The Trial of the Sixteen () was a

staged trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a warning to o ...

of 16 leaders of the

Polish Underground State The Polish Underground State (, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Government of the Republic of Poland ...

held by the

Soviet authorities The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1945. All captives were kidnapped by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

secret service and falsely accused of various forms of 'illegal activity' against the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

History

The Government Delegate, together with most members of the Council of National Unity and the Commander-in-chief of the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

, were invited by Soviet general

Ivan Serov Ivan Alexandrovich Serov (; 13 August 1905 – 1 July 1990) was a Soviet intelligence officer who served as Chairman of the KGB from March 1954 to December 1958 and Director of the GRU from December 1958 to February 1963. Serov was NKVD Commis ...

(with agreement of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

) to a conference on their eventual entry to the Soviet-backed Provisional Government. Some historical accounts say approaches were made in February, with others saying March 1945. Malcher, G.C. (1993) ''Blank Pages'' Pyrford Press p. 73Garlinski, J.(1985) ''Poland in the Second World War'' Macmillan p. 324Mikolajczyk, S. (1948) ''The pattern of Soviet domination'' Sampson Low, Marston & Co p. 125 The Polish politicians were presented with a warrant of safety, but were instead arrested in

Pruszków Pruszków is a city in east-central Poland, capital of Pruszków County in the Masovian Voivodeship. Pruszków is located along the western edge of the Warsaw metropolitan area. Pruszków is the largest city in the Warsaw metropolitan area outs ...

and brutally beaten by the

on 27 and 28 March.Prazmowska, A. (2004), p. 116.Michta, A. (1990) ''Red Eagle'' Stanford University p. 39

Leopold Okulicki General Leopold Okulicki ( noms de guerre ''Kobra'', ''Niedźwiadek''; 1898 – 1946) was a Polish Army brigadier general and the last commander of the anti-Nazi underground Home Army during World War II and the German occupation of Poland ...

Jan Stanisław Jankowski Jan Stanisław Jankowski (6 May 1882 – 13 March 1953; noms de guerre ''Doktor'', ''Jan'', ''Klonowski'', ''Sobolewski'', ''Soból'') was a Polish politician, an important figure in the Polish civil resistance during World War II and a ...

and Kazimierz Pużak were arrested on the 27th with 12 others the following day. Alexander Zwierzyński had been arrested earlier. They were brought to

for interrogation in the Lubyanka.Garlinski, J.(1985) ''Poland in the Second World War'' Macmillan pp. 325–326Umiastowski, R. (1946) ''Poland, Russia and Great Britain 1941-1945'' Hollis & Carter pp. 462–464Piesakowski, T. (1990) ''The fate of Poles in the USSR 1939~1989'' Gryf pp. 198–199 After several months of brutal interrogation and tortureGarlinski, J.(1985) ''Poland in the Second World War'' Macmillan p. 335 they were presented with trumped-up accusations of: #

Collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Garlinski, J.(1985) ''Poland in the Second World War'' Macmillan p. 336Umiastowski, R. (1946) ''Poland, Russia and Great Britain 1941-1945'' Hollis & Carter pp. 467–468 #Carrying-out

intelligence gathering Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or Confidentiality, confidential information (Intelligence (information), intelligence). A person who commits espionage on ...

and

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

at the rear of the

State terrorism State terrorism is terrorism conducted by a state against its own citizens or another state's citizens. It contrasts with '' state-sponsored terrorism'', in which a violent non-state actor conducts an act of terror under sponsorship of a state. ...

#Planning a military alliance with Nazi Germany #Owning a radio transmitter, printing machines, and weapons #

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

against the Soviet Union #Membership in underground organizations. The trial took place between 18 and 21 June 1945 with foreign press and observers from the United Kingdom and United States present. The date was chosen carefully to be at the same time as a conference on the creation of the Soviet-backed Polish puppet government was organized.Prazmowska, A. (2004), p. 117.Umiastowski, R. (1946) ''Poland, Russia and Great Britain 1941-1945'' Hollis & Carter pp. 465–471 The verdict was issued on 21 June, with most of the defendants coerced into pleading guilty by the

. General Okulicki's

witness In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

es for the defense were declared unreachable "owing to bad atmospheric conditions", and no evidence was offered during the trial. Of the sixteen defendants, twelve were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four months to ten years, while charges against the four others were dropped by the prosecution. Immediately after the arrest of all the leaders, the

Polish government in exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovere ...

sent a protest note to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

demanding their release. At first the Soviets declared that the whole case was a bluff by the "Fascist Polish government". When they finally admitted that the leaders had been arrested (on 5 May), the American envoy of

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

, Harry Lloyd Hopkins, was told by Joseph Stalin that "there is no point in linking the case of the Trial of the Sixteen with the support for the Soviet-backed government of Poland because the sentences will not be high." Both British and American governments shared this view.

People involved

# Lt. General Vasili Ulrikh, notable for playing a major role in the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

trials, served as the main

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

and issued the following sentences: #Commander in Chief of the

(''Niedźwiadek'') – 10 years in prison,Mikolajczyk, S. (1948) ''The pattern of Soviet domination'' Sampson Low, Marston & Co p. 145 may have been murdered on Christmas Eve of 1946 but may have died due to complications caused by hunger strike. #Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and the Government Delegate,

– 8 years in prison, never released, died in a Soviet prison on 13 March 1953, two weeks before the end of his sentence; probably murdered. #Minister of Internal Affairs, Adam Bień – 5 years #Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Stanislaw Jasiukowicz – 5 years #Head of the Council of National Unity and PPS-WRN socialist party – Kazimierz Pużak – 1.5 years, released in November 1945 and returned to Poland. Refused to emigrate, Pużak was again arrested by the

Urząd Bezpieczeństwa The Ministry of Public Security (), was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it was known as the Security Office (, UB), and from 1956 to 1990 as the Security ...

in 1947 and sentenced to 10 years in prison; died 30 April 1950 #Deputy head of the Council of National Unity and head of the Labor Party,

Aleksander Zwierzyński Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

– 8 months #Member of the Council of National Unity, Kazimierz Bagiński – 1 year, later released and forced to emigrate to the United States #Member of the Council of National Unity, Head of ''Zjednoczenie Demokratyczne'', Eugeniusz Czarnowski – 6 months #Member of the Council of National Unity, Head of the Labor Party, Józef Chaciński – 4 months #Member of the Council of National Unity, Stanisław Mierzwa – 4 months #Member of the Council of National Unity, Zbigniew Stypułkowski – 4 months, later released and forced to emigrate to the United Kingdom #Member of the Council of National Unity, Franciszek Urbański – 4 months #Member of the Council of National Unity, Stanisław Michałowski – acquitted of all the charges #Member of the Council of National Unity, Kazimierz Kobylański – acquitted of all the charges #Member of the Council of National Unity, interpreter for the group, Józef Stemler – acquitted of all the charges #Deputy Government Delegate –

Antoni Pajdak Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the ...

was sentenced to 5 years in prison in a

secret trial A secret trial is a trial that is not open to the public or generally reported in the news, especially any in-trial proceedings. Generally, no official record of the case or the judge's verdict is made available. Often there is no indictment. S ...

in November; he was not released until 1955.

Aftermath

In his book, '' Europe at War'',

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a British and Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Profes ...

described it as "obscene", that there was no official protest abroad. As a result of the trial, the

Polish Secret State The Polish Underground State (, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Government of the Republic of Poland ...

was deprived of most of its leaders. Its structures were soon rebuilt, but were never able to fully recover. On 6 July 1945 the United Kingdom and the United States withdrew support for the legitimate

,Hope, M. (2005) ''The Abandoned Legion'' Veritas p. 76 and all its agendas in Poland. Soviet and Polish Communist repressions aimed at former members of the Polish Secret State and the

lasted well into the 1960s, corporal Józef Franczak being killed in a shootout with paramilitary-police in 1963.

References

External links

*
The Moscow Trial of the 16 Polish Leaders.
' Liberty Publications,

, 1945, 24 pages, 2 ill. Electronic version, via Internet Archive. * Michael Sayers and Albert E. Kahn
"The Case of the Sixteen"
Chapter 24 of ''The Great Conspiracy: The Secret War Against Soviet Union'', a pro-Soviet view of the trial. Excerpt archived 4 January 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Trial Of The Sixteen 1945 in case law 1945 in international relations 1945 in Poland 1945 in the Soviet Union 1940s trials Aftermath of World War II in Poland Aftermath of World War II in the Soviet Union Anti-communism in Poland People from wartime administrations in Poland (1939–1947) Poland–Soviet Union relations Political repression in the Soviet Union Soviet military occupations Soviet show trials Stalinism in Poland

History

People involved

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading

English language

Polish language

External links