Brest trials
Encyclopedia
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
s conducted under the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. Lasting from October 26, 1931 to January 13, 1932, they were held at the Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
Regional Court where leaders of the Centrolew
Centrolew
The Centrolew was a coalition of several Polish political parties after the 1928 Sejm elections...
, a "Center-Left" anti-Sanation
Sanacja
Sanation was a Polish political movement that came to power after Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 Coup d'État. Sanation took its name from his watchword—the moral "sanation" of the Polish body politic...
-government political-opposition movement, were tried.
The Polish Sanation
Sanacja
Sanation was a Polish political movement that came to power after Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 Coup d'État. Sanation took its name from his watchword—the moral "sanation" of the Polish body politic...
government had invalidated the May 1930 election results by disbanding the parliament in August and with increasing pressure on the opposition started a new campaign, the new elections being scheduled for November Using anti-government demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
as a pretext, 20 members of the opposition, including most of the leaders of the Centrolew
Centrolew
The Centrolew was a coalition of several Polish political parties after the 1928 Sejm elections...
alliance (from Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PSL "Piast" and PSL "Wyzwolenie" parties) were arrested in September without a warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
, only strictly on the order of Józef Piłsudski and the then Minister of Internal Security, Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, accusing them of plotting an anti-government coup. The opposition members (who included the former prime minister Wincenty Witos
Wincenty Witos
Wincenty Witos was a prominent member of the Polish People's Party from 1895, and leader of its "Piast" faction from 1913. He was a member of parliament in the Galician Sejm from 1908–1914, and an envoy to Reichsrat in Vienna from 1911 to 1918...
, and Wojciech Korfanty
Wojciech Korfanty
Wojciech Korfanty , born Adalbert Korfanty, was a Polish nationalist activist, journalist and politician, serving as member of the German parliaments Reichstag and Prussian Landtag, and later on, in the Polish Sejm...
) were imprisoned in the Brest Fortress
Brest Fortress
Brest Fortress , formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress , is a 19th century Russian fortress in Brest, Belarus. It is one of the most important Soviet World War II war monuments commemorating the Soviet resistance against the German invasion on June 22, 1941...
, where their trial took place (thus the popular name for the election: the 'Brest election'). A number of less known activists were also arrested throughout the country. They were released after the end of the election in the same month. The Brest trial ended in January 1932, with 10 accused receiving sentences up to 3 years of imprisonment; the appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
s of 1933 confirmed the sentences. The government however gave the accused the choice of emigrating: five of them took did so, the other five stayed on in Poland to serve the prison term instead.
| L.p. | Accused | Party allegiance | Defender(s) | Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Herman Lieberman Herman Lieberman Herman Lieberman was a Polish lawyer and socialist politician.-Life:Lieberman was born into a Jewish family in Galicia, then part of Austro-Hungary. In 1907–14 and 1917–18, he was a member of parliament in Vienna.He was a Legionnnaire in World War I, and a leader of the Polish Socialist Party... |
PPS | Eugeniusz Śmiarowski, Ludwik Honigwill, Leopold Potok | 2,5 year |
| 2. | Norbert Barlicki Norbert Barlicki Norbert Barlicki was a Polish publicist, lawyer and politician.Barlicki was murdered during the Second World War in the German concentration camp Auschwitz.-References:... |
PPS | Leon Berenson, Zygmunt Nagórski | 2,5 year |
| 3. | Stanisław Dubois | PPS | Stanisław Benkiel, Kazimierz Sterling | 3 year |
| 4. | Mieczysław Mastek | PPS | Mieczysław Rudziński, Wacław Barcikowski | 3 year |
| 5. | Adam Pragier | PPS | L. Berenson, Jan Nowodworski | 3 year |
| 6. | Adam Ciołkosz | PPS | Jan Dąbrowski, Antoni Landau | 3 year |
| 7. | Wincenty Witos Wincenty Witos Wincenty Witos was a prominent member of the Polish People's Party from 1895, and leader of its "Piast" faction from 1913. He was a member of parliament in the Galician Sejm from 1908–1914, and an envoy to Reichsrat in Vienna from 1911 to 1918... |
PSL "Piast" | Stanisław Szurlej | 1,5 year |
| 8. | Władysław Kiernik | PSL "Piast" | Stefan Urbanowicz | 2,5 year |
| 9. | Kazimierz Bagiński | PSL "Wyzwolenie" | E. Śmiarowski, Zygmunt Graliński | 2 year |
| 10. | Józef Putek | PSL "Wyzwolenie" | Wacław Szumański, Mieczysław Jarosz (od 02.11.1931), Z. Graliński | 3 year |
| 11. | Adolf Sawicki | SCh | Kazimierz Ujazdowski, Tomasz Czernicki | declared innocent |