence of their speeches.

◊ Obituaries, inserts and other media forms in the press, radio and television, as well as public

obituary notices which announce gatherings – in cemeteries, at the sites of monuments, combat

sites etc. (to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, or its various

episodes) – of former combatants, members of individual units etc. of the AK Polish

Underground Resistance Army and other right wing organisations taking part in the Warsaw

Uprising must not be released for publication.

◊ No discussions must be allowed relating to material published in ‘Trybuna Ludu’ [The People’s

Tribune] and ‘Nowe Drogi’ [New Ways]. [...]

◊ As regards the émigré writers, academics and journalists named below (most of whom are

associated with hostile publications and centres of anti-Polish propaganda) a policy must be

pursued aiming at the absolute elimination of their names and mention of their work – other than

critical assessments – from the press, radio and television, and from non-academic periodic

publications. [Including Jerzy Giedroyć, Józef Mackiewicz, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański – editor’s

◊ No material couched in approving, tolerant or dismissive terms concerning the hippy movement

in Poland may be released for publication. Only material which is indisputably critical may be

published. [...]

◊ Statistical data concerning the state and growth of alcoholism nationwide must not be released

for publication in the mass media. This data may only be allowed in serious publications such as

medical journals, studies of the ‘problem of alcoholism’ etc.

Selection from: Czarna Księga Cenzury PRL [The Black Book of Censorship in the Polish People’s Republic], Warsaw 1981

Questions on source material:

◊ What shocked and/or surprised you in the text?

◊ In your opinion, why did censorship do its utmost to conceal information on the subjects

named?

◊ In your opinion, what was the image of Poland presented by the media in those days? What

adjectives would you use to describe this image?

Group III

Source I.

17 September 1986. Józefa Radzymińska, writer – diary entry:

Since the beginning of September the TV News programme has introduced a new feature – a

calendar of events in Poland and in history on that particular date – even reaching back as far as

the death of Dante, various battles, events, inventions. I wonder what they will say about today’s

date – the 17th September 1939, notable for the tragic events heralding the fourth partition of

Poland... [when Soviet Russia attacked Poland].

There I am, listening to the News but there’s no sign of the new feature, just as if it had never

existed! The sports news follows and the weather forecast; nothing ever happened on 17th

September, in Poland or elsewhere, nobody famous died on that date, a non-existent date...

The political indoctrinators are obviously wary of enraging the Polish people because, now that

the political prisoners have been released, we are apparently to start out on a “new era of national

unity” and “the authorities are interested not so much in how many enemies they can destroy as

how many of them they can convince” – according to official communiqués…

Warsaw, 17 September 1986

J. Radzymińska, National Library Manuscript Collection, ref: akc.: 13710/2

Source II.

8 June 1979. Warsaw. Teresa Konarska notes in her diary:

I was waiting for the ‘Television News’ programme which, we were assured, was to transmit

‘extensive reports’ [from Pope John Paul II’s first pilgrimage to Poland – editor’s note]. Like me,

millions of Poles were also waiting. And then something happened which went beyond all bounds

of decency. At the beginning of the ‘News’ they gave some irrelevant information about Gierek’s

visit to a collective farm. There were long sequences showing a pig farm, with pigs slurping over

their troughs and squealing piglets. Only then was there a brief shot of the Pope in Nowy Targ.

What a lack of sensitivity.

KARTA Centre Archives, Opposition Archives – collection of diaries, ref.: AO II/176, quoted from: Droga do ‘Solidarności’. Lata

1975– 80 [The Road to ‘Solidarity’. 1975-80], ed. A. Dębska, Warsaw 2010

◊ What shocked and/or surprised you in these extracts?

◊ Describe the way in which censorship worked;

◊ In your opinion, what might be the long-term effects of such censorship?

Group IV

Source I.

3 May 1977. Movement for the Defence of Human and Civic Rights [ROPCiO]. Declaration on

freedom of speech:

The right to freedom of speech is an inalienable human right, i.e. it is due to us simply because

we are human beings. […] For a writer this freedom of speech means the right to have his works

published the way he wrote them, and not the way the censor demands; for a coal-miner – the

right to protest against being forced to work on a Sunday; for the farmer – the right to speak out

in defence of freedom to farm his own land as he sees fit; for every employee – the right to

criticise the conditions in his workplace; for the housewife – the right to criticise poor supplies;

for the economist – the right to state publicly why a given, officially recognised economic

concept is, or is not, unsound; for the cleric – the right to proclaim the Holy Word without

hindrance and by any means; for the academic or scientist – the right to publish the results of his

research whether or not it suits the political authorities; for the artist – the right to present his own

vision of the world; for the social activist – the right to voice his own opinions and to criticise the

opinions of other activists; finally, for every individual, freedom of speech means the right to

express his opposition to that which he believes to be evil, no matter who generated that evil.

Thus, freedom of speech has as many aspects as the number of desires which make up the lives of

individuals and of society.

KARTA Centre Archives, ROPCiO Collection, ref.: AO IV/71

◊ What shocked and/or surprised you in this text?

◊ Is your understanding of the concept of ‘freedom of speech’ the same as that contained in the

text above.? Assuming that this vision of freedom of speech is practiced in the III Polish

Republic, do you see any potential dangers of abuse of freedom of speech? If so, what?

Visual material

Olivier Hoffschir, licence: CC BY 2.0, http://www.flickr.com/photos/daidix/6859398847/sizes/l/in/photostream

Youssef Hanna, licencja: CC BY-ND 2.0, http://www.flickr.com/photos/yhanna/3328550211/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Tomas Castelazo, licence: CC BY-SA 3.0, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Example_of_photo_collage_against_censorship.jpg

Paweł Grzywocz, public domain, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Znak_A-27_ACTA.svg

Katarzyna Ziętal, CC BY-SA 3.0, KARTA Centre Archives, Censorship in PRL Collection, AO IV/219

Eric Drooker, licence: CC BY 2.0, www.drooker.com/graphics/hi-res/Censorship.gif

Death notice reads: OBITUARY IN MEMORY OF INTERNET. 26th JANUARY 2012, INTERNET WAS KILLED AT THE AGE OF 50.ANNOUNCEMENT GIVEN BY BEREAVED INTERNET USERS

http://tramen.blox.pl/resource/pogrzeb_internmetu.jpg

Content reads: TELEGRAM - CENSOREDhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Telegram_ocenzurowany.jpg

Poster reads: FREE SPEECH IN BELARUS

http://www.asta24.pl/ news-news-1393-Urzednik_i_wolnosc_slowa

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solzhenitsyn_Gulag_ Photo.jpg

Links to Other Images

Interpreting iconographic

sourcesJerzy Kochanowski, Katarzyna Czajka

Most of the rights mentioned in interpretative texts were only codified after the events shown in

the illustrations. The regulation of rights was, therefore, a kind of reaction to events and the rights

were made law in order to ensure that similar events do not occur in the future.

Basic 20th Century laws relating to human rights:

◊ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dated 10 December 1948

◊ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, dated 16 December 1966

◊ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), dated 16

December 1966

◊ European Convention on Human Rights, dated 3 September 1953

◊ Convention on the Rights of the Child, dated 20 November 1989

The photographs, posters, leaflets and postage stamps numbered 13, 17–19, 21–28 refer to both

the struggle for human rights and breach of these rights in the given fields.

1. November 1931, Warsaw. Anti-Jewish demonstrations by Warsaw University students. Photo:

Illustration no. 1. An “annual disgrace”, was the description given by the writer, Maria

Dąbrowska, to the annual anti-Jewish incidents which took place at universities at the beginning

of every academic year and were to lead to the reduction of the number of Jewish students at

institutions of higher education, or even to their exclusion. Thanks to the anti-Jewish incidents at

universities for which it was responsible, support for the National Camp increased among some

of the young, educated people and led to a destabilisation of the political scene in a Poland ruled

by the ‘Sanacja’ [Sanation] faction. The incidents occurring at universities from 1931 could be

classified in two categories: numerus clausus, or a statutory decrease in the number of Jewish

students to approximately 10% (which represented the percentage of Jews in the country), and

less frequently numerus nullus, or a total ban in Polish universities on Jewish people. Another

practice was that of a ‘classroom bench ghetto’ where Jews were given separate benches. Some

university chancellors supported this practice and Jewish students’ membership cards were

stamped with the letter ‘L’ (L stood for the left hand side of the classroom where Jews were to

sit), or some other form of differentiation. In other cases, students – mainly, but not solely,

members of ONR [National-Radical Faction] – used direct terror tactics: beating up Jewish

students, including females, and not allowing them onto university sites (familiarly known as the

‘Jewless Day’) the most infamous incident involved the beating up of Marcel Handelsmann, a

prominent professor of Warsaw University. At times, universities had to be temporarily shut

down. The practice of numerus clausus was never legally established but the percentage of young

Jews attending universities in the 1930s fell systematically. The authorities, on their part, never

actively opposed the rise of aggression.

The photograph shows the Warsaw students’ representative (in a characteristic square white cap),

as well as a policeman which suggests that the incidents took place outside the university campus,

to which the police had no right of entry. It is worth noting the bystanders in the background; they

are observing the scene with interest but without emotion. One might deduce that it is not the first

time that they have witnessed such scenes. – K.C.–

The photograph relates to breach of the right to:

◊ Education,

◊ Personal development,

◊ Protection from acts of humiliation,

◊ Personal safety,

◊ Protection from ethnic discrimination,

◊ Personal inviolability

2. November 1938. Anti-Semitic poster. Slogans read: “JEWS to ghettos! A ‘ghetto’ is an area

where Jews are allowed to live and earn a living. Until such time as we displace all Jews from

Poland, it is necessary to allot a ‘ghetto’ in all walks of life in Poland!” Poster bears additional

stamps reading: “If you want to get rid of Jews, vote for the National Faction”. KARTA Centre

collection

Illustration 2. Slogans read: “JEWS to ghettos! A ‘ghetto’ is an area where Jews are

allowed to live and earn a living. Until such time as we displace all Jews from Poland, it is

necessary to allot a ‘ghetto’ in all walks of life in Poland!” Poster bears additional stamps

reading: “If you want to get rid of Jews, vote for the National Camp”.

In 1930s Poland anti-Semitic attitudes were on the rise. Most of the political organisations which

voiced anti-Jewish slogans came from the nationalist movement connected with the National

Democratic Party and the Great Poland Faction (which was banned in the 1930s because of its

opposition to the ruling ‘Sanacja’ [Sanation] party. They advocated the expulsion of part of the

Jewish population from Poland, limiting access to selected professions (incl. the law and

medicine), exclusion of Jewish writers and artists from Polish culture, hampering access to Polish

schools (the so-called school bench ghetto, or numerus clausus). Boycott of Jewish traders was

also organised. However, such nationalist trends were also rife in ‘Sanacja’ circles – an example

of this being the National Unity Faction – a political organisation established in mid-1936 on a

directive issued by Marshall Edward Rydz-Śmigły – and alleged to have fascist and anti-Semitic

sympathies. Judging by the date written in the corner (8.XI.1938), this poster probably originates

from the parliamentary elections held in November 1938 (elections to the Fifth Term Sejm [the

lower house] on 6 November, and to the Senate on 13 November).

Noteworthy is the stereotype portrayal of the Jewish population on this election poster. Apart

from Jews dressed in their traditional garb, there is also a fat Jewish banker, a masked Jewish

robber and a figure with the red flag with a hammer and sickle (a reference to the alleged

‘Jewish-Commie’ conspiracy). The message in these symbolic figures was presumably clear to

the electors and its intention was to turn public opinion against the Jewish population. Jews are

presented as trash, and the country needs to be cleaned up. The slogan on the poster is also worth

noting – it puts forward the idea that the only possible alternative, if the Jews cannot be expelled

from Poland, would be to confine them in a ghetto.

Although the election posters of these political parties do not actually breach human rights, the

slogans put forward by the National Camp were an example of discrimination. – K.C.–

The poster relates to breach of the rights to:

◊ Freedom of movement and choice of place of abode within all state borders,

◊ Education,

◊ Personal freedom,

◊ Protection of ethnic, religious and language minorities,

◊ participate freely in the cultural life of the community.

3. 1931–33, construction of the Belomor (White Sea) Canal, USSR. Photo: Tomasz Kizny

collection, KARTA Centre collection

Illustration 3. The first plans to construct the Belomor [White Sea] Canal date back as far as the

19th Century but the project was not put into effect until the Stalinist period. Construction lasted

just 20 months, thanks to forced labour by prisoners who were exploited in a manner which was

an affront to basic human rights. Thousands of workers died during the building works – mostly

as a result of extremely bad food provision (rations were allocated according to the work norms

achieved), the lack of basic decent working conditions and exhaustion. The prisoners were mostly

peasants who had opposed collectivisation, people from spheres which the Soviet authorities

considered to be enemies of the state – i.e. former landowners, intelligentsia and ‘White Russian’

officers – and also political prisoners. Amongst the construction workers there were also

renowned scientists and artists who had fallen into disfavour with the authorities. The work was

particularly difficult as there was no plan, no suitable equipment and totally inadequate quantities

of building material. As a result, the canal was too shallow and despite later efforts to deepen it, it

was unsuitable for use by naval shipping. Nonetheless it was proclaimed to be a unique triumph

example of Soviet technology. The prisoners were housed in an enormous complex of labour

camps. A side-effect of the successful experiment of use of convict labour was the dramatic rise

in the number of prison sentences in the 1950s – once it had been discovered that prisoners

provide a cheap source of labour.

From the photograph it is evident that, despite the extensive and difficult work on the

construction site, there is not a single item of heavy plant – almost everything had to be done by

human hand according to punitive productivity norms, and ), in extreme conditions (cold,

frequent labouring in water for well over ten hours at a time, without suitable clothing and with

the most primitive of tools); the programme was frequently uncoordinated and chaotic, and

therefore especially dangerous; the prisoners, instead of working together, preferred to conserve

their strength and, if at all possible, to simulate effort at the cost of others [to avoid punishment].

– K.C.–

The photograph relates to breach of:

◊ The ban on slavery and enforced labour,

◊ The right to freedom and personal safety (here: imprisonment of persons convicted for their

views and their social origin),

◊ The right to work, freedom of choice of work, suitable and satisfactory working conditions,

◊ The duty to treat prisoners in a humane manner.

In effect, prisoners sentenced to labour camps were deprived of almost all their human rights and

were exposed to the loss of their principal right – the right to life.

4. 1931−1933, construction of the Belomor (White Sea) Canal, USSR. Workers queue up in

front of a camp newspaper kiosk. Photo: KARTA Centre collection

Illustration 4. The construction of the Belomor Canal in the 1930s was not just an example of

grand Soviet construction technology but it was also very unique – the canal was built in the most

part by political prisoners. It was also a place where the Soviet authorities conducted

experiments into the re-education of political prisoners. Apart from punishing physical labour,

prisoners were often forced to publicly undergo ‘self-criticism’, and some of them had to write

and produce propaganda material for their co-prisoners. The intention was to demonstrate that

hard labour could serve to ‘resocialise’ people and create Communist workers, who would be

obedient and hard-working. The construction of the Canal was also an experiment into the labour

camp system and it was here that ‘motivational’ methods were created which were then

established in other camps throughout the Soviet Union. The start of the Belomor Canal

construction was accompanied by an extensive propaganda campaign in the USSR, the aim of

which was to persuade people that the road to socialism and transformation lies in the hard work

and effort of the nation. Writers and artists were commissioned and their task was to create a

suitable approved view of the construction. A classic example of this type of approach is a book

edited by Maxim Gorky, entitled The Stalin Belomor-Baltic Canal, which describes the

construction process, from technical issues to portraits of specific individuals and social groups.

Other writers, too, joined in the promotion of the construction project and of the methods of

enforced labour. The photograph shows prisoners standing in a queue to a camp kiosk remarkably

well-stocked with newspapers. This is a propaganda photograph intended to show the public that

the re-education campaign is proceeding successfully and that the well-dressed, relaxed prisoners

are keen supporters of cultural works and of the ‘wise words’ of the state, which are even

available in gulags. – K.C.–

The photograph relates to breaches of:

◊ The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religious beliefs,

◊ The right to freedom of speech,

◊ The ban on slavery and enforced labour,

◊ The right to freedom and personal safety (here: imprisonment of people convicted for their

opinions and social origin),

◊ The right to work, freedom of choice of work, suitable and satisfactory working conditions,

◊ The duty to treat prisoners in a humane manner.

5. 1933–1944, Warsaw. German soldiers search a group of men. Photo: Polish Institute and Gen. Sikorski

Illustration 5. Scenes like the one in the photograph were commonplace throughout the German

occupation of Poland – from the very first day to the last. Searches were carried out both ad hoc

and on an organised basis (e.g. in entire buildings or districts). The aim was both to terrorise the

general public and to prevent people from carrying out activities which – from the occupant’s

point of view – were illegal (such as the resistance movement and the black market), and also to

establish the identity of the perpetrators of such acts, to find out their whereabouts and the

whereabouts of Jews and other people using false papers. It is estimated that, following the

introduction in 1942 of the so-called kennkart (identity cards issued by the German occupant),

approximately 15% of the inhabitants of Warsaw used forged documents!

Unfortunately, it is not known when, where and on what occasion this photograph was taken. One

thing is certain – it was taken by a German soldier and it is quite likely that it was intended as a

propaganda tool. This is not a sudden, unexpected search – as evidenced by the fact that its

victims are solely young men – a category generally considered to be particularly suspect and

potentially dangerous. Nor does the scene suggest any sort of danger – the Wehrmacht soldiers

carrying out the search are practically unarmed. It is also worth noting the faces of the men

subjected to the search – they do not show any signs of fear and some are even smiling. This was

either a strategy which had proved successful in such cases, or they feel safe (because, for

instance, they do not have anything incriminating on them). It is likely that this is, perhaps, a

group of workers being routinely searched before starting work. Noteworthy, too, is the unusually

meticulous manner of the search (turning out and emptying pockets etc.). – J.K.–

◊ The right to personal inviolability,

◊ The right to freedom and personal safety,

◊ The ban on humiliating treatment,

◊ The right to just process of law.

6. 30 June 1941, Lwów. Pogrom. Reproduction from book by M. M. Bolewicz Wyszedłem z mroku [I

emerged from the darkness], IPN - Warsaw collection

Illustration 6. Retreating from the onslaught of the German advance in 1941, the Soviet Red

Army [which had invaded Poland from the East on 17 September 1939] left behind prisons full

of bodies of murdered political prisoners in the city of Lwów (having neither the time nor the

resources to evacuate them). In the cellars and courtyards of prisons, in nearby forests and

cemeteries, thousands of victims were left behind, some only provisionally buried in common

graves. In the city of Lwów, where four prisons contained a considerable number of bodies, local

people (mainly Ukrainians), egged on by the Germans, carried out the biggest pogrom in Eastern

Galicia. On 30 June the Jewish population of Lwów was forced to move the bodies, and the entire

event was documented (on film and in photographs which were later shown in German

newsreels). The Ukrainian militia which was supervising the procedures beat and maltreated the

working Jews. Many of them were beaten to death or shot during this ‘punitive action’. The

following day, individual German soldiers joined the crowds in the street and the riots reached

boiling point. During the ‘prison action’ (the name given to the pogrom by the Jewish people of

Lwów) between 4,000 – 7,000 Jews were killed (the exact figure is difficult to ascertain).

On 8 July 1941, the Jews of Lwów were ordered to wear white armbands with a blue Star of

David. The SS punished all those who went out into the street without an armband with death –

several hundred Jews lost their lives as a result. Persecution of the Jewish population did not end

there. In July, the Ukrainians were allowed to commemorate the anniversary of the death of

Semon Petlura – the last premier of the independent Ukraine. Petlura had been shot in Paris in

1926 by a Jewish assassin, Shlomo Schwartzbard. In an attempt to direct Ukrainian revenge ‘to

the right tracks’, the Germans changed the date of the anniversary of Petlura’s death from 25 May

to 25 July. That same day a pogrom was unleashed. It lasted four days and cost the lives of 2,000

Jews. Despite appearances, these pogroms were not a spontaneous event – lists of victims made at

the time have been preserved and they specifically include representatives of the Jewish

intelligentsia. – K.C.–

◊ Protection from discrimination on grounds of race,

◊ To life.

However, it must be stressed that, where the life of a victim of persecution is directly endangered,

there is a breach of all the human rights due to that person.

7. 1941, Warsaw, Ghetto. Photo: KARTA Centre collection

Illustration 7. In November 1940, the Germans sectioned off an area of Warsaw to establish a

Ghetto. In March 1941 approximately 460,000 people were crammed into an area of some 3

square kilometres. Appalling living conditions (approx. 10 persons per room), starvation (the

average daily food ration gave approx. 180 kcal), lack of heating fuel, disease and terror resulted

in an enormous death rate. From the establishment of the Ghetto to the start of its liquidation,

some 100,000 people died. Worst off were the children, particularly those without families and

care. –In the ‘Orphans’ House’ run by the Jewish-Polish writer and pedagogue, Janusz Korczak,

there was only room for 200 children. The conditions in the so-called Main House of Shelter at

39 Dzielna Street which was allocated to smaller children were described by the Polish scientist

and microbiologist, Ludwik Hirszfeld, as follows: “It was hell on earth. […] Infants lay in their

own excrement, there were no nappies, in the winter their urine froze and the little frozen bodies

lay on this ice. Slightly older children sat for days on end on the floor or on benches, nodding

monotonously like animals; they lived from meal to meal, waiting for the meagre, all too meagre

soup.” In January 1941 alone, 92 children died there. The majority of the solitary children,

however, simply lived on the streets, begging and thieving. They, too, usually fell victim to

starvation, cold and disease.

At first glance it is difficult to ascertain that the street in the photograph is one of the streets in the

Ghetto. Closer inspection shows the armbands worn on sleeves and the characteristic clothing

worn by some of the men (traditional long coats and caps). Seen against the background of the

adults, the children’s attire stands out. The boy looking after his younger brother or sister is

dressed in rags and has no shoes. Strange that, despite the warm season, he is wearing a jacket

with a thick collar – it is probably the only thing he possesses. The baby on his knees does not

even have any underclothes. The boy is resigned, he holds out his hand for alms… but there are

thousands like him and he does not attract the slightest attention of the woman walking past. She,

on the other hand, is to some degree currently in a far better situation than the boy: she appears

well-off, well dressed – one might say elegantly dressed – and her child appears to be well fed

but, knowing the ‘historical’ context of the Ghetto, we realise that she is in the same boat as the

Jewish boy in that she, too, is under a sentence of death, as is her child – a sentence of death

which will perhaps come just a little later than that of the begging boy in the photograph. – J.K.–

The photograph illustrates the breach of all human rights and, in particular, that aspect which

concerns the rights of children including the right to (a good and dignified) life, upbringing

within a family setting, happiness, freedom, protection of health, medical care and social welfare,

education and learning, an all-round development of its personality, and protection from

exploitation and degrading treatment.

8. The 1940s, Vorkuta, USSR. Prisoners in the camp hospital. Photo: Tomasz Kizny collection,

KARTA Centre collection

Illustration 8. Vorkuta. A place in Soviet Russia, just north of the Arctic Circle, to which many

Poles were deported from the eastern borderlands of Poland in order to construct a railroad in that

vast emptiness. This was the centre of the gulag, or forced labour camp system. Current estimates

indicate that some 10,000 Poles were confined in the camps, (while a total of some 50,000

prisoners worked on the construction project). They were required to produce “two hundred

percent of production norms” (failure to comply was punished by cuts in rations which resulted in

exhaustion and reduction in the ability to work, and this in turn led to reduction in productivity

norms and therefore reduction in rations, and so on....) which, according to Soviet propaganda,

was the result of the labourers’ enthusiasm, and not an effect of forcing prisoners to work beyond

their physical capabilities in singularly difficult conditions – often in freezing temperatures

reaching minus 50 degrees centigrade. Many prisoners died from exhaustion, starvation and the

cold, while those who were not fit to work were often killed off and buried in common graves.

The photograph shows emaciated prisoners in the camp hospital, exhausted by starvation and

gruelling labour (such prisoners were referred to as dochodiags – or ‘on their last legs’) – hence

the relatively good conditions as opposed to those in the normal camp barracks where 300-400

people were crammed together. Food rations were at starvation level, there were no work-free

days, and the working day itself was 12 hours long. It was for these reasons, among others, that

Vorkuta was one of the few labour camps where prisoners occasionally revolted. – K.C.–

◊ The right of a prisoner to health care,

◊ The ban on slavery and forced labour,

◊ The right to freedom and personal safety,

◊ The right to work, to freedom of choice of work, and to adequate and satisfactory working

conditions.

The prisoners sent to labour camps were denied virtually all human rights and were exposed to

the loss of their principal right – the right to life.

9. August 1942, Pahlevi, Persia (Iran). Evacuation from the USSR of Polish civilians who had been

forcibly deported from Poland at the beginning of the war. Photo: Polish Institute and Gen. Sikorski

Illustration 9. Following the Polish-Soviet Sikorski-Majski Pact, a Polish Army was established