Stanislaw Pyjas
Encyclopedia
Stanisław Pyjas was a Polish
student of the Jagiellonian University
in Kraków
, member of the anticommunist student movements. He died on May 7, 1977 in Kraków. The exact circumstances of Pyjas’ death are still an unsolved mystery and his case, which is still disputed, shook public opinion in Poland. According to one scenario he was murdered and the killers, probably members of the communist Secret Services, arranged the death to look like an accident. The official scenario however states that his death occurred after he fell from the stairs while being drunk. In 2011 his body was examined and the outcome states that it was the fall that caused his death and that he had not been beaten.
. After graduation from a local high school, he moved to Kraków, to begin studies at the renowned Jagiellonian University. He studied Polish philology and philosophy.
Some time in 1976 Pyjas joined the Workers' Defence Committee
, the organization which was created to help laborers, participants in the anticommunist street protests in Radom
and Warsaw
. Together with friends from the University, Bronisław Wildstein and Lesław Maleszka, Pyjas organized protests against repressions.
. Street demonstrations, such as Kraków’s Black March, erupted in several Polish cities and soon afterwards, Polish students, shaken by the death of their colleague, founded the Student Committee of Solidarity. On May 15, 1977, after a Black March, the founders urged the Polish government to reveal who was behind the crime. Among members of the Committee was the current prime minister of Poland, Donald Tusk
, and it was the first organization of this kind in Eastern Europe.
, stalled and finally ended, due to lack of evidence.
Officially, Kraków doctor Zdzisław Marek stated that Pyjas, drunk, fell down the stairs, but Pyjas’ friends did not believe it. Bronisław Wildstein stated that he bribed a worker at the mortuary in Kraków and entered the premises, to check the body of his fellow student. According to him, it was clear that Pyjas had been brutally beaten to death.
A few weeks after Pyjas’ death, the body of another student, Stanisław Pietraszka, was found in the Solina Lake. According to his brother, it must have been a murder, as Pietraszka was afraid of water. He was the last person to have seen Pyjas alive and he gave a description of the possible murderer. Also, a person suspected of murder, a boxer of Cracovia, Marian Weclewicz, died in a mysterious accident.
presented a documentary Trzech kumpli (Three mates), which presented the story of Wildstein, Pyjas and Lesław Maleszka (aka Ketman and Return). All three of them were friends in college, studied together and were active in anticommunist opposition. However, Maleszka, who afterwards worked for Gazeta Wyborcza
, was a secret informer of Służba Bezpieczeństwa.
Maleszka was a highly praised agent, whose reports on students in Kraków, in which he did not hesitate to describe the intimate lives of his closest friends, were called excellent by his secret service bosses. According to Roman Graczyk, a journalist and Maleszka’s friend from university, Pyjas had to die, because he might have suspected Maleszka of collaboration. The secret services did not want to lose such a valuable agent and an unknown officer ordered the assassination.
On September 23, 2006, Pyjas was posthumously awarded the Commander's Cross of the Polonia Restituta
, by president Lech Kaczyński
.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
student of the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, member of the anticommunist student movements. He died on May 7, 1977 in Kraków. The exact circumstances of Pyjas’ death are still an unsolved mystery and his case, which is still disputed, shook public opinion in Poland. According to one scenario he was murdered and the killers, probably members of the communist Secret Services, arranged the death to look like an accident. The official scenario however states that his death occurred after he fell from the stairs while being drunk. In 2011 his body was examined and the outcome states that it was the fall that caused his death and that he had not been beaten.
Oppositional activities
Stanisław Pyjas was born on August 4, 1953 in ŻywiecZywiec
Żywiec is a town in south-central Poland with 32,242 inhabitants . Between 1975 and 1998, it was located within the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship, but has since become part of the Silesian Voivodeship....
. After graduation from a local high school, he moved to Kraków, to begin studies at the renowned Jagiellonian University. He studied Polish philology and philosophy.
Some time in 1976 Pyjas joined the Workers' Defence Committee
Workers' Defence Committee
The Workers’ Defense Committee was a Polish civil society group that emerged under communist rule to give aid to prisoners & their families after the June 1976 protests & government crackdown...
, the organization which was created to help laborers, participants in the anticommunist street protests in Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
and 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...
. Together with friends from the University, Bronisław Wildstein and Lesław Maleszka, Pyjas organized protests against repressions.
Death
Pyjas’ body was found on May 7, 1977, in the staircase located in a building at 7 Szewska Street in Kraków’s historic center. His death shook the student community, with around 1,000 people showing up at the funeral in the village of GilowiceGilowice, Zywiec County
Gilowice is a village in Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Gilowice. It lies approximately east of Żywiec and south of the regional capital Katowice....
. Street demonstrations, such as Kraków’s Black March, erupted in several Polish cities and soon afterwards, Polish students, shaken by the death of their colleague, founded the Student Committee of Solidarity. On May 15, 1977, after a Black March, the founders urged the Polish government to reveal who was behind the crime. Among members of the Committee was the current prime minister of Poland, Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
, and it was the first organization of this kind in Eastern Europe.
Aftermath
The perpetrators of the crime have never been found. Three different investigations, carried out by the local prosecutor’s office and Milicja ObywatelskaMilicja 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....
, stalled and finally ended, due to lack of evidence.
Officially, Kraków doctor Zdzisław Marek stated that Pyjas, drunk, fell down the stairs, but Pyjas’ friends did not believe it. Bronisław Wildstein stated that he bribed a worker at the mortuary in Kraków and entered the premises, to check the body of his fellow student. According to him, it was clear that Pyjas had been brutally beaten to death.
A few weeks after Pyjas’ death, the body of another student, Stanisław Pietraszka, was found in the Solina Lake. According to his brother, it must have been a murder, as Pietraszka was afraid of water. He was the last person to have seen Pyjas alive and he gave a description of the possible murderer. Also, a person suspected of murder, a boxer of Cracovia, Marian Weclewicz, died in a mysterious accident.
The role of Leslaw Maleszka
In late June 2008, private television TVNTVN (Poland)
TVN is a major Polish commercial television network. The broadcaster was co-founded by Polish businessmen Mariusz Walter and Jan Wejchert. The network launched on October 3, 1997. TVN belongs to the TVN S.A...
presented a documentary Trzech kumpli (Three mates), which presented the story of Wildstein, Pyjas and Lesław Maleszka (aka Ketman and Return). All three of them were friends in college, studied together and were active in anticommunist opposition. However, Maleszka, who afterwards worked for Gazeta Wyborcza
Gazeta Wyborcza
Gazeta Wyborcza is a leading Polish newspaper. It covers the gamut of political, international and general news. Like all the Polish newspapers, it is printed on compact-sized paper, and is published by the multimedia corporation Agora SA...
, was a secret informer of Służba Bezpieczeństwa.
Maleszka was a highly praised agent, whose reports on students in Kraków, in which he did not hesitate to describe the intimate lives of his closest friends, were called excellent by his secret service bosses. According to Roman Graczyk, a journalist and Maleszka’s friend from university, Pyjas had to die, because he might have suspected Maleszka of collaboration. The secret services did not want to lose such a valuable agent and an unknown officer ordered the assassination.
On September 23, 2006, Pyjas was posthumously awarded the Commander's Cross of the Polonia Restituta
Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta is one of Poland's highest Orders. The Order can be conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, defense of the country, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries...
, by president Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
.