Homosexuality has been legal in Poland since 1932.
However,
homosexuality
Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...
has been a
taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
subject for most of Poland's history, and that and the lack of legal discrimination have often led to a lack of historical sources on the subject.
Homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, ...
has been a common public attitude in Poland because of the influence of
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
in Polish public life and the widespread
social conservatism
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institut ...
in Poland.
Homosexuality in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
was decriminalized in 1932, but criminalized following the
1939 Soviet and Nazi Invasion .
Early history
Due to a lack of historical sources and censorship by the Catholic Church over the centuries, it is difficult to reconstruct Slavic religions, customs and traditions when it comes to LGBT people.
Many, if not all, Slavic countries that accepted Christianity, adopted a custom of making church-recognized vows between two people of the same sex (normally men) called ''bratotvorenie''/''pobratymienie''/''pobratimstvo''—translation of the Greek ''
adelphopoiesis''—the "brother making" ceremony. The precise nature of this relationship is still highly controversial; some historians interpret them as essentially a homosexual marriage of men. Such ceremonies can be found in the history of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
until the 14th century, and in the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
until the early 20th century. Indeed, in Polish sources the vows for ''bratotvorenije'' appear in Orthodox prayer books as late as the 18th century
in the
Chełm
Chełm (; uk, Холм, Kholm; german: Cholm; yi, כעלם, Khelm) is a city in southeastern Poland with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some ...
and
Przemyśl
Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was p ...
regions.
Bolesław V the Chaste
Bolesław V the Chaste ( pl, Bolesław Wstydliwy; 21 June 1226 – 7 December 1279) was Duke of Sandomierz in Lesser Poland from 1232 and High Duke of Poland from 1243 until his death, as the last male representative of the Lesser Polish branch o ...
never consummated his marriage, which some historians see as a sign of his homosexuality.
Throughout history, homosexuality, be it true or alleged, was often weaponised for use by individuals against their ideological or political enemies, and to defame dead historical figures.
Bolesław the Bold was accused of "sodomy" by the medieval historian
Jan Długosz
Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
.
He also attributed the defeat and death of
Władysław III, the only crusader king not
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
at the
Varna, to the king laying with a man before this decisive battle.
Magdeburg Law, under which many towns were built, punished breaking the 6th Commandment ("
Thou shalt not commit adultery") by death; however, the actual punishments for adultery given out by the judges in recorded cases included prison, financial fines or being
pilloried
The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the stocks ...
. Soon the general public's opinion of extramarital sex became more lenient.
The only known death sentence carried out for "
sins against nature" was the case of Wojciech Skwarski from
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...
in 1561. Wojciech was considered male, until doubts in his youth arose and his gender was inspected by officials and mayor of Poznań. They decided Wojciech was female and should be dressed as a woman and known as such by the local community from now on. After running away from Poznań, Wojciech travelled around the country and married, as a woman, three men—Sebastian Słodownik from Poznań, Wawrzyniec Włoszek from
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
and Jan the blacksmith (married during Wojciech's marriage with Wawrzyniec). The sentence (burning at the stake) took into account Wojciech's other misdeeds such as frequent thefts, hitting (and probably killing) their first husband with a brick during an argument, sleeping with many women (including married women) and having a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
in Poznań. The case of Wojciech and their ambiguous sex and gender was described (with case file from 1561 republished) by physician
Leon Wachholz
Leon Jan Wachholz (Wacholz) (1867–1942) was a Polish scientist and medical examiner who researched and taught as a professor of forensic and social medicine at Jagiellonian University between 1896 and 1933 and published formative works on foren ...
in his work on "history of hermaphroditism", which suggest they might have been
intersex
Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical b ...
. The only other sentence for the act of sodomy (public beating and exile) was the case of Agnieszka Kuśnierczanka, in 1642, who dressed as a man and committed "imaginary male courtship". Other judicial documents mention same-sex relationships without using derogatory terminology. They are mentioned in a neutral manner as facts in cases of unrelated crimes, showing that same-sex relationships were silently tolerated and not actively prosecuted.
During the Baroque period the general public ignored homosexuality. It was considered it an exception that came from the "degenerate" West and happened among the nobility who had contacts there and the mentally ill. Turkey was considered one of the places where lesbian relationships originated. 18th century travelers shared those beliefs and praised Poland, contrasting it with its neighbours. Accusations of sodomy were still used as a method to diminish political opponents, as was the case of
Władysław IV Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to:
Famous people Mononym
* ...
,
Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki and
Jakub Sobieski
Jakub Sobieski (5 May 1590 – 23 June 1646) was a Polish noble, parliamentarian, diarist, political activist, military leader and father of King John III Sobieski. He was the son of castellan and voivode Marek Sobieski and Jadwiga Snopko ...
.
According to the chronicler Marcin Matuszewicz, Prince
Janusz Aleksander Sanguszko
Janusz Aleksander Sanguszko (5 May 1712, Lubartów – 14 September 1775, Dubno) was a magnate in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He held the titles of miecznik and Court Marshal of Lithuania.
He was not interested in politics, and spent m ...
of
Dubno, "kept men for amorous purposes". (His wife, Konstancja Denhoff, returned to her parents "without receiving any marital proof from her husband except for one good morning at dawn and one good night in the evening"). He donated the town of
Koźmin and seventeen villages to his lover, Karol Szydłowski.
Sanguszko had a string of openly endorsed (and financed by him) favourites until Kazimierz Chyliński, whose father who wanted him to return to his wife, was arrested in Gdańsk and jailed for 12 years. After this incident Sanguszko kept only secret lovers until his father's death, but then returned to past practices. It is worth noting that Sanguszko was unafraid of publicly keeping male lovers while maintaining the public position of a Lithuanian
Miecznik
Swordbearer (Polish: ''miecznik'') was a court office in Poland. Responsible for the arsenal of the King and for carrying his sword.
Since the 14th Century an honorable title of the district office, in Kingdom of Poland and after Union of Lublin i ...
(sword-bearer).
Similarly,
Jerzy Marcin Lubomirski had a young
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
boy favourite, whom he made rich and noble (buying the status from Poniatowski). The prince, who had four short mariages and numerous female and male lovers, was the subject of a newspaper-reported scandal, when he appeared in women's clothing at a Warsaw masked ball in 1782.
During the Enlightenment period, despite the fascination with antiquity and the intellectual liberalisation, homophobic beliefs did not completely disappear: the medical profession considered "sexual deviations" (homosexuality, incest,
zoophilia
Zoophilia is a paraphilia involving a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality is cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. The terms are often used interchangeably, but some researchers make a distinction b ...
, etc.) a sign of "mental degeneration".
[Tazbir J., Staropolskie dewiacje obyczajowe :"Przegląd historyczny" nr 7/8 1985, s. 11]
Partitions
The
Napoleonic Code, introduced in the
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...
in 1808, was silent on homosexuality.
After 1815, all three countries that partitioned Poland explicitly declared homosexual acts illegal.
In
Congress Poland
Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. I ...
homosexuality was criminalised in 1818, in Prussia in 1871 and in Austria in 1852.
Russia's new code of law (called ''Kodeks Kar Głównych i Poprawczych''/''Уложение о наказаниях уголовных и исправительных 1845 года'') in 1845 penalized homosexuality with
forced resettlement to Siberia.
In 19th century, due to men being often absent (insurrections,
exiles to Siberia etc.), Polish women would often take on traditionally masculine tasks, such as household management.
The social norms were more lax on the countryside, allowing women there to have more liberties than in the cities or in the Western Europe.
There are known examples of women living together with their long-time female partners, such as the writer
Maria Konopnicka
Maria Konopnicka (; ; 23 May 1842 – 8 October 1910) was a Polish poet, novelist, children's writer, translator, journalist, critic, and activist for women's rights and for Polish independence. She used pseudonyms, including ''Jan Sawa''. She ...
and painter
Maria Dulębianka,
Maria Rodziewiczówna and Helena Weychert or Paulina Kuczalska-Reinschmit and Józefa Bojanowska.
Women's rights activist Romana Pachucka (1886-1964) would later mention in her diaries those pairs, noticing that in every couple one of the women would present herself more
masculine
Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors ...
, and the other more
feminine
Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...
. It is known that
Narcyza Żmichowska had an affair with a daughter of a rich magnate, which later inspired her to write a novel titled ''Poganka'' ("Pagan Woman").
In 1907, another writer,
Maria Komornicka burned female dresses, announced her new, male name—Piotr Odmieniec Włast— and continued to dress like a man and write under that name.
Second Polish Republic
The magazine ''Wiadomości Literackie'' ("Literature News") which published many writers of the period, frequently covered issues that broke Polish sexual and moral taboos, such as contraception,
menstruation
Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of ...
or homosexuality. The most well known advocates of such topics were
Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński
Tadeusz Kamil Marcjan Żeleński (better known by his pen name, Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński or simply as Boy; 21 December 1874 – 4 July 1941) was a Polish stage writer, poet, critic and, above all, the translator of over 100 French literary classics ...
and
Irena Krzywicka
Irena Krzywicka ''née'' Goldberg (; 28 May 1899 – 12 July 1994) was a Polish feminist, writer, translator and activist for women's rights, who promoted sexual education, contraception and planned parenthood.
Biography
Early life
...
. They were considered propagators of "moral reform (IE deform)" by Czesław Lechicki and others. In 1935 Boy-Żeleński,
Wincenty Rzymowski
Wincenty Rzymowski (19 July 1883, in Kuczbork-Osada – 30 April 1950, in Warsaw) was a Polish politician and writer. Rzymowski was one of the many faces of Stalinism in postwar Poland.
Background
In the Second Polish Republic, Wincenty Rzymows ...
and Krzywicka, among others, established the Liga Reformy Obyczajów (League of Reform of (Moral) Customs).
The taboo-breaking discussions were limited only to literary circles and were ignited by women's emancipation movements, while mainstream (Catholic) society was still prejudiced and viewed homosexuality as a sin. The writers were eager to include gay subplots in their works and to analyze the psyche of homosexual and bisexual characters.
Many cultural figures were also out as gay or bisexual in their communities including Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz and
Maria Dąbrowska.
Examples of gay subplots include the writings of
Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz
Jarosław Leon Iwaszkiewicz, also known under his literary pseudonym Eleuter (20 February 1894 – 2 March 1980), was a Polish writer, poet, essayist, dramatist and translator.Bartłomiej Szleszyński, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. 2003 Culture.plJaros ...
,
Zofia Nałkowska
Zofia Nałkowska (, Warsaw, Congress Poland, 10 November 1884 – 17 December 1954, Warsaw) was a Polish prose writer, dramatist, and prolific essayist. She served as the executive member of the prestigious Polish Academy of Literature (1933–1939 ...
(''Romans Teresy Hennert''),
Jan Parandowski (''Król Życia'', ''Adam Grywałd'') and the opera ''
King Roger'' by gay composer
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 6 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Szymanowski's early works show the in ...
which stirred up a controversy at its premiere. The only draft of his gay novel ''Ephebos'' was burned in the apartment of the novel's keeper, Iwaszkiewicz, in September 1939.
In 1932, the laws of independent Poland decriminalised homosexuality, which was legal then, but still a taboo. It also resulted in there being less historical material (such as police reports or court transcripts) about the gay subculture of the inter-war period than in many other European countries.
Several stories of LGBTI people made it to the press as "sensations", such as a murder of a lawyer Konrad Meklenburg in September 1923, with several newspapers in the country alluding to his "sexual anomaly" and "being seen with young boys" being motifs of the crime, and one newspaper claiming he was sentenced to prison for homosexuality in Germany. Soon, in November 1923 a Warsaw tabloid "Express Poranny", followed by subsequent Warsaw and non-Warsaw newspapers, published sensational informations. accusing an openly feminist and lesbian doctor
Zofia Sadowska of seducing female patients (including minors), organizing lesbian orgies with sadistic elements, running a lesbian brothel and administering drugs to women to make them dependent on her (the police investigation did not prove the truthfulness of the charges). These publications began a several-year-long "Ancient Greek (lesbian) scandal" related to the person of Dr. Sadowska, and several trials for
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...
, widely reported in the press and mocked in the cabarets, with several famous people involved. During the trial, questioned by the defense lawyer, Sadowska said that "the accusation of practicing lesbian love is not disgraceful". After the scandal, the figure of Zofia Sadowska as a scientist and doctor has been erased from collective memory. Another public figure that came to the press spotlight was a record-breaking athlete Zofia Smętek, whose masculine appearance was a source of many press rumours and cabaret jokes. Smętek, confirmed intersex by doctors in 1937, decided to undergo
gender transition
Gender transition is the process of changing one's gender presentation or sex characteristics to accord with one's internal sense of gender identity – the idea of what it means to be a man or a woman,Brown, M. L. & Rounsley, C. A. (1996) ''True ...
to
male
Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization.
A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...
and
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and a ...
, and his press statement caused a further spike in the public interest, even international, with
Witold Smętek (post-transition name) giving interview in 1939 to Reuters and becoming a topic of a French book ''Confession amoureuse d'une femme qui devint homme (Love Confession of a Woman who Became a Man).
''
World War II
During the
Nazi occupation of Poland in World War II gay and bisexual Poles were not a specifically persecuted category, and unlike gay and bisexual Germans were not punished by Article 175. They were, however, still persecuted and killed as Poles.
Diaries, such as ''Z Auszwicu do Belsen'' by Marian Pankowski, ''Anus mundi'' by Wiesław Kielar are testimony to the experiences of gay prisoners during the war.
Polish People's Republic
In 1948, the law set the age of consent for all sexual acts at 15 years of age.
Apart from that, the Interwar liberal laws on homosexuality have not changed.
The ruling communist party actively censored information about the
Kinsey Report, so that the public would not know about its research and its discoveries.
The militia (police force) investigated gay subculture (due to it being very hermetic and closed) and tried to determine whether sexual orientation was a factor in criminal activity. The militia's interest did not include lesbian and bisexual women who were "invisible" in public life.
According to Lukasz Sculz of the University of Antwerp, gay men in 1980's Poland were often at risk of physical violence from heterosexual men.
As for transgender history, first
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and a ...
in Poland was carried out in 1963 in Szpital Kolejowy (Railway Hospital) in Międzylesie (modern day part of
Wawer
Wawer is one of the districts of Warsaw, located in the south-eastern part of the city. The Vistula river runs along its western border. Wawer became a district of Warsaw on 27 October 2002 (previously it was a part of Praga Południe district, a ...
), but SRSs became carried out frequently around 20 years later. First recorded meeting on transgender issues including transgender speakers and listeners took place 10 December 1985 in Department of Sexology and Pathology of Interpersonal Relations, Medical Center of Postgraduate Education in Warsaw. The records of this discussion were published in the book ''Apokalipsa Płci'' (''Gender Apocalypse'') by Kazimierz Imieliński and Stanisław Dulko.
The Catholic Church, now a social force of resistance against the new system and still an important influence on Polish life, became a factor in making homosexuality something scandalous in many social circles and groups. However,
Jerzy Zawieyski
Jerzy Zawieyski, born Henryk Nowicki, (2 October 1902, Radogoszcz, Piotrków Governorate – 18 June 1969, Warsaw) was a Polish playwright, prose writer, Catholic political activist and amateur stage actor. He wrote psychological, social, moral ...
, who represented Catholics in parliament, was gay and lived with his partner Stanisław Trębaczkiewicz. A gay subculture grew, mostly in areas where there was
cruising for sex
Cruising for sex, or cruising, is walking or driving about a locality, called a cruising ground, in search of a sex partner, usually of the anonymous, casual, one-time variety. Published: 11-14-2007 Published: 9-21-2005 Article from NYT about ...
.
In the 70s, gay movements grew in Western Europe and some countries of the Soviet Block—East Germany (DDR) and the Soviet Union USSR—while Polish gay subculture tended to be less activist and more politically passive. This is attributed to the impact of Catholicism on Polish society and to lack of legal penalties for homosexual acts.
The roots of Polish gay movements lie in letters sent to Western organizations, such as
HOSI Wien
The Homosexual Initiative Vienna (HOSI Wien) was founded in Vienna in 1979. It is Austria's oldest and largest gay, lesbian and bisexual association. It is a member-based organisation holding an annual general meeting and board elections. The orga ...
(Austria's LGBT Association), and in reactions to the
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
crisis.
In 1982 HOSI Wien created a sub-unit dedicated to Eastern Europe - EEIP (Eastern Europe Information Pool) and proceeded to carry out pioneering work contacting and assisting the small, newly hatched LGBT groups in Eastern Europe. It also helped to bring them to the attention of the
(ILGA), dominated by Western LGBT organizations unaware of the situation in Eastern Europe then.
Andrzej Selerowicz
Andrzej Selerowicz (born 25 April 1948) is a Polish-born Austrian LGBT activist, writer and literature translator from the English and German languages into the Polish language.
Life and career
Since 1976 he has been living in Vienna, Austria. H ...
, who cooperated with EEIP, held conspiratorial meetings of Polish LGBT people in 1983 and 1984, and despite the general shame and anxiety about speaking out about LGBT topics by many of the guests, the meetings kick-started initiatives such as new groups and a
samizdat
Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...
style news bulletin ''Etap'' magazine. A 1985 article "Jesteśmy inni" ("We are different") in the prominent weekly ''Polityka'' set off a national discussion on homosexuality. In the same year the
Ministry of Health established offices of Plenipotentiary for AIDS and a ten-person team of AIDS experts. This was a year before the first case of AIDS was noted in Poland.
''
The Normal Heart
''The Normal Heart'' is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer.
It focuses on the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay founder of a promi ...
'', an autobiographical play by
Larry Kramer
Laurence David Kramer (June 25, 1935May 27, 2020) was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and gay rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to Lo ...
, received its Polish premiere in 1987 at the
Polish Theatre in Poznań
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
where it was directed by . The Polish cast included as Ned Weeks and as Tommy Boatwright, with
Andrzej Szczytko
Andrzej Szczytko (9 October 1955 – 11 June 2021) was a Polish actor and stage director. Szczytko is the recipient of multiple theatre awards and honours, including the 2016 Witkacy Prize - Critics' Circle Award. He was awarded the Decorati ...
as Bruce Niles and Irena Grzonka as Dr. Emma Brookner. The television adaptation débuted on the
TVP channel on 4 May 1989, one month before the
first free election in the country since 1928.
Operation Hyacinth
The government used traditional negative attitudes towards homosexuality as a means to harass, blackmail and recruit collaborators for the intelligence services.
The culmination of these practices was
Operation Hyacinth launched on 15 November 1985, on the order of the Minister of Internal Affairs
Czesław Kiszczak
Czesław Jan Kiszczak (19 October 1925 – 5 November 2015) was a Polish general, communist-era interior minister (1981–1990) and prime minister (1989).
In 1981 he played a key role in imposing martial law and suppression of the '' Solidar ...
. On that morning, in different colleges, factories and offices across Poland, functionaries of the ''
Służba Bezpieczeństwa
The Ministry of Public Security ( pl, Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego), commonly known as UB or later SB, was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it w ...
'' (SB) (a secret police force) arrested numerous men suspected of being gay or of having connections with "homosexual groups".
Its purpose was to create a national database of all Polish gay men and people who were in touch with them,
and it resulted in the registration of around 11,000 people. Officially, Polish propaganda stated that the reasons for the action were as follows:
* fear of the newly discovered
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
virus, as homosexuals were regarded as a group at high risk,
* control of homosexual criminal gangs (as gay subculture has been very hermetic)
* fighting prostitution.
There are suspicions that the operation was a not only means to blackmail and recruit collaborators, but that it was also aimed at developing human rights movements. Gay activist
Waldemar Zboralski said in his memoirs the reason gay organizations were targeted was their active correspondence with Western organizations. In 2005 it was revealed that "pink files" of victims of the operations are still held by the
Institute of National Remembrance
The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation ( pl, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state resea ...
(IPN). Despite letters from LGBT activists asking that they be destroyed, IPN claimed it would be illegal for them to do so.
Warsaw Gay Movement
![Herb-wrh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Herb-wrh.jpg)
In the counter-reaction to Operation Hyacinth, The Warsaw Gay Movement was started in a private meeting in 1987, initially only for gay men. The founders were a group of activists, led by
Waldemar Zboralski,
Sławomir Starosta
Sławomir Starosta (born 17 August 1965) is a Polish LGBT activist, musician, journalist and publisher of porn magazines and gay porn websites.
Biography
Starosta was born in Warsaw in Poland. In 1987, as a student of University of Warsaw, he ...
and
Krzysztof Garwatowski
Krzysztof Bogdan Garwatowski, (born 2 September 1967) is a Polish people, Polish LGBT activist, journalist and publisher of Pornographic magazine, porn magazines.
LGBT activism
Garwatowski was born in Włocławek, Poland. Since 1984 he was act ...
.
[(pages 201-204)]
However, lesbians began joining the group during its first month of activity.
The first activities of WRH focused on safe sex, anti-
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
prevention and encouraging gay people to obtain
HIV-tests. The reaction of the Polish
mainstream media
In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Chomsky, Noam, ''"What makes mai ...
and Ministry of Health to the existence of the Warsaw Gay Movement was positive, unlike the reaction of
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Czesław Kiszczak
Czesław Jan Kiszczak (19 October 1925 – 5 November 2015) was a Polish general, communist-era interior minister (1981–1990) and prime minister (1989).
In 1981 he played a key role in imposing martial law and suppression of the '' Solidar ...
,
minister of Home Affairs
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
, who intervened in attempts of legalizing WRH as an organization under Associations Act in March 1988 – it was influenced by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
The Warsaw Gay Movement was mentioned under the name "Warsaw Homosexual Movement" as a politically active group of the Polish independence movement, by
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
analyst
Jiří Pehe
Jiří Pehe (born 26 August 1955) is a Czech political analyst and writer, and since 1999, has been the Director of New York University, New York University's academic center in Prague.
Early life and education
Pehe was born in Rokycany (wester ...
, in his survey published in 1988 and 1989.
Third Polish Republic
On 28 October 1989 an association of groups known as Lambda was established, and registered by the Voivodeship Court in Warsaw on 23 February 1990. Among its priorities was spreading tolerance, raising awareness and preventing HIV.
[Tomasik K ., 20 lat polskiego ruchu LGBT, "Replika", 05/06 2009, nr 19, s 17] With AIDS spreading, in spring 1990, Jarosław Ender and Sławomir Starosta started a campaign called Kochaj, nie zabijaj (Love, don't kill), a "social youth movement aiming for raising awareness about AIDS".
![Warszawa, Melody Park - fotopolska](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Warszawa%2C_Melody_Park_-_fotopolska.eu_%2821900%29.jpg)
The first issue of ''Inaczej'' (''Differently''), a magazine for sexual minorities or "those loving differently", (which became a common euphemism in Polish), was published in June 1990. The originator was Andrzej Bulski, under the nom de plume Andrzej Bul. He was the owner of Softpress publishing company, which had published several LGBT-oriented and related books in the 1990s.
7 October 1990 was opening day for the club Café Fiolka at Puławska 257 in Warsaw—the first official
gay club
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities.
Gay bars once served ...
in Poland. It was closed in 1992 after repeated acts of vandalism.
1991 saw the first Polish gay male monthly ''Okay'' (that closed in 1992), distributed nationwide in '
newsagent's shop
A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand (American and Canadian English
Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA) encompasses the varieties of English native to Can ...
s. It was initially redacted by the writer and poet
Tadeusz Olszewski, under the pen name of Tomasz Seledyn.
The first official
coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
in the Polish media was an article in September 1992 edition of ''Kobieta i Życie'' (''Woman and Life'') magazine about a renowned and well-known actor Marek Barbasiewicz. The first public lesbian coming out was a declaration by
Izabela Filipiak in the magazine ''Viva'' in 1998.
Despite the birth of LGBT activism, some politicians chose to use fearmongering against LGBT citizens as a strategy to gain popularity. This included Kazimierz Kapera, the vice-minister of health, who was recalled from this position in a phone call from Prime Minister Jan Krzysztof Bielecki in May 1991 after saying on public television that homosexuality is a deviation and a reason for the AIDS epidemic.
On 14 February 1993, a group of people associated with Lambda held a demonstration under
Sigismund's Column
Sigismund's Column ( pl, Kolumna Zygmunta), originally erected in 1644, is located at Castle Square, Warsaw, Poland and is one of Warsaw's most famous landmarks as well as the first secular monument in the form of a column in modern history. The ...
, calling for their "rights to love". It was the first LGBT public manifestation in Poland. In 1998 there was a happening where several LGBT people, including activist
Szymon Niemiec
Szymon Niemiec (born 5 October 1977, in Warsaw) is a Polish priest, gay rights activist, journalist, photographer, and politician. He is the founder of the first Polish Gay Pride parade, ''Parada Równości'' held in 2001. From 2000 to 2006, Niem ...
, held cards with the names of their occupations while wearing face masks.
In the Spring of 1995 Polish immigrants established a group called Razem (Together) in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, which served Polish LGBT immigrants in contacting the LGBT community in Poland and integrating themselves in America. Razem was a part of the Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center (L&GCSC).
In 1996, inspired by Olga Stefania, the OLA-Archiwum (Polish Feminist Lesbian Archive) was established and registered as an association in 1998. Between 1997-2000 OLA published eight issues of ''Furia Pierwsza'' (''Fury the First''), a "literary feminist lesbian magazine".
The first gay community internet portal Inna Strona (a Different Site) was created in September 1996. It was renamed Queer.pl and is still active. That same year the Polish Lesbians' Site was created.
In 1998, the Tęczowe Laury award (Rainbow Laurels), was given out for the first time for promoting tolerance and respect towards LGBT people. Jarosław Ender and Sławomir Starosta were the originators of the idea. Some of the people awarded the prize included:
Kora,
Zofia Kuratowska,
Monika Olejnik,
Jerzy Jaskiernia, and the daily ''Gazeta Wyborcza''.
![Warszawa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Warszawa.ParadaRownosci2006wz3.jpg)
2001 was the year the first
Equality Parade
Equality Parade ( pl, Parada Równości) is an LGBT community pride parade held in Warsaw since 2001, usually in May or June. It has attracted at least several thousand attendees each year; 20,000 attendees (the largest number of any year prio ...
was held in Warsaw, attended by over 300 people. This was the first large-scale protest against homosexual discrimination. That same year
Campaign Against Homophobia
Campaign Against Homophobia (actual name: ''Kampania Przeciw Homofobii'', abbreviation: ''KPH'') is a Polish gay rights organisation, which aims to promote legal and social equality for people outside the heteronorm. It was founded in Warsaw in Se ...
was established.
A campaign, Niech nas zobaczą, (Let Them See Us) was held in 2003. It was the first artistic social campaign against homophobia, and consisted of 30 photos by Karolina Breguła. These showed gay and lesbian couples and were exhibited at exhibitions in galleries and printed on billboards, which were often vandalized.
In 2004 and 2005 officials denied permission for the Warsaw Pride Parade, citing the likelihood of counter-demonstrations, interference with religious or national holidays, lack of a permit, among other reasons. The parade was opposed by the conservative
Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( pl, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość , PiS) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Poland. Its chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński.
It was founded in 2001 by Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński as a direct su ...
party's
Lech Kaczyński
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...
(at the time mayor of Warsaw and later president of Poland) who said that allowing an official gay pride event in Warsaw would promote a homosexual lifestyle. In protest, a different event, Wiec Wolności (Freedom
Veche
Veche ( rus, вече, véče, ˈvʲet͡ɕe; pl, wiec; uk, ві́че, víče, ; be, ве́ча, viéča, ; cu, вѣще, věšte) was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries.
In Novgorod and in Pskov, where the veche acquired gre ...
), was organized in Warsaw in 2004,
and was estimated to have drawn 600 to 1000 attendees. In response to the 2005 ban, about 2500 people marched on 11 June of that year, in an act of
civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
that led to several brief arrests.
By entering
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, Poland had to fully incorporate
anti-discrimination law
Anti-discrimination law or non-discrimination law refers to legislation designed to prevent discrimination against particular groups of people; these groups are often referred to as protected groups or protected classes. Anti-discrimination laws ...
s into its legal structure, including those dealing with discrimination for sexual orientation. On 1 January 2004, a law that included forbidding
workplace discrimination
Employment discrimination is a form of illegal discrimination in the workplace based on legally protected characteristics. In the U.S., federal anti-discrimination law prohibits discrimination by employers against employees based on age, race, ...
based on sexual orientation became part of Polish labour laws.
In
2011 election Poland made history by electing its first out LGBT Members of Parliament—
Robert Biedroń
Robert Biedroń (; born 13 April 1976) is a Polish politician, former mayor of Słupsk, and LGBT activist who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.
Biedroń was a member of the Sejm during its 7th session (2011–2 ...
, an out gay man, and
Anna Grodzka
Anna Grodzka (born 16 March 1954) is a Polish politician. A trans woman, she was elected to the Sejm in the 2011 Polish parliamentary elections as a candidate for the left-liberal Palikot's Movement, and was the first openly transgender Membe ...
, an out
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
woman, one of the originators of foundation
Trans-Fuzja
Fundacja Trans-Fuzja is a Polish LGBT rights organization. It was founded in February 2008 and acquired the status of a public interest organisation (OPP), working to better the wellbeing of transgender people in Poland.
Fields of activity
T ...
.
Since 2015
![LGBT Free Zones Poland 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/LGBT_Free_Zones_Poland_2020.png)
While ahead of the
2015 Polish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections to both the Sejm and Senate were held in Poland on 25 October 2015 for the eighth term of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, which ran from 12 November 2015 until 2019.
The election was won by the largest opposition par ...
, the ruling
Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( pl, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość , PiS) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Poland. Its chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński.
It was founded in 2001 by Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński as a direct su ...
(PiS) party took an anti-migrant stance, in the run-up to the
2019 Polish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 13 October 2019. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) retained its majority in the Sejm, but lost its majority in the Senate to the ...
the party has focused on countering Western "
LGBT ideology
Anti-LGBT rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used against homosexuality or other non-heterosexual sexual orientations in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. They range from t ...
".
Several Polish municipalities and four Voivodeships made so-called "
LGBT-free zone
LGBT-free zones ( pl, Strefy wolne od LGBT) or LGBT ideology-free zones ( pl, Strefy wolne od ideologii LGBT) are municipalities and regions of Poland that have declared themselves unwelcoming of what they described as "LGBT ideology", in order ...
" declarations, partly in response to the signing of a declaration in support of LGBTQ rights by Warsaw mayor
Rafał Trzaskowski
Rafał Kazimierz Trzaskowski (; born 17 January 1972) is a Polish politician and the current List of city mayors of Warsaw, city mayor of Warsaw. He is also a political scientist specializing in European studies.
He served as a Member of the Eur ...
.
[Polish towns advocate ‘LGBT-free’ zones while the ruling party cheers them on](_blank)
, Washington Post, 21 July 2019
[Polish ruling party whips up LGBTQ hatred ahead of elections amid 'gay-free' zones and Pride march attacks](_blank)
, Telegraph, 9 August 2019 While only symbolic, the declared zones signal exclusion of the LGBT community. The right wing ''
Gazeta Polska
''Gazeta Polska'' (Literal translation, lit.: ''Polish Newspaper'') is a Polish language pro-United Right (Poland), United Right right-wing populist to far-right weekly magazine published in Poland.
Profile and history
Gazeta Polska was founde ...
'' newspaper issued "LGBT-free zone" stickers to readers. The Polish opposition and diplomats, including US ambassador to Poland
Georgette Mosbacher
Georgette Mosbacher (née Paulsin; January 16, 1947) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, political activist who served as the United States Ambassador to Poland from 2018 to 2021. She is the chairman of the Green Beret Foundation ad ...
, condemned the stickers.
[Anti-Gay Brutality in a Polish Town Blamed on Poisonous Propaganda](_blank)
, New York Times, 27 July 2019[Conservative Polish magazine issues 'LGBT-free zone' stickers](_blank)
, Reuters, 24 July 2019 The Warsaw district court ordered that distribution of the stickers should halt pending the resolution of a court case.
[Polish Court Rebukes "LGBT-Free Zone" Stickers](_blank)
, HRW, 1 August 2019 However Gazeta's editor dismissed the ruling saying it was "fake news" and censorship, and that the paper would continue distributing the sticker. Gazeta continued with the distribution of the stickers, but modified the decal to read "LGBT Ideology-Free Zone".
In August 2019, multiple LGBT community members have stated that they feel unsafe in Poland. Foreign funded
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
All Out organization launched a campaign to counter the attacks, with about 10,000 people signing a petition shortly after the campaign launch.
[Activists warn Poland’s LGBT community is 'under attack'](_blank)
, Euronews, 8 August 2019 2019 saw a rise of violence directed against Pride marches, including the attacks at the first
Białystok Equality March and a bombing attempt made at a
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
march, stopped by the police.
In the
2020 Polish presidential election, President
Andrzej Duda
Andrzej Sebastian Duda (; born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the ...
focused heavily on LGBT issues, stating "LGBT is not people, it's an ideology, which is more harmful than Communism". He narrowly won re-election. According to
ILGA-Europe
ILGA-Europe is the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. It is an advocacy group promoting the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people, at the European level. I ...
's 2020 report, Poland is ranked worst among
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
countries for LGBT rights. On 7 August 2020, 47 people were arrested in
Polish Stonewall mass arrest. Some of them were peacefully protesting the arrest of
Margot Margot (; ) is a feminine French given name, a variant of Marguerite. It is also occasionally a surname. Persons named Margot include the following:
People with the given name Margot
* Margot Asquith, countess of Oxford and Asquith
* Marguerite ...
, an LGBT activist, while others were passerby. The
Polish Ombudsman
The Polish Ombudsman ( pl, Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich, literally Advocate for Citizens' Rights, now referring to itself in English as the "Commissioner for Human Rights" and earlier as the "Human Rights Defender," often abbreviated ''RPO'') is a ...
criticized human rights violations by the police.
On 27 September, 50 Ambassadors and Representatives from all over the world (included: the Representatives in Poland of the European Commission and of the
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
, the First Deputy Director of the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights,
the Head of Office of the International Organization for Migration,
the Secretary General of the Community of Democracies) published an open letter to the Polish authorities called "''Human Rights are not an ideology - they are universal. 50 Ambassadors and Representatives agree.''"
and giving their support of the efforts of LGBT people equal rights, the respect of fundamental human rights, the need to protect from verbal and physical abuse and hate speech; ending with the text on the bottom:
On November 11, 2021, while
Polish far-right nationalists at a rally in
Kalisz
(The oldest city of Poland)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town
, image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...
attended by hundreds of people yelled "Death to Jews," the rally organizer said: “LGBT, pederasts and
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
s are the enemies of Poland.”
See also
*
LGBT rights in Poland
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Poland face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBT residents. According to ILGA-Europe's 2022 report, the status of LGBTQ rights in Poland is the worst among European Union countries.
Bo ...
*
Notes
References
Further reading
*
{{LGBT history
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...