The Security Service (; ), in full Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and commonly known as SB, was a

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

force established 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. ...

in 1956 as a successor to the Ministry of Public Security (UB). The SB was the chief foreign and domestic security organization in Poland from 1956 until the fall of communism in 1989. The parent agency of SB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, had been established in 1954, but the Ministry did not play a significant role until the winding-up of the Committee for Public Safety in 1956.

History

The post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Ministry of Public Security Ministry of Public Security can refer to: * Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) * Ministry of Public Security of Burundi * Ministry of Public Security (Chile) * Ministry of Public Security (China) * Ministry of Public Security of Co ...

(UB) was responsible for security, intelligence and

counterintelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's Intelligence agency, intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering informati ...

. It controlled over 41,000 soldiers of the

Internal Security Corps The Internal Security Corps (, KBW) was a special-purpose military formation in Poland under History of Poland (1945–1989)#Stalinist era (1948–1956), communist government, established on 24 May 1945. History The KBW consisted of 10 new ca ...

, 57,500 members of the Citizens' Militia, 32,000

Border Protection Forces Border Protection Forces (, ''WOP''), also known under its English abbreviation BPT, was the border guard service of the People's Republic of Poland from 1945 to 1989. During its 46 years of existence, it repeatedly changed its structural and serv ...

, 10,000 prison officers and 125,000 members of the Volunteer Reserve Citizen Militia. After the 1954 defection to the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

of Józef Światło (born Izaak Fleischfarb), a high-ranking

officer instrumental in arresting Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, this Ministry of Public Security was abolished. In December 1954, the Communist Party divided the old UB into two parts: the Committee for Public Security (''Komitet do spraw Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego'', or KDSBP) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MSW). The former was a

responsible for internal and external

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

and

to fight underground movements and the influence 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The MSW was responsible for administrative duties, and eventually controlled the Internal Security Corps, militia, border troops, prison guards and the Volunteer Reserve Citizen Militia.

1956 reform

The year 1956 brought change to Polish politics. Recently released from prison,

Władysław Gomułka Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish Communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of Polish People's Republic, post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948, and again from 1956 to 1970. Born in 1905 in ...

became the first secretary of the Central Committee of the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...

. Reforms were made in the structure of state security. The Committee of Public Safety was abolished, and its duties were taken over by the MSW. The introduction of Security Service to the Interior Ministry (which was already in the Polish public safety system since 1954), came as a result of directive number 00238/56 made by

Władysław Wicha Władysław Wicha (born 3 June 1904 in Warsaw; died 13 December 1984 in Warsaw) was a Polish politician in the early communist period. Ministry of Interior (Poland), Minister of Interior in the years 1954–1964, member of the Polish Council of S ...

on 29 November 1956. Wicha was a Polish

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

and politician PZPR member and then the first Minister of Internal Affairs from 1954 to 1964. After that his directive, the MSW was the only security body in Poland. Officers working in the Security Service were nicknamed "SB-eks" (Służba Bezpieczeństwa agents). SB also contracted individuals as secret collaborators ( Tajny Współpracownik or TW), who usually received money for the services rendered.

Directors

(1956-1964) *

Mieczysław Moczar Mieczysław Moczar (; birth name Mikołaj Diomko, pseudonym ''Mietek'', 23 December 1913 – 1 November 1986) was a Polish communist politician who played a prominent role in the history of the Polish People's Republic The Polish People's R ...

(1964-1965) * Ryszard Matejewski (1965-1969) * Bogusław Stachura (1969-1981) * Władysław Ciastoń (1981-1986) * Henryk Dankowski (1986-1989) * Jerzy Karpacz (1989)

Tasks and organizational structure

The tasks of the Security Service were identical to that of its predecessors (MBP, UB and KdsBP): to protect the communist system in the country (and beyond) through control and penetration into all structures of social life in Poland and abroad. The centrally-based MSW was divided into departments, bureaus, sections and directorates. The following was observed in the SB after the agency was founded: * Division I (Intelligence): Replaced I (1st) KdsBP Division in 1956. * Division II (Counter-intelligence): Replaced II (2nd) KdsBP Division in 1956. * Division III (Anti-State Activity): Replaced Divisions III-VI (3rd-6th) of the KdsBP in 1956. Later replaced with Division of protection of the constitutional order of the state in 1989. * Division A (Ciphers): Replaced the A Department of KdsBP in 1956. * Division B (Observation): Replaced the B section of KdsBP in 1956 * Division C (Operational Records): Replaced the X (10th) KdsBP Division in 1956. * Division T (Operational Technology): Replaced the IX (9th) KdsBP Division in 1956. * Division W (Correspondence Investigation): Replaced the W section of KdsBP in 1956 * Investigation Division: Replaced the VII (7th) KdsBP Division in 1956. * Government Protection Division: Replaced the VIII (8th) KdsBP Division in 1956. * Foreigner Registration Division: Operational assets taken from MO in 1960. In 1965, it was integrated to the Border Control Department. * Division IV (Protection of churches and religious associations): Separated from Division III in 1962. From 1981–1984, it's tasked to protect Polish agriculture. It was replaced in 1989 with Study and Analysis Division. * Passports Division: Operational assets taken from MO in 1964. From 1972 to 1990, it was tasked to register foreigners living/working in Poland. * RKW Division (Radio counter-intelligence): Separated from Division II in 1965. Integrated with Division A in 1989. * Border Control Department: Operational assets taken from the Border Protection Troops in 1965. Worked alongside the FRD until BCD was sent back to the BPT in 1972 with some duties taken by Division II and MO. * Division IIIA / V (Operational protection of Industry): Originally separated from Division III in 1979. Later replaced in 1989 with Division of Economic Protection. Operational assets transferred from MO in 1981-82. * Censorship Division: Operated during the martial law period of 1981. Intercepted phone calls and postal items. Involved SB agents from W and T Divisions. * Study Division (Investigation of opposition), replaced in 1989 with Study and Analysis Division. * Communication Division: Operational assets taken from MO in 1984. * Division VI (Operational protection of Agriculture), replaced in 1989 with Division of Economic Protection. * Officer Protection Division: Operational assets taken from MO in 1985.

1981 SB Structure

The SB was further reorganized in 1981 due to reforms made by Czesław Kiszczak. This was made under Resolution No. 144 of the Council of Ministers of October 21, 1983 on granting the organizational statute to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, later amended by Resolution No. 128 of the Council of Ministers of August 22, 1989. * Intelligence/Counter-intelligence Service * Security Service * Operational Security Service * Bureau of Investigation * Government Protection Bureau * Security Board Officers

Ranks

The following ranks were observed until 1990:

Activities

After it was renamed the SB in 1956, it entered a period of relative inactivity during the era of reform instituted by

. However, after 1968 it was revived as a stronger body responsible for

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

, most notably of the

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

movement, the leader of which,

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as the president of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 Polish presidential election, 1990 election, Wałę ...

, was under constant SB surveillance. Throughout 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 ...

(1981-1983), SB played a key role in

wiretapping Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...

telephones in public areas and institutions. It also participated in infiltrating Solidarity's committees and gatherings. The torture and execution of Catholic priest

Jerzy Popiełuszko Jerzy Popiełuszko ( born Alfons Popiełuszko; 14 September 1947 – 19 October 1984) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who became associated with the opposition Solidarity trade union in communist Poland. He was murdered in 1984 by three ...

by SB members (who were later convicted of murder) in 1984 shook Poland. The agency is also suspected of killing

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 ...

, Catholic priest Stefan Niedzielak, and is reported to have abused priest Roman Kotlarz, who died mysteriously after a beating.

Victims

An infamous case was the torture and execution by the SB of Catholic priest

in 1984. Since 1990, several SB operatives have been tried for their crimes. The SB is also suspected of killing

and Catholic priest Stefan Niedzielak. It is reported to have abused priest Roman Kotlarz, who died mysteriouslyKOR, A history of the Worker's Defense Committee in Poland, 1976 – 1981, by Jan Jósef Lipski, Translated by Olga Amsterdamska and Gene M. Moore, University of California Press, 1985, page 36 after a beating.

In popular culture

The SB is featured in the Polish TV series ''

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

'' which is set in an alternative 2003 where Poland is still a communist country.