Communist crime
Encyclopedia
Communist crimes is a legal definition used notably in Polish criminal law
. The concept is also used more broadly internationally, and is employed by human rights NGOs as well as government agencies such as the Foundation for the Investigation of Communist Crimes
, the Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism
, the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes
, the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania
and the Office for the Documentation and the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism.
(Dziennik Ustaw, DzU) of the Republic of Poland issued 18 December 1998, "Communist crimes" constitute crimes committed by the functionaries of the communist
apparatus
between September 17, 1939 (Soviet invasion of Poland)
and December 31, 1989 (fall of communism). The crimes defined therein form either political repression
or direct violation of human rights
of an individual or a group; including those, otherwise named in Polish criminal law
of that particular time. The concept also covers several other illegal activities prohibited by the Polish law already since 1932, such as falsification of documents
and using them with the intent to cause harm to people mentioned in them.
The concept of Communist crimes was legally introduced in 1998 and revised several times. It was designed to facilitate studies of events and prosecution of people in authority
who committed crimes against Polish citizens as well as the Polish state. The definition is conceptually similar to the legal concept of a Nazi crime
.
. The functionaries involved would most likely work for Polish intelligence
, security service
and other internal affairs (particularly censorship
and religious affairs) departments. Particular organizations named as examples include Ministry of Public Security of Poland
, Służba Bezpieczeństwa and Główny Zarząd Informacji Wojska Polskiego. The communist crimes could have also been committed in Poland by members of foreign civil or military services, such as KGB
, NKVD
, SMERSH
, and Stasi
.
Crimes, recognized by international law
as crimes against humanity, crimes against peace and war crimes, are not affected by the statute of limitations
in Poland. Those crimes are not affected either by the former amnesty
or abolition decrees issued in communist Poland before 7 December 1989. In case of murders, the Polish statute of limitations begins on 1 August 1990 and runs for 40 years, and for 30 years for other crimes.
The concept has replaced the term Stalinist crime
(zbrodnia stalinowska) previously used in Polish law for similar acts, just as the concept of Nazi crime
has replaced that of the hitlerite crime. Both, stalinist and hitlerite crimes were first defined by Polish legislation in 1991.
While drafting the concept of the communist crime, Polish legislators specifically discarded the notion that communist crime is equal to a Nazi crime, or that the legislation of the communist crime can be based on that of the Nazi crime (already defined in legislation of 31 August 1944), as while similar on some levels they are different enough on others to make analogies unacceptable.
Communist crimes are primarily investigated by the Institute of National Remembrance
, a special research institute
with prosecution powers, created by the same legislation that defined the concept of the communist crime in 1998. Two examples of such unsolved communist crimes are the Augustów chase, and Kąkolewnica massacre also known as the Baran Forest Massacre.
Polish Penal Code
Kodeks Karny is the Polish name for its criminal law code. This official name is often abbreviated to KK. There were three penal codes in the modern Polish legal history: the first in 1932, then during the communist era in 1969, and the last, and currently in force, in 1997. Since then it has been...
. The concept is also used more broadly internationally, and is employed by human rights NGOs as well as government agencies such as the Foundation for the Investigation of Communist Crimes
Foundation for the Investigation of Communist Crimes
The Foundation for the Investigation of Communist Crimes is an NGO that gathers facts of Communist crimes and Red terror across the world, finances and supports experts, scholarly research and advises the remaining communist regimes in transformation to democracy. The mission of the foundation is...
, the Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism
Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism
The Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism is a Sweden-based non-profit and non-governmental human rights organization, founded in 2008, with the stated purpose of "spreading essential information on the crimes of communism and to promote vigilance against all totalitarian...
, the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes
Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes
The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes is a Czech government agency and research institute, founded by the Czech government in 2007. Its purpose is to gather, analyse and make accessible documents from the Nazi and Communist regimes...
, the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania
Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania
The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania is a government-sponsored organization whose mission is to investigate the crimes and abuses conducted while Romania was under communist rule prior to December 1989...
and the Office for the Documentation and the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism.
Polish law
In legal terminology – as defined by the Article 2.1 of the Journal of LawsDziennik Ustaw
Dziennik Ustaw or Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej is the most important Polish publication of legal acts. It is the only official source of law for promulgation of Polish laws. The publication of this journal is solely the responsibility of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland...
(Dziennik Ustaw, DzU) of the Republic of Poland issued 18 December 1998, "Communist crimes" constitute crimes committed by the functionaries of the communist
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
apparatus
Apparatus
Apparatus may refer to:*Technical term for body of the Soviet and post-Soviet governments *Machine*Equipment*Critical apparatus, the critical and primary source material that accompanies an edition of a text-See also:*Fire apparatus...
between September 17, 1939 (Soviet invasion of Poland)
Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)
The 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland was a Soviet military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II. Sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union did so from the east...
and December 31, 1989 (fall of communism). The crimes defined therein form either political repression
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
or direct violation of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
of an individual or a group; including those, otherwise named in Polish criminal law
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
of that particular time. The concept also covers several other illegal activities prohibited by the Polish law already since 1932, such as falsification of documents
False document
A false document is a literary technique employed to create verisimilitude in a work of fiction. By inventing and inserting documents that appear to be factual, an author tries to create a sense of authenticity beyond the normal and expected suspension of disbelief for a work of art...
and using them with the intent to cause harm to people mentioned in them.
The concept of Communist crimes was legally introduced in 1998 and revised several times. It was designed to facilitate studies of events and prosecution of people in authority
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
who committed crimes against Polish citizens as well as the Polish state. The definition is conceptually similar to the legal concept of a Nazi crime
Nazi crime
Nazi crime or Hitlerite crime is a legal concept used in some legal systems .In the Polish legal system a Nazi crime is an action carried out by, inspired by or tolerated by public functionaries of the Third Reich that also classifies as a crime against humanity or other persecutions of people...
.
Articles 4 to 7
A functionary of a communist state is defined as a public official including those who received legal protection similar to public officials, particularly government officials and leaders of the communist partyCommunist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
. The functionaries involved would most likely work for Polish intelligence
History of Polish Intelligence Services
This article covers the history of Polish intelligence services dating back to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Commonwealth:Though the first official Polish government service entrusted with espionage, intelligence and counter-intelligence was not formed until 1918, Poland and later the...
, security service
Milicja Obywatelska
Milicja Obywatelska was a state police institution in the People's Republic of Poland. It was created in 1944 by Soviet-sponsored PKWN, effectively replacing the pre-war police force. In 1990 it was transformed back into Policja....
and other internal affairs (particularly censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
and religious affairs) departments. Particular organizations named as examples include Ministry of Public Security of Poland
Ministry of Public Security of Poland
The Ministry of Public Security of Poland was a Polish communist secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage service operating from 1945 to 1954 under Jakub Berman of the Politburo...
, Służba Bezpieczeństwa and Główny Zarząd Informacji Wojska Polskiego. The communist crimes could have also been committed in Poland by members of foreign civil or military services, such as KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
, SMERSH
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
, and Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
.
Crimes, recognized by international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
as crimes against humanity, crimes against peace and war crimes, are not affected by the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
in Poland. Those crimes are not affected either by the former amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
or abolition decrees issued in communist Poland before 7 December 1989. In case of murders, the Polish statute of limitations begins on 1 August 1990 and runs for 40 years, and for 30 years for other crimes.
The concept has replaced the term Stalinist crime
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
(zbrodnia stalinowska) previously used in Polish law for similar acts, just as the concept of Nazi crime
Nazi crime
Nazi crime or Hitlerite crime is a legal concept used in some legal systems .In the Polish legal system a Nazi crime is an action carried out by, inspired by or tolerated by public functionaries of the Third Reich that also classifies as a crime against humanity or other persecutions of people...
has replaced that of the hitlerite crime. Both, stalinist and hitlerite crimes were first defined by Polish legislation in 1991.
While drafting the concept of the communist crime, Polish legislators specifically discarded the notion that communist crime is equal to a Nazi crime, or that the legislation of the communist crime can be based on that of the Nazi crime (already defined in legislation of 31 August 1944), as while similar on some levels they are different enough on others to make analogies unacceptable.
Communist crimes are primarily investigated by the Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
, a special research institute
Research institute
A research institute is an establishment endowed for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research...
with prosecution powers, created by the same legislation that defined the concept of the communist crime in 1998. Two examples of such unsolved communist crimes are the Augustów chase, and Kąkolewnica massacre also known as the Baran Forest Massacre.
See also
- DecommunizationDecommunizationDecommunization is a process of overcoming the legacies of the communist state establishments, culture, and psychology in the post-Communist states. It is similar to denazification after Nazism fell...
- Lustration in PolandLustration in PolandLustration in Poland refers to the policy of limiting the participation of former communists, and especially informants of the communist secret police , in the successor governments or even in civil service positions.-1992–1997:...
- The Black Book of CommunismThe Black Book of CommunismThe Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression is a book authored by several European academics and edited by Stéphane Courtois, which describes a history of repressions, both political and civilian, by Communist states, including genocides, extrajudicial executions, deportations, and...
- People's Republic of PolandPeople's Republic of PolandThe People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
- Thick line (gruba kreska)