Lesław Maleszka (born 15 November 1952 in

Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...

) is a Polish librarian, journalist, opposition activist in the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

, secret collaborator of the Polish Communist secret police.

Biography

In 1977 he graduated from the Faculty of Polish Studies of the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

. From 1977 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1984 he worked at the

Jagiellonian Library The Jagiellonian Library (, popular nickname ''Jagiellonka'') is the library of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and with almost 6.7 million volumes, one of the largest libraries in Poland, serving as a public library, university library an ...

. Then he was the editor of Indeks and Wiadomości Tarnowskie. From 1984 to 1990 he was a tutor in the Emergency Care Service in Kraków. From 1987 to 1989 he edited the magazine Bez dekretu, and from 1988 to 1990 "Nowohucki Biuletyn Solidarności". From 1976 he cooperated with the

Workers' Defence Committee The Workers' Defense Committee ( , KOR) was a Polish civil society group that was established to give aid to prisoners and their families after the June 1976 protests and ensuing government crackdown. It was a precursor and inspiration for efforts ...

. With

Bronisław Wildstein Bronisław Wildstein (born 11 June 1952, Olsztyn, Poland) is a former Polish dissident, a journalist, freelance author and, from 11 May 2006 to 28 February 2007, was the chief executive officer of ''Telewizja Polska'' (Polish state-owned televisi ...

, he initiated the establishment of the Student Solidarity Committee in Kraków after the death of

Stanisław Pyjas Stanisław Włodzimierz Pyjas (1953–1977) was a Polish student of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, member of the anticommunist student movements. He died on 7 May 1977, in Kraków. The exact circumstances of Pyjas’ death are still a ...

in 1977. From 1980, he collaborated with NSZZ "Solidarność". He wrote in underground magazines. During the

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

, he was interned from January to June 1982.

Cooperation with the Polish secret police

In his publications, he has repeatedly spoken critically about lustration. In 2001, he was revealed as a "secret collaborator" by his friend from the period of opposition activities,

. On November 6, 2001, " Rzeczpospolita" published an open letter from the activists of the Krakow SKS, accusing Lesław Maleszka of collaborating with the Security Service of the People's Republic of Poland. In response, on November 7, the deputy editor-in-chief of "

Tygodnik Powszechny ''Tygodnik Powszechny'' (, ''The Common Weekly'') is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sap ...

" and former

Minister of Internal 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 ...

, Krzysztof Kozłowski, accused SKS activists of unreliability and undermined the credibility of the SB materials. On the same day, Lesław Maleszka admitted that he was a secret collaborator nicknamed "Ketman". On November 13, Gazeta Wyborcza published his text entitled "I was a Ketman". According to the

Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...

, Lesław Maleszka's cooperation was much more extensive and voluntary than he himself admitted. Lesław Maleszka collaborated under several pseudonyms, independently suggesting to the Security Service to adopt a stricter policy towards opposition activists. He even reported to higher-ranking SB functionaries about case officers who did not implement his suggestions. Thanks to the help of the SB, he got a job at the Jagiellonian Library and was allocated an apartment in the Azory neighbourhood in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. He received regular sums from the SB for denunciations. He was among the best-paid agents in Poland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maleszka, Lesław 1952 births Living people People from Zakopane Polish anti-communists Jagiellonian University alumni