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1
00:01:54,505 --> 00:01:57,421
Thousands of Poles
walk with determination
2
00:01:57,465 --> 00:01:59,945
under a hot August sun.
3
00:01:59,989 --> 00:02:03,035
Their destination, Saint
Stanislaus Kostka Church.
4
00:02:06,256 --> 00:02:08,476
Blocking every street and alley
are
5
00:02:08,519 --> 00:02:11,783
the tanks, water cannon, and
lead filled batons
6
00:02:11,827 --> 00:02:13,045
of the militia.
7
00:02:13,089 --> 00:02:15,526
They have been ordered to stop
these people
8
00:02:15,570 --> 00:02:19,139
with force, if necessary.
9
00:02:19,182 --> 00:02:22,794
They have come to here a
35-year-old priest named
10
00:02:22,838 --> 00:02:26,885
Father Jerzy Popieluszko, a
chaplain for the trade union
11
00:02:26,929 --> 00:02:30,933
solidarity, a linchpin of the
opposition underground
12
00:02:30,976 --> 00:02:35,329
and a peaceful voice of truth
and justice for his people.
13
00:02:51,649 --> 00:02:54,957
In three years,
this extraordinary priest
14
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,396
mobilized a nation to make their
dreams of freedom a reality.
15
00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,270
His monthly masses, celebrations
of dignity and peace,
16
00:03:03,313 --> 00:03:05,576
spoke of the injustice and
tyranny
17
00:03:05,620 --> 00:03:08,013
of the communist system.
18
00:03:08,057 --> 00:03:13,845
There we were free, safe, and
not afraid of anything.
19
00:03:13,889 --> 00:03:18,241
The government, they
knew they were not able to stop
20
00:03:18,285 --> 00:03:20,939
people from coming to the mass.
21
00:03:20,983 --> 00:03:22,854
At this point, it wasn't
impossible.
22
00:03:27,424 --> 00:03:30,079
To the communist
regime that has ruled Eastern
23
00:03:30,122 --> 00:03:33,865
Europe with an iron fist since
the end of World War II
24
00:03:33,909 --> 00:03:36,999
and to the secret police hiding
among the crowd,
25
00:03:37,042 --> 00:03:40,481
he is the most dangerous man in
Poland.
26
00:03:40,524 --> 00:03:44,006
All the way from Moscow,
through Warsaw, to east
27
00:03:44,049 --> 00:03:47,836
Bahrain, the entire communist
system
28
00:03:47,879 --> 00:03:51,013
was afraid of Father Jerzy
Popieluszko.
29
00:03:51,056 --> 00:03:53,842
And his only weapon was the
truth.
30
00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,121
On November 9th,
1989,
31
00:04:12,164 --> 00:04:15,298
east and west Germans gathered
at the Berlin Wall
32
00:04:15,342 --> 00:04:19,171
with sledgehammers and pickaxes
and began tearing it down.
33
00:04:25,003 --> 00:04:28,485
These iconic images, broadcast
worldwide,
34
00:04:28,529 --> 00:04:31,314
proclaim the reunification of
Germany
35
00:04:31,358 --> 00:04:34,622
and signaled the end of
communism.
36
00:04:34,665 --> 00:04:36,537
But the end of communism in
Poland
37
00:04:36,580 --> 00:04:40,105
began years earlier in an
otherwise unremarkable
38
00:04:40,149 --> 00:04:44,806
church in Warsaw with the words
of Father Jerzy Popieluszko.
39
00:05:12,573 --> 00:05:15,837
At the Yalta
Conference in 1945,
40
00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,579
Prime Minister Churchill and
President Roosevelt
41
00:05:18,622 --> 00:05:22,147
handed Poland over to General
Secretary Joseph Stalin
42
00:05:22,191 --> 00:05:24,802
believing his promise to operate
Poland
43
00:05:24,846 --> 00:05:27,283
on a broader democratic basis.
44
00:05:27,327 --> 00:05:31,592
Poland has always
been a pawn of the world,
45
00:05:31,635 --> 00:05:35,378
whether it's Russia or Western
Europe, United States.
46
00:05:35,422 --> 00:05:38,207
It's always been a tradable
entity.
47
00:05:38,250 --> 00:05:40,252
Here Stalin, we'll give you
Poland
48
00:05:40,296 --> 00:05:43,995
and you give us two players to
be named later.
49
00:05:44,039 --> 00:05:46,258
Under Stalin the
communist controlled
50
00:05:46,302 --> 00:05:48,391
everything in Eastern Europe.
51
00:05:48,435 --> 00:05:50,393
The media was run by the state.
52
00:05:50,437 --> 00:05:53,004
Wages and food prices were
manipulated
53
00:05:53,048 --> 00:05:55,398
and dissension was quickly and
brutally
54
00:05:55,442 --> 00:05:58,793
crushed by the secret police.
55
00:05:58,836 --> 00:06:00,272
It is actually
the essence
56
00:06:00,316 --> 00:06:02,449
of the communist regime because
it wants
57
00:06:02,492 --> 00:06:05,365
to control all aspects of
person's life,
58
00:06:05,408 --> 00:06:09,151
including your thoughts, your
ideas.
59
00:06:09,194 --> 00:06:11,414
And if you think about it, you
rely on the state
60
00:06:11,458 --> 00:06:13,024
for everything in your life.
61
00:06:16,463 --> 00:06:18,421
But from the
start, Poland resisted.
62
00:06:21,424 --> 00:06:26,473
With its population of 38
million people, 95% Catholic,
63
00:06:26,516 --> 00:06:28,431
the church and its leadership
were
64
00:06:28,475 --> 00:06:31,478
uniquely responsible for the
preservation
65
00:06:31,521 --> 00:06:33,697
of Poland's national identity.
66
00:06:38,398 --> 00:06:40,138
The head of the Catholic Church
in Poland
67
00:06:40,182 --> 00:06:44,578
was the primate, Cardinal Stefan
Wyszynski.
68
00:06:44,621 --> 00:06:47,885
He was beloved by the people, a
constant thorn in the side
69
00:06:47,929 --> 00:06:51,585
of the communist establishment,
and a wily tactician who
70
00:06:51,628 --> 00:06:54,936
was able to maintain and grow
the church's influence
71
00:06:54,979 --> 00:06:56,372
for more than three decades.
72
00:07:04,815 --> 00:07:08,776
Cardinal Wyszynski
knew communism very well.
73
00:07:08,819 --> 00:07:11,474
He was probably one of the only
Polish people
74
00:07:11,518 --> 00:07:13,911
with Marx's book read cover to
cover.
75
00:07:17,959 --> 00:07:20,352
For 40 years, the
communist regime
76
00:07:20,396 --> 00:07:24,661
used all available firepower to
enforce their will.
77
00:07:24,705 --> 00:07:28,360
Nuns and priests were routinely
tried and executed.
78
00:07:28,404 --> 00:07:32,060
And the Polish people were
ground into submission.
79
00:07:32,103 --> 00:07:35,890
Then in 1979, everything
changed.
80
00:07:44,551 --> 00:07:49,338
It's June 2 and Victory Square
in Warsaw, Poland is full.
81
00:07:49,381 --> 00:07:51,253
A million people have come to
see
82
00:07:51,296 --> 00:07:53,908
Poland's newest hero, Cardinal
Karol
83
00:07:53,951 --> 00:07:58,390
Wojtyla, now Pope John Paul II.
84
00:07:58,434 --> 00:08:03,308
Somewhere in this massive crowd
is a 32-year-old priest
85
00:08:03,352 --> 00:08:05,310
named Father Jerzy Popieluszko.
86
00:08:42,478 --> 00:08:44,698
And I
remember standing there.
87
00:08:44,741 --> 00:08:47,527
And I remember these words, let
the spirit come
88
00:08:47,570 --> 00:08:50,181
and renew the face of this
earth.
89
00:08:50,225 --> 00:08:52,488
Absolutely clear message.
90
00:08:52,532 --> 00:08:53,881
I am there.
91
00:08:53,924 --> 00:08:55,535
I will support you.
92
00:08:55,578 --> 00:08:57,841
But you have to do it yourself.
93
00:08:57,885 --> 00:08:59,582
That was a clear message.
94
00:08:59,626 --> 00:09:03,847
And I remember the effect that
it had on the crowd.
95
00:09:03,891 --> 00:09:05,762
That was like a thunderbolt.
96
00:09:19,646 --> 00:09:20,864
The church
hierarchy,
97
00:09:20,908 --> 00:09:23,954
such as primate Wyszynski and
the bishops,
98
00:09:23,998 --> 00:09:27,262
the cardinal Wojtyla never
agreed with Marxism,
99
00:09:27,305 --> 00:09:28,568
with communism.
100
00:09:28,611 --> 00:09:31,919
They preached freedom of man,
freedom, man's
101
00:09:31,962 --> 00:09:33,616
right to freedom.
102
00:09:33,660 --> 00:09:35,836
And that's how one can explain
this connection
103
00:09:35,879 --> 00:09:39,840
between the people, the factory
workers, and intelligentsia
104
00:09:39,883 --> 00:09:41,885
and the church.
105
00:09:48,805 --> 00:09:51,286
When the Pope came
in June of 1979,
106
00:09:51,329 --> 00:09:54,506
we found out again we were
Poles.
107
00:09:54,550 --> 00:09:58,510
And that made the communist
authorities disappear.
108
00:09:58,554 --> 00:10:01,426
If only for a week, it was the
first week
109
00:10:01,470 --> 00:10:11,523
without communists since 1945.
110
00:10:11,523 --> 00:10:16,877
without communists since 1945.
111
00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:19,662
After months of
fruitless negotiations,
112
00:10:19,706 --> 00:10:22,752
17,000 workers at the Lenin
shipyards
113
00:10:22,796 --> 00:10:25,407
in the northern Baltic Port of
Gdansk
114
00:10:25,450 --> 00:10:28,323
went on an occupation strike,
locking the gates
115
00:10:28,366 --> 00:10:31,152
and shutting down the entire
operation.
116
00:10:31,195 --> 00:10:34,677
The strike committee chose a
charismatic former shipyard
117
00:10:34,721 --> 00:10:36,636
electrician as their leader.
118
00:10:46,428 --> 00:10:48,691
The communists were
following a simple rule,
119
00:10:48,735 --> 00:10:51,607
do not allow the protesters to
organize.
120
00:10:51,651 --> 00:10:53,870
And we couldn't build solidarity
because we were
121
00:10:53,914 --> 00:10:56,699
being constantly dismantled.
122
00:10:56,743 --> 00:10:59,093
And then, we got help from
heaven.
123
00:10:59,136 --> 00:11:01,661
A poll was chosen as pope.
124
00:11:01,704 --> 00:11:04,011
Without the pope we wouldn't be
able to organize
125
00:11:04,054 --> 00:11:06,013
ourselves for a long time.
126
00:11:06,056 --> 00:11:09,973
We wouldn't be able to fight
communism.
127
00:11:13,150 --> 00:11:14,804
We were protesting
so that people
128
00:11:14,848 --> 00:11:18,416
would be treated seriously.
129
00:11:18,460 --> 00:11:20,592
They were getting fired and
thrown out of work.
130
00:11:20,636 --> 00:11:23,030
And that's what the strikes were
for, to say, no, enough.
131
00:11:26,250 --> 00:11:28,688
You can't fire people because
they go to church
132
00:11:28,731 --> 00:11:31,429
and believe in a free Poland.
133
00:11:36,086 --> 00:11:38,785
Young priests,
like Father Popieluszko,
134
00:11:38,828 --> 00:11:42,005
took the Pope's words as a
personal challenge.
135
00:11:42,049 --> 00:11:43,833
He used the words of the Holy
Father
136
00:11:43,877 --> 00:11:46,053
in his new position as the
chaplain
137
00:11:46,096 --> 00:11:48,403
to nursing and medical students,
helping
138
00:11:48,446 --> 00:11:51,362
them to form strike committees
based on the principles
139
00:11:51,406 --> 00:11:52,712
of nonviolence.
140
00:12:11,165 --> 00:12:13,820
During the 1980s, Roger Boyes
was stationed
141
00:12:13,863 --> 00:12:15,909
in Warsaw for the Times.
142
00:12:15,952 --> 00:12:19,042
He reported on the birth of the
first free trade union
143
00:12:19,086 --> 00:12:23,568
in the Soviet bloc called
Solidarity and its leader
144
00:12:23,612 --> 00:12:25,614
Lech Walesa.
145
00:12:25,657 --> 00:12:27,659
And this
combination of legitimate
146
00:12:27,703 --> 00:12:32,229
worker grievances, a theology of
freedom and a champion in Rome
147
00:12:32,273 --> 00:12:35,580
that changed the chemistry that
in previous post-war uprisings,
148
00:12:35,624 --> 00:12:38,714
in 1956, in 1968, 1970--
149
00:12:38,758 --> 00:12:42,413
The role of Catholicism wasn't
really that important.
150
00:12:42,457 --> 00:12:45,068
We didn't have a Polish Pope.
151
00:12:45,112 --> 00:12:51,118
It had changed, something
fundamental had changed.
152
00:12:51,161 --> 00:12:54,208
10,000 employees
of the massive steel mill
153
00:12:54,251 --> 00:12:56,819
in Warsaw shut down the
machinery
154
00:12:56,863 --> 00:12:59,561
and locked themselves inside the
gates.
155
00:12:59,604 --> 00:13:02,042
The first Sunday of the strike,
three workers
156
00:13:02,085 --> 00:13:04,348
snuck out of the mill and went
to see
157
00:13:04,392 --> 00:13:08,439
Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski with
an unusual request.
158
00:13:08,483 --> 00:13:13,836
They asked for a priest to enter
the striking mill and say mass.
159
00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,317
The cardinal saw an opportunity
here
160
00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:18,798
he had been waiting for, the
gospel
161
00:13:18,841 --> 00:13:22,497
heard inside the hallowed walls
of communist power,
162
00:13:22,540 --> 00:13:23,977
the steel mill.
163
00:13:24,020 --> 00:13:27,067
He also knew the perfect man for
the task.
164
00:13:27,110 --> 00:13:29,809
A priest who was surprisingly
courageous,
165
00:13:29,852 --> 00:13:34,161
who had a deep faith and hope
for his people and his country.
166
00:13:34,204 --> 00:13:36,554
And yet he was only 33 years
old.
167
00:13:45,302 --> 00:13:48,131
Alfonso Alec Popieluszko was
born
168
00:13:48,175 --> 00:13:52,483
September 14th, 1947 in the
small farming
169
00:13:52,527 --> 00:13:55,835
community of Okopy.
170
00:13:55,878 --> 00:13:58,838
When he was old enough, Alec
would walk two miles
171
00:13:58,881 --> 00:14:01,579
every morning to serve as an
altar boy
172
00:14:01,623 --> 00:14:05,714
at Saint Peter's and Paul
Church.
173
00:14:05,757 --> 00:14:10,327
At age 17, Alec left the small
town life behind and traveled
174
00:14:10,371 --> 00:14:13,287
on his own to Warsaw to present
himself
175
00:14:13,330 --> 00:14:16,899
before the rector of Saint John
the Baptist Seminary.
176
00:14:16,943 --> 00:14:19,902
In 1965 he was accepted.
177
00:14:19,946 --> 00:14:22,557
And although he was not the
brightest student,
178
00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,821
he impressed everyone with his
friendliness and passion
179
00:14:25,865 --> 00:14:26,778
for his calling.
180
00:14:29,346 --> 00:14:34,264
In 1966, Father Jerzy was a year
into his seminary studies
181
00:14:34,308 --> 00:14:36,571
when he was sent with his fellow
classmates
182
00:14:36,614 --> 00:14:40,053
to a communist military base for
their compulsory two
183
00:14:40,096 --> 00:14:41,793
years in the Army.
184
00:14:41,837 --> 00:14:44,840
The seminarians were placed in a
unit separate and unique
185
00:14:44,884 --> 00:14:46,798
from the rest of the cadets,
part
186
00:14:46,842 --> 00:14:51,064
of a carefully planned system of
atheistic indoctrination.
187
00:14:51,107 --> 00:14:54,284
Bible study and prayer were
strictly forbidden.
188
00:14:54,328 --> 00:14:58,462
But unlike some of his brothers,
Father Jerzy did pray.
189
00:14:58,506 --> 00:15:01,204
He said the rosary in the open
and he refused
190
00:15:01,248 --> 00:15:03,554
to take off his scapular.
191
00:15:07,297 --> 00:15:08,690
That's what
Popieluszko
192
00:15:08,733 --> 00:15:10,387
was like when he was ordered to
put away his prayer
193
00:15:10,431 --> 00:15:12,346
book, to stop praying, or to put
away
194
00:15:12,389 --> 00:15:14,914
his rosary or holy pendant.
195
00:15:14,957 --> 00:15:16,741
I think most seminarians might
have followed orders,
196
00:15:16,785 --> 00:15:19,788
but he protested out loud and
with a clear message.
197
00:15:22,834 --> 00:15:24,880
He was ordered to
stand at attention.
198
00:15:24,924 --> 00:15:26,708
Sometimes all night long.
199
00:15:26,751 --> 00:15:31,669
Sometimes in the rain and snow
and often barefoot.
200
00:15:31,713 --> 00:15:33,280
And this was the
reason
201
00:15:33,323 --> 00:15:36,892
why, using the military jargon,
they put the screws to him.
202
00:15:36,936 --> 00:15:39,068
It was like that until he left.
203
00:15:39,112 --> 00:15:41,810
Father Jerzy's
time in the military damaged
204
00:15:41,853 --> 00:15:43,725
his health beyond repair.
205
00:15:43,768 --> 00:15:46,380
But despite spending his last
year of seminary
206
00:15:46,423 --> 00:15:48,034
in and out of the hospital.
207
00:15:48,077 --> 00:15:54,170
He was ordained on May 28th,
1972.
208
00:15:54,214 --> 00:15:56,477
Father Jerzy embraced the
assignment
209
00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,305
from Cardinal Wyszynski.
210
00:15:58,348 --> 00:16:02,396
And on August 31st, 1980, he
walked past a gauntlet
211
00:16:02,439 --> 00:16:04,702
of armed riot police, through
the gates
212
00:16:04,746 --> 00:16:07,357
of the Warsaw steel mill, and
into the hearts
213
00:16:07,401 --> 00:16:09,316
of its striking workers.
214
00:16:09,359 --> 00:16:11,840
The gate opens and he's
literally sucked into this,
215
00:16:11,883 --> 00:16:13,624
the steel mill crowd.
216
00:16:13,668 --> 00:16:17,280
The guys bring him inside and
then they start to applaud.
217
00:16:17,324 --> 00:16:19,456
And he looks around thinking to
himself,
218
00:16:19,500 --> 00:16:21,719
who are they applauding for?
219
00:16:21,763 --> 00:16:22,982
I'm just a priest.
220
00:16:23,025 --> 00:16:24,026
I'm just here to say mass.
221
00:16:26,724 --> 00:16:28,204
A priest had never
ever
222
00:16:28,248 --> 00:16:30,206
entered the steel mill grounds.
223
00:16:30,250 --> 00:16:33,557
This was unimaginable.
224
00:16:33,601 --> 00:16:35,690
Once I tried to organize a
Catholic group here
225
00:16:35,733 --> 00:16:39,259
for the young workers, but I was
ridiculed.
226
00:16:39,302 --> 00:16:41,217
This was a communist fortress
that
227
00:16:41,261 --> 00:16:45,091
only served the communists.
228
00:16:45,134 --> 00:16:48,572
That is how the totalitarian
regime saw it.
229
00:16:48,616 --> 00:16:49,921
It was clear that
something
230
00:16:49,965 --> 00:16:51,532
was happening in the capital.
231
00:16:51,575 --> 00:16:53,186
And it was clear that the regime
was really
232
00:16:53,229 --> 00:16:59,888
worried about the transfusion of
the Gdansk spirit into Warsaw.
233
00:16:59,931 --> 00:17:03,065
I mean it was already happening,
but nevertheless Huta Warszawa
234
00:17:03,109 --> 00:17:04,893
was the kind of communist
fortress
235
00:17:04,936 --> 00:17:08,070
that had been penetrated by the
Church.
236
00:17:08,114 --> 00:17:11,204
And Popieluszko had done the
penetrating.
237
00:17:49,938 --> 00:17:51,940
On that same day
in Gdansk,
238
00:17:51,983 --> 00:17:56,423
Lech Walesca signed an agreement
legalizing the first free trade
239
00:17:56,466 --> 00:17:58,686
union in a communist country.
240
00:17:58,729 --> 00:18:01,210
It was called Solidarity.
241
00:18:01,254 --> 00:18:04,300
For months, nothing had left the
factories of Poland.
242
00:18:04,344 --> 00:18:06,172
With pressure from Russia to get
them back
243
00:18:06,215 --> 00:18:10,176
to work and unwilling or unable
to resort to violence,
244
00:18:10,219 --> 00:18:14,397
the communist government caved
to the striker's demands.
245
00:18:14,441 --> 00:18:17,922
In front of the World Press, the
Solidarity Agreement
246
00:18:17,966 --> 00:18:20,229
removed the Communist Party's
control
247
00:18:20,273 --> 00:18:24,233
over the industrial enterprise,
increased the minimum wage,
248
00:18:24,277 --> 00:18:27,845
and abolished censorship
throughout the country.
249
00:18:27,889 --> 00:18:29,325
The main thing was
to keep
250
00:18:29,369 --> 00:18:32,633
the communist monopoly over the
working class basically.
251
00:18:32,676 --> 00:18:33,938
The whole point of the Communist
Party
252
00:18:33,982 --> 00:18:35,679
was it was the voice of the
working class.
253
00:18:35,723 --> 00:18:41,468
If you let anyone compete, voice
workers problems,
254
00:18:41,511 --> 00:18:43,339
you were in trouble.
255
00:18:43,383 --> 00:18:46,734
So the idea was pretend a bit,
let them feel that they were
256
00:18:46,777 --> 00:18:49,389
getting something, give them a
few concessions, which
257
00:18:49,432 --> 00:18:53,088
maybe were justifiable anyway.
258
00:18:53,132 --> 00:18:55,438
And then later you scratch it
all back.
259
00:18:55,482 --> 00:19:01,705
Was this going to be the first
crack in the Iron Curtain?
260
00:19:01,749 --> 00:19:04,186
It could have been. We didn't
know it.
261
00:19:04,230 --> 00:19:05,883
Turns out, yes, it absolutely
was.
262
00:19:14,327 --> 00:19:16,155
Poland was trying to
break free.
263
00:19:16,198 --> 00:19:18,983
And 1980 was such an attempt.
264
00:19:19,027 --> 00:19:21,464
It was successful in the sense
that 10 million
265
00:19:21,508 --> 00:19:24,946
people joined Solidarity.
266
00:19:24,989 --> 00:19:29,211
But if you think about it,
families, wives, children,
267
00:19:29,255 --> 00:19:32,954
you need to multiply that by two
or three.
268
00:19:32,997 --> 00:19:37,350
This no longer means 10 million
members, but 20 or 30 million.
269
00:19:37,393 --> 00:19:40,744
So pretty much all the Poles,
the whole nation.
270
00:19:44,531 --> 00:19:46,620
Suddenly newspapers
could write what they want.
271
00:19:46,663 --> 00:19:48,230
The censorship disappeared.
272
00:19:48,274 --> 00:19:49,840
And that was amazing.
273
00:19:49,884 --> 00:19:52,452
You would see people queuing for
newspapers, probably the one
274
00:19:52,495 --> 00:19:55,803
time in history that people
actually
275
00:19:55,846 --> 00:19:57,457
stood regularly every day, not
just
276
00:19:57,500 --> 00:20:01,025
for bread, but for newspapers.
277
00:20:01,069 --> 00:20:02,505
There were a lot
more liberties
278
00:20:02,549 --> 00:20:03,854
around the steel mill.
279
00:20:03,898 --> 00:20:05,247
He started visiting their
families.
280
00:20:05,291 --> 00:20:06,727
He started baptizing their
children.
281
00:20:06,770 --> 00:20:11,732
He started tending to the sick
of the steel workers.
282
00:20:11,775 --> 00:20:13,473
But the people loved it.
283
00:20:13,516 --> 00:20:16,476
They loved the way he spoke to
them, the workers,
284
00:20:16,519 --> 00:20:19,566
about their problems, not about
the church's problems.
285
00:20:19,609 --> 00:20:22,960
He spoke about their homes,
their families,
286
00:20:23,004 --> 00:20:28,009
their work, their money, their
lack of money.
287
00:20:30,403 --> 00:20:32,318
It was such euphoria
for us.
288
00:20:32,361 --> 00:20:34,798
And it was new, but so obvious
to us
289
00:20:34,842 --> 00:20:36,887
that these unions will be
formed,
290
00:20:36,931 --> 00:20:39,194
at least after the Solidarity
registration.
291
00:20:42,415 --> 00:20:44,243
And it was a big celebration for
us.
292
00:20:44,286 --> 00:20:47,811
And we realized we created a new
page in our Polish history.
293
00:20:47,855 --> 00:20:49,552
And nothing would ever change
it.
294
00:20:49,596 --> 00:20:52,381
And nobody could take it away,
absolutely none.
295
00:20:55,602 --> 00:20:57,908
Yeah, it was
freedom.
296
00:20:57,952 --> 00:21:01,564
But of course also a time of
chronic shortages
297
00:21:01,608 --> 00:21:05,873
and sort of slightly quiet
desperation as well.
298
00:21:05,916 --> 00:21:08,789
Sometimes when people write or
describe this period
299
00:21:08,832 --> 00:21:10,486
it sounds like it was massive
carnival.
300
00:21:10,530 --> 00:21:11,444
And it was in a way.
301
00:21:15,012 --> 00:21:16,492
Our relationship
grew.
302
00:21:16,536 --> 00:21:18,929
Father Popieluszko invited
Seweryn Jaworski and others
303
00:21:18,973 --> 00:21:21,932
to visit him at Saint Stanislaw
Kostka Parish where
304
00:21:21,976 --> 00:21:24,152
he worked as a resident priest.
305
00:21:24,195 --> 00:21:25,501
We paid him a visit.
306
00:21:25,545 --> 00:21:27,808
And then he would visit us at
the factory.
307
00:21:27,851 --> 00:21:30,245
He wanted to know what we were
doing, what our strike
308
00:21:30,289 --> 00:21:33,422
issues were, and he saw the
formation of the union
309
00:21:33,466 --> 00:21:35,206
and our work for Solidarity.
310
00:22:04,758 --> 00:22:08,805
Popieluszko had
this special magnetism.
311
00:22:08,849 --> 00:22:10,154
And he was making these
linkages.
312
00:22:10,198 --> 00:22:14,855
He was making these linkages
between students,
313
00:22:14,898 --> 00:22:20,164
young workers, older workers,
country, capital.
314
00:22:20,208 --> 00:22:21,775
He was bringing it all together.
315
00:22:26,475 --> 00:22:28,434
Father Jerzy
organized meetings
316
00:22:28,477 --> 00:22:33,352
with journalists, sociologists,
professors, historians,
317
00:22:33,395 --> 00:22:36,137
and they taught us how to
communicate with authorities,
318
00:22:36,180 --> 00:22:38,052
how to behave with danger.
319
00:22:38,095 --> 00:22:41,316
So that Solidarity members,
unified against the government,
320
00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:44,450
could connect and communicate
effectively.
321
00:22:44,493 --> 00:22:46,974
You can say thanks to Father
Jerzy for this.
322
00:22:53,459 --> 00:22:55,025
People started
thinking differently
323
00:22:55,069 --> 00:22:57,071
about their work and study
conditions,
324
00:22:57,114 --> 00:23:00,161
which in turn fueled the fight
for democracy.
325
00:23:00,204 --> 00:23:01,858
Maybe some of the requests were
not fully
326
00:23:01,902 --> 00:23:04,774
understood by the workers.
327
00:23:04,818 --> 00:23:07,560
But the fight for a different
reality had begun.
328
00:23:07,603 --> 00:23:09,083
They asked him to design a flag
that
329
00:23:09,126 --> 00:23:11,172
would help them show the
permanence
330
00:23:11,215 --> 00:23:13,609
of the union at the steel mill.
331
00:23:13,653 --> 00:23:14,915
And he was overjoyed.
332
00:23:14,958 --> 00:23:17,134
I mean first being asked to be
their chaplain.
333
00:23:17,178 --> 00:23:21,225
He finally had a family that was
his and he was responsible for.
334
00:23:21,269 --> 00:23:24,446
His pastor said, go for it.
335
00:23:24,490 --> 00:23:27,014
What started that
morning as a simple procession
336
00:23:27,057 --> 00:23:31,366
of the steel mill Solidarity
flag to Father Jerzy's church,
337
00:23:31,410 --> 00:23:34,587
morphed into a massive crowd
control nightmare
338
00:23:34,630 --> 00:23:36,806
that the government had not
sanctioned.
339
00:23:40,070 --> 00:23:45,467
20,000 people showed up at this
little church in Warsaw.
340
00:23:45,511 --> 00:23:47,991
And the police had no idea it
was going to happen.
341
00:23:48,035 --> 00:23:49,645
There was no permits.
342
00:23:49,689 --> 00:23:51,908
It completely freaked them out.
343
00:23:51,952 --> 00:23:54,476
They didn't have enough men to
ask for IDs.
344
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,522
The church yard was full.
345
00:23:56,565 --> 00:23:58,828
Even the pastor of the Church
was a little shocked saying,
346
00:23:58,872 --> 00:24:01,440
can you get more of the people
inside the church
347
00:24:01,483 --> 00:24:02,571
so we don't cause a ruckus?
348
00:24:02,615 --> 00:24:04,921
It just didn't work.
349
00:24:04,965 --> 00:24:07,576
The door of
freedom had opened a crack.
350
00:24:07,620 --> 00:24:13,582
And now 38 million Poles wanted
to barge through it.
351
00:24:28,075 --> 00:24:29,859
With the death of
their beloved cardinal,
352
00:24:29,903 --> 00:24:34,124
Stefan Wyszynski, in May of
1981, the new primate,
353
00:24:34,168 --> 00:24:37,954
Cardinal Josef Glemp walked
right in to the growing unease
354
00:24:37,998 --> 00:24:41,131
between Solidarity, the Catholic
Church,
355
00:24:41,175 --> 00:24:44,134
and the Communist Party.
356
00:24:44,178 --> 00:24:47,094
He joined some of the major
Solidarity leaders
357
00:24:47,137 --> 00:24:49,357
in warning the young union that
they should
358
00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:51,446
not ask for too much too soon.
359
00:24:58,758 --> 00:25:03,023
To the Kremlin, Solidarity with
ideological suicide.
360
00:25:03,066 --> 00:25:05,765
And there was a danger of it
spreading like a virus
361
00:25:05,808 --> 00:25:07,680
throughout the Soviet bloc.
362
00:25:07,723 --> 00:25:10,421
They hastily dismissed the
civilian government
363
00:25:10,465 --> 00:25:13,947
and installed army general
Wojciech Jaruzelski,
364
00:25:13,990 --> 00:25:15,209
putting the army in control.
365
00:25:18,299 --> 00:25:21,607
That was the first sign that
the regime
366
00:25:21,650 --> 00:25:25,872
was willing to use force, to use
force to preserve communism.
367
00:25:25,915 --> 00:25:27,351
This was the thing.
368
00:25:27,395 --> 00:25:29,876
Because what had happened in all
those months, those kind
369
00:25:29,919 --> 00:25:32,966
of absolute helter-skelter
months,
370
00:25:33,009 --> 00:25:35,708
the Communist Party had become
more and more marginalized,
371
00:25:35,751 --> 00:25:39,886
less and less relevant and was
absolutely in chaos,
372
00:25:39,929 --> 00:25:40,843
absolutely in retreat.
373
00:25:57,643 --> 00:25:59,732
I declare that
today,
374
00:25:59,775 --> 00:26:04,606
the military council of national
salvation has been formed.
375
00:26:04,650 --> 00:26:07,261
In accordance with the
Constitution,
376
00:26:07,304 --> 00:26:10,699
the state council has imposed
martial law
377
00:26:10,743 --> 00:26:11,831
all over the country.
378
00:26:15,791 --> 00:26:18,141
On December 13th,
1981,
379
00:26:18,185 --> 00:26:21,492
Jaruzelski declared war on the
Polish people.
380
00:26:21,536 --> 00:26:23,059
Everything was shut down--
381
00:26:23,103 --> 00:26:27,237
travel, communication, schools,
factories, everything.
382
00:26:27,281 --> 00:26:33,069
Suddenly, just shortly after
midnight the telexes stopped,
383
00:26:33,113 --> 00:26:35,768
mid-sentence.
384
00:26:35,811 --> 00:26:37,639
And then we really knew
something had happened.
385
00:26:37,683 --> 00:26:40,511
If you cut off all communication
with the outside world,
386
00:26:40,555 --> 00:26:42,513
you know something's happening.
387
00:26:42,557 --> 00:26:46,169
That night 500,000
soldiers of the Polish People's
388
00:26:46,213 --> 00:26:47,867
Army were mobilized.
389
00:26:47,910 --> 00:26:50,434
They moved in and blockaded
every city.
390
00:26:50,478 --> 00:26:52,872
They raided the homes of
Solidarity leaders
391
00:26:52,915 --> 00:26:54,743
and dragged them from their
beds.
392
00:26:54,787 --> 00:26:57,180
Every Solidarity office
throughout the country
393
00:26:57,224 --> 00:26:59,530
was broken into and ransacked.
394
00:26:59,574 --> 00:27:02,229
By the end of the evening, 5,000
people had
395
00:27:02,272 --> 00:27:04,057
been arrested without cause.
396
00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:06,842
In the end, more than 90 people
were killed
397
00:27:06,886 --> 00:27:08,844
and hundreds more had been
wounded.
398
00:27:08,888 --> 00:27:13,544
In 12 short hours, Jaruzelski's
government erased any trace
399
00:27:13,588 --> 00:27:15,372
that Solidarity ever existed.
400
00:27:19,550 --> 00:27:22,510
Martial law was a
paralyzing situation.
401
00:27:22,553 --> 00:27:25,121
My younger brother was home on
leave from the army.
402
00:27:25,165 --> 00:27:27,689
And I had to tell him to
immediately go back to his base
403
00:27:27,733 --> 00:27:30,605
so he would not be
court-martialed.
404
00:27:30,649 --> 00:27:33,303
We both were praying not to meet
in the days to come.
405
00:27:36,219 --> 00:27:39,222
So my mother was saying goodbye
to her two sons.
406
00:27:39,266 --> 00:27:41,964
One was going to Zoliborz, to
Father Jerzy,
407
00:27:42,008 --> 00:27:44,097
and the other was going to the
military base.
408
00:27:47,753 --> 00:27:50,364
All of a sudden it is no hope
at all.
409
00:27:50,407 --> 00:27:54,281
And people start to think, where
do you go back, to 1945?
410
00:27:54,324 --> 00:27:55,804
Does it mean that all freedoms
are
411
00:27:55,848 --> 00:27:58,589
going to be taken away from us?
412
00:27:58,633 --> 00:28:00,722
How to continue on with living?
413
00:28:00,766 --> 00:28:02,550
Because the first thing that
happened,
414
00:28:02,593 --> 00:28:04,204
when martial law was declared,
was
415
00:28:04,247 --> 00:28:08,382
that 5,000 people were detained
and put into internment camps.
416
00:28:08,425 --> 00:28:10,689
Father Jerzy began
hearing the names
417
00:28:10,732 --> 00:28:12,691
of some of those arrested.
418
00:28:12,734 --> 00:28:15,868
His friends from the steel mill
and Solidarity--
419
00:28:15,911 --> 00:28:21,003
Karol Sidorsky, Jacek Kuron,
Stefan Jaworski,
420
00:28:21,047 --> 00:28:24,137
and Anna Walentynowicz.
421
00:28:24,180 --> 00:28:26,226
Families were left without
paychecks
422
00:28:26,269 --> 00:28:29,403
or food coupons and no idea
where their loved
423
00:28:29,446 --> 00:28:30,883
ones had been taken.
424
00:28:30,926 --> 00:28:34,016
Within 24 hours Father Jerzy had
cleared the basement
425
00:28:34,060 --> 00:28:37,977
of his church, set up a locator
map of jails and prisons,
426
00:28:38,020 --> 00:28:40,370
And sent out volunteers to check
on the families.
427
00:28:44,244 --> 00:28:46,594
In the ensuing days, some union
members
428
00:28:46,637 --> 00:28:49,728
chose to fight back, despite
being outnumbered and unarmed.
429
00:29:30,856 --> 00:29:34,033
These were the first
few weeks of martial law.
430
00:29:34,076 --> 00:29:38,037
We were keeping track of who was
imprisoned, who was jailed,
431
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:40,300
and who was taken away.
432
00:29:40,343 --> 00:29:42,868
And he said that he would like
to have information on what is
433
00:29:42,911 --> 00:29:44,957
happening during these trials.
434
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:49,135
Who was convicted in what room,
what day, and in what case.
435
00:29:49,178 --> 00:29:51,790
I said, OK, no problem because I
worked there.
436
00:29:51,833 --> 00:29:55,271
And I moved around easily.
437
00:29:55,315 --> 00:29:57,926
With Solidarity
effectively eliminated,
438
00:29:57,970 --> 00:30:02,888
Jaruzelski set his sights on the
Catholic Church.
439
00:30:02,931 --> 00:30:07,631
He appointed hardliners to every
key position in the government.
440
00:30:07,675 --> 00:30:11,244
An important assignment was
General Czeslaw Kiszczak
441
00:30:11,287 --> 00:30:14,551
who was named Minister of
Internal Affairs, the office
442
00:30:14,595 --> 00:30:18,077
that controlled the secret
police and a clandestine unit
443
00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:22,429
called Department 4, whose sole
mandate was to spy
444
00:30:22,472 --> 00:30:24,648
on every church in Poland.
445
00:30:24,692 --> 00:30:27,042
But there were only two that
they were really,
446
00:30:27,086 --> 00:30:29,349
really concerned about in 1980.
447
00:30:29,392 --> 00:30:32,134
One was Saint Bridget's in
Gdansk because of Lech Walesa
448
00:30:32,178 --> 00:30:34,702
and Father Jankowski, his
confessor.
449
00:30:34,745 --> 00:30:36,443
The one that they were even more
concerned about
450
00:30:36,486 --> 00:30:38,967
was closer to home base in
Warsaw
451
00:30:39,011 --> 00:30:41,143
and that was Saint Stanislaus
Kostka Church
452
00:30:41,187 --> 00:30:42,841
and Father Jerzy Popieluszko.
453
00:30:47,584 --> 00:30:51,588
During legal solidarity the
church wasn't so important--
454
00:30:51,632 --> 00:30:54,635
or the church as an institution
wasn't so important
455
00:30:54,678 --> 00:30:56,855
as a channel of information.
456
00:30:56,898 --> 00:31:01,860
It was only afterwards, after
the banning of solidarity,
457
00:31:01,903 --> 00:31:03,557
that it became important.
458
00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:05,080
So where did it happen?
459
00:31:05,124 --> 00:31:09,215
It got displaced into the
infrastructure of the church
460
00:31:09,258 --> 00:31:11,695
or sympathetic parishes.
461
00:31:11,739 --> 00:31:13,306
Especially those parishes which
were
462
00:31:13,349 --> 00:31:15,874
collecting Western medical aid.
463
00:31:40,724 --> 00:31:45,599
Medical Aid for Poland fund was
set up in response
464
00:31:45,642 --> 00:31:48,210
to Lech Walesa's request to the
west
465
00:31:48,254 --> 00:31:50,560
to provide medical supplies for
Poland
466
00:31:50,604 --> 00:31:53,346
after the imposition of martial
law.
467
00:31:53,389 --> 00:31:54,956
You can imagine it was a lot of
paperwork.
468
00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,263
But we filled up lorries.
469
00:31:57,306 --> 00:32:00,048
We had the paperwork in place.
470
00:32:00,092 --> 00:32:02,616
And we sent these lorries across
to Poland.
471
00:32:02,659 --> 00:32:07,882
When Western medical aid
started to flow into churches.
472
00:32:07,926 --> 00:32:11,494
Department 4 was then upgraded
and expanded
473
00:32:11,538 --> 00:32:14,628
and given massive resources
because they were worried.
474
00:32:14,671 --> 00:32:17,283
They were worried that printing
machines, all these kind
475
00:32:17,326 --> 00:32:19,241
of things, money, especially
money
476
00:32:19,285 --> 00:32:23,767
was flowing in through church
channels.
477
00:32:23,811 --> 00:32:25,856
Within weeks of
martial law,
478
00:32:25,900 --> 00:32:28,990
leaders of Solidarity that had
escaped capture
479
00:32:29,034 --> 00:32:31,950
joined forces with the
underground, a network
480
00:32:31,993 --> 00:32:33,995
of writers and intellectuals
that
481
00:32:34,039 --> 00:32:37,390
had been printing anti-communist
literature for decades.
482
00:32:37,433 --> 00:32:39,174
But the underground
was really important.
483
00:32:39,218 --> 00:32:42,873
It was important because it kept
the idea alive,
484
00:32:42,917 --> 00:32:45,833
which was an absolute defiance
and really
485
00:32:45,876 --> 00:32:48,618
infuriated the regime.
486
00:32:48,662 --> 00:32:51,839
But also the way it wove into
the rhythm,
487
00:32:51,882 --> 00:32:54,929
the rhythm of Polish society.
488
00:32:54,973 --> 00:32:56,452
And that's where the church came
in.
489
00:32:56,496 --> 00:32:59,368
Because if ever there was a
moment for the underground
490
00:32:59,412 --> 00:33:02,284
to show itself or to flex itself
it
491
00:33:02,328 --> 00:33:04,983
was exactly at Sunday masses.
492
00:33:15,950 --> 00:33:18,997
Father Jerzy's
pastor, Father Teofil Bogucki,
493
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,043
asked him to resume the
direction of the next mass
494
00:33:22,087 --> 00:33:24,654
for the fatherland, a monthly
celebration
495
00:33:24,698 --> 00:33:26,047
of Polish national unity.
496
00:33:28,919 --> 00:33:32,749
His first mass was on Sunday,
February 28.
497
00:33:32,793 --> 00:33:35,404
He was a natural, a little
unpolished.
498
00:33:35,448 --> 00:33:37,798
But in his simplicity, he
proclaimed
499
00:33:37,841 --> 00:33:39,974
the truth that cut through the
lies
500
00:33:40,018 --> 00:33:41,976
of the state controlled media.
501
00:33:42,020 --> 00:33:45,240
He spoke of the men arrested and
jailed without cause,
502
00:33:45,284 --> 00:33:47,634
the families left to starve,
even
503
00:33:47,677 --> 00:33:50,854
praying for the men in service
to the Communist Party.
504
00:35:12,371 --> 00:35:15,025
Almost immediately
the secret police appeared
505
00:35:15,069 --> 00:35:16,984
at the door of the Curia, the
headquarters
506
00:35:17,027 --> 00:35:18,594
of the church in Poland.
507
00:35:18,638 --> 00:35:20,118
They complained to Cardinal
Glemp
508
00:35:20,161 --> 00:35:23,121
about the huge crowds, the
seditious sermons,
509
00:35:23,164 --> 00:35:24,252
and the priest.
510
00:35:24,296 --> 00:35:26,080
Cardinal Glemp responded that he
saw
511
00:35:26,124 --> 00:35:30,302
no sedition in Popieluszko's
words, only the work of God.
512
00:35:37,265 --> 00:35:38,701
The prosecutor's
office
513
00:35:38,745 --> 00:35:41,617
had initiated an investigation
against me
514
00:35:41,661 --> 00:35:44,533
for abusing the freedom of
conscience and belief
515
00:35:44,577 --> 00:35:48,189
while fulfilling religious
duties in Warsaw.
516
00:35:48,233 --> 00:35:51,192
Two months into martial law, a
friend of mine came from Warsaw
517
00:35:51,236 --> 00:35:55,370
and he said you must read this.
518
00:35:55,414 --> 00:35:58,852
Read the sermons by the very
young priest
519
00:35:58,895 --> 00:36:00,854
in one of the Warsaw churches
and tell
520
00:36:00,897 --> 00:36:02,508
me what you think about them.
521
00:36:02,551 --> 00:36:04,336
And I read the sermon.
522
00:36:04,379 --> 00:36:06,512
I just could not believe it,
because this
523
00:36:06,555 --> 00:36:09,950
was precisely what was needed.
524
00:36:09,993 --> 00:36:17,479
Every last Sunday of the month
there is a mass for Poland
525
00:36:17,523 --> 00:36:21,353
and bring crosses with you.
526
00:36:21,396 --> 00:36:25,531
Well, I said, well, it's a
strange idea.
527
00:36:25,574 --> 00:36:27,620
I am not going.
528
00:36:27,663 --> 00:36:30,231
Mass passes and people were
saying,
529
00:36:30,275 --> 00:36:36,411
Janusz it's not just common
mass.
530
00:36:36,455 --> 00:36:39,849
Just go there and see the
priest.
531
00:36:39,893 --> 00:36:44,289
His name is Father Jerzy
Popieluszko.
532
00:36:44,332 --> 00:36:46,769
He looked like a normal person,
533
00:36:46,813 --> 00:36:52,906
rather tiny, not very outspoken,
modest and so on.
534
00:36:52,949 --> 00:36:56,039
But when he started to speak,
very simple thing just
535
00:36:56,083 --> 00:37:00,174
gathered in a proper combination
to show
536
00:37:00,218 --> 00:37:03,612
that we have to be ourselves.
537
00:37:03,656 --> 00:37:09,836
That no system invalidates our
duties, that we have duties.
538
00:37:09,879 --> 00:37:13,274
We have limits, we have duties,
and we have to follow
539
00:37:13,318 --> 00:37:16,059
them, as simple as that.
540
00:37:16,103 --> 00:37:19,149
So more and more people gathered
then.
541
00:37:25,286 --> 00:37:26,722
From month to
month
542
00:37:26,766 --> 00:37:29,508
the masses for the fatherland
grew in sophistication
543
00:37:29,551 --> 00:37:32,728
as the crowd grew in number, now
spilling outside
544
00:37:32,772 --> 00:37:36,732
of Saint Stanislaus, which was
illegal without a city permit.
545
00:37:36,776 --> 00:37:41,041
35-year-old Captain Grzegorz
Piotrowski, newly hired
546
00:37:41,084 --> 00:37:42,869
by the secret police, was
stunned
547
00:37:42,912 --> 00:37:45,654
by the size of the crowd and the
brazen words
548
00:37:45,698 --> 00:37:47,526
of this young priest.
549
00:37:47,569 --> 00:37:51,791
Any anti-state pronouncement
was punishable by death.
550
00:37:51,834 --> 00:37:54,576
So he could be killed by
military code
551
00:37:54,620 --> 00:37:56,274
at any time for what he said.
552
00:37:59,842 --> 00:38:01,627
When the masses for
the homeland
553
00:38:01,670 --> 00:38:04,282
started in February, this place
had
554
00:38:04,325 --> 00:38:08,198
become a piece of free Poland.
555
00:38:08,242 --> 00:38:12,855
The crowds would be surrounded
by ZOMO and the militia.
556
00:38:12,899 --> 00:38:17,512
It was a truly, truly difficult
time.
557
00:38:17,556 --> 00:38:20,210
ZOMO are the
special units.
558
00:38:20,254 --> 00:38:21,342
They are not police.
559
00:38:21,386 --> 00:38:25,041
They are special security units,
which
560
00:38:25,085 --> 00:38:28,828
are formed from the psychopaths,
from the criminals,
561
00:38:28,871 --> 00:38:31,831
from the worst elements society.
562
00:38:31,874 --> 00:38:36,444
And these people are trained to
kill, to hurt.
563
00:38:36,488 --> 00:38:42,189
They are people without any
morals, any scruples.
564
00:38:42,232 --> 00:38:47,412
I was walking with my wife to
the tram, down the tram
565
00:38:47,455 --> 00:38:54,419
going to Praga and suddenly
secret police came.
566
00:38:54,462 --> 00:38:55,942
They've got us.
567
00:38:55,985 --> 00:39:00,163
And they said, oh, you are a
student, history students.
568
00:39:00,207 --> 00:39:02,427
Oh, how bad.
569
00:39:02,470 --> 00:39:06,735
Who taught you to pray like that
with your fingers.
570
00:39:06,779 --> 00:39:09,956
There is no such letter in
Polish alphabet.
571
00:39:09,999 --> 00:39:13,002
That's what Jaworski was always
telling me.
572
00:39:13,046 --> 00:39:16,266
You will never finish your
studies
573
00:39:16,310 --> 00:39:18,965
and you will stay here for
longer.
574
00:39:19,008 --> 00:39:20,619
I said, you have no right.
575
00:39:20,662 --> 00:39:23,796
And the guy said, what?
576
00:39:23,839 --> 00:39:26,320
What did you say?
577
00:39:26,364 --> 00:39:28,496
Who are you?
578
00:39:28,540 --> 00:39:30,106
Today, there are
steel
579
00:39:30,150 --> 00:39:33,588
hands with fingers that are
spread in the form of a letter.
580
00:39:33,632 --> 00:39:36,983
Not even one Polish word begins
with that letter.
581
00:39:37,026 --> 00:39:40,029
Because of this letter it won't
get better in Poland.
582
00:39:40,073 --> 00:39:41,466
It can only get worse.
583
00:40:07,100 --> 00:40:10,669
Maybe 90% of those people
attending the masses they
584
00:40:10,712 --> 00:40:11,800
were Catholics.
585
00:40:11,844 --> 00:40:14,934
But some of them must be like
myself.
586
00:40:14,977 --> 00:40:19,373
So agnostic, atheist, what was
the reason we're coming?
587
00:40:19,417 --> 00:40:21,897
The reason was quite simple.
588
00:40:21,941 --> 00:40:28,338
There we were free, safe, and
not afraid of anything.
589
00:40:28,382 --> 00:40:32,386
And we were fighting for the
independent Poland.
590
00:40:32,430 --> 00:40:37,826
And we knew that Father Jerzy
Popieluszko is one of us.
591
00:40:37,870 --> 00:40:43,310
And we knew that he loves our
country as we love our country.
592
00:40:43,353 --> 00:40:45,181
And that he's not afraid.
593
00:42:00,909 --> 00:42:02,563
Father Jerzy's
small apartment
594
00:42:02,607 --> 00:42:05,305
became the center of the growing
opposition.
595
00:42:05,348 --> 00:42:07,699
It had become a meeting place
for every aspect
596
00:42:07,742 --> 00:42:10,397
of the underground, Solidarity
leaders,
597
00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:14,009
famous actors, intellectuals,
all fired for their support
598
00:42:14,053 --> 00:42:15,533
of Solidarity.
599
00:42:15,576 --> 00:42:18,536
Each group had some influence on
his sermons
600
00:42:18,579 --> 00:42:20,755
and participated in the masses.
601
00:42:20,799 --> 00:42:23,845
But when father Jerzy wanted the
common man's touch,
602
00:42:23,889 --> 00:42:26,761
he went to the steelworkers.
603
00:42:26,805 --> 00:42:31,592
Katarzyna Soborak began working
at Saint Stanislaus in 1982,
604
00:42:31,636 --> 00:42:33,333
helping distribute aid to
families
605
00:42:33,376 --> 00:42:35,204
affected by martial law.
606
00:42:35,248 --> 00:42:39,208
She is now the director of
information services at Kostka
607
00:42:39,252 --> 00:42:42,472
and the curator of Father
Jerzy's archives.
608
00:42:45,867 --> 00:42:48,130
There was a full
church when I went to the mass
609
00:42:48,174 --> 00:42:49,610
in May.
610
00:42:49,654 --> 00:42:53,527
There were many people inside
and outside the church.
611
00:42:53,571 --> 00:42:56,704
In the next few months the
numbers grew.
612
00:42:56,748 --> 00:42:59,446
There was a park nearby and many
people
613
00:42:59,489 --> 00:43:02,101
were in front of the church, on
the side streets,
614
00:43:02,144 --> 00:43:03,798
and in the park.
615
00:43:03,842 --> 00:43:07,149
So every month, the number of
people attending the mass
616
00:43:07,193 --> 00:43:08,107
for the motherland grew.
617
00:43:14,766 --> 00:43:16,419
From the start, he
motivated
618
00:43:16,463 --> 00:43:19,553
the people to stand up with him
against the Communist.
619
00:43:19,597 --> 00:43:23,209
Everyone saw him as an ordinary
man from humble beginnings.
620
00:43:23,252 --> 00:43:26,429
But his example of faith,
conviction, and courage
621
00:43:26,473 --> 00:43:29,955
inspired the people to keep the
flame of Solidarity burning.
622
00:44:29,362 --> 00:44:30,755
Every one of his
sermons
623
00:44:30,798 --> 00:44:33,453
was tape recorded and either
transmitted to the West
624
00:44:33,496 --> 00:44:36,586
by phone or hand delivered to
the officers
625
00:44:36,630 --> 00:44:39,938
of Radio Free Europe in Munich.
626
00:44:39,981 --> 00:44:42,984
Now Father Jerzy's voice or
Jerzy,
627
00:44:43,028 --> 00:44:46,727
as he was known in the West, was
being heard throughout Poland
628
00:44:46,771 --> 00:44:50,035
and all of Eastern Europe.
629
00:44:53,038 --> 00:44:54,387
The government did
not accept
630
00:44:54,430 --> 00:44:56,694
the voice of Radio Free Europe.
631
00:44:56,737 --> 00:44:59,000
And the odor from above was that
it was not to be
632
00:44:59,044 --> 00:45:01,699
considered the truth in Poland.
633
00:45:01,742 --> 00:45:04,223
It was a threat to the Nation.
634
00:45:04,266 --> 00:45:08,227
This communist system was not
equipped for celebrity.
635
00:45:08,270 --> 00:45:09,750
It can't handle celebrity.
636
00:45:09,794 --> 00:45:12,013
That was the problem with
Walesa, in many ways.
637
00:45:12,057 --> 00:45:15,190
He'd become a celebrity and
dangerous.
638
00:45:15,234 --> 00:45:19,107
And Popieluszko now was now
becoming the great celebrity.
639
00:45:19,151 --> 00:45:22,067
And it was done through this
conduit,
640
00:45:22,110 --> 00:45:26,375
this Western radio stations
rebroadcasting his sermons.
641
00:45:26,419 --> 00:45:29,552
And suddenly he wasn't just
reaching 10,000 people.
642
00:45:29,596 --> 00:45:31,772
He was reaching millions.
643
00:45:31,816 --> 00:45:33,469
These radio
programs were
644
00:45:33,513 --> 00:45:35,471
deemed illegal by the state.
645
00:45:35,515 --> 00:45:38,300
And simply repeating the content
of any Radio
646
00:45:38,344 --> 00:45:43,436
Free Europe broadcast was
considered an act of espionage.
647
00:45:43,479 --> 00:45:46,395
I'm living here in Warsaw.
648
00:45:46,439 --> 00:45:48,746
First time that the people are
coming
649
00:45:48,789 --> 00:45:51,357
from Silesia, from Gdansk even.
650
00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:52,924
It's very strange.
651
00:45:52,967 --> 00:45:56,405
They've got their own very good
priest and the very brave
652
00:45:56,449 --> 00:45:58,799
priest but they are coming to
Warsaw
653
00:45:58,843 --> 00:46:02,411
to attend the mass at Stanislaus
Kostka Church, very strange.
654
00:46:23,476 --> 00:46:24,825
None of this
passed
655
00:46:24,869 --> 00:46:27,523
the notice of the Minister of
Internal Affairs.
656
00:46:27,567 --> 00:46:29,656
General Kiszczak was tired of
reading
657
00:46:29,699 --> 00:46:32,485
reports about Popieluszko's
sermons
658
00:46:32,528 --> 00:46:34,443
and the police budget for the
extra men
659
00:46:34,487 --> 00:46:36,794
needed to cover his masses.
660
00:46:36,837 --> 00:46:39,971
Harassment tactics of slashing
tires and surveillance
661
00:46:40,014 --> 00:46:41,146
had failed.
662
00:46:41,189 --> 00:46:43,235
It was time to increase the
pressure.
663
00:46:46,020 --> 00:46:47,979
The first attack on
Father Jerzy's life
664
00:46:48,022 --> 00:46:52,070
happened in December of 1982
when they broke his window
665
00:46:52,113 --> 00:46:54,333
and threw in a brick with a
bomb.
666
00:46:54,376 --> 00:46:57,597
Although nothing more than a
firecracker tied to a rock,
667
00:46:57,640 --> 00:46:59,338
the message was clear.
668
00:46:59,381 --> 00:47:01,514
Jacek Lipinski from the steel
mill
669
00:47:01,557 --> 00:47:04,691
immediately surrounded Father
Jerzy and the rectory
670
00:47:04,734 --> 00:47:05,866
with bodyguards.
671
00:47:05,910 --> 00:47:08,216
He asked ex-military fire
captain
672
00:47:08,260 --> 00:47:12,568
Waldemar Chrostowski to drive
and protect Father Jerzy.
673
00:47:17,138 --> 00:47:18,966
A friend from the
fire academy
674
00:47:19,010 --> 00:47:22,491
turned to me eventually to take
him under my care.
675
00:47:27,148 --> 00:47:29,281
I am aware that they
can intern me,
676
00:47:29,324 --> 00:47:32,588
arrest me, fabricate a scandal.
677
00:47:32,632 --> 00:47:34,939
But I can't stop my activity,
which
678
00:47:34,982 --> 00:47:38,681
is a service to the church and
to the fatherland.
679
00:47:48,039 --> 00:47:50,911
The tension was
building at this one church.
680
00:47:50,955 --> 00:47:53,827
And it was building because the
communist government
681
00:47:53,871 --> 00:47:56,395
could not control it.
682
00:47:56,438 --> 00:47:59,789
They called these masses seances
of hate.
683
00:47:59,833 --> 00:48:01,835
And they were concerned that
Father Jerzy was
684
00:48:01,879 --> 00:48:04,577
building an army, an army of
Catholics
685
00:48:04,620 --> 00:48:07,667
to overthrow the government.
686
00:48:07,710 --> 00:48:10,061
But they could not find a reason
to disband
687
00:48:10,104 --> 00:48:11,410
this great congregation.
688
00:48:19,113 --> 00:48:21,507
I think at that
time
689
00:48:21,550 --> 00:48:25,250
Stanislaus Church was the heart
of Poland.
690
00:48:25,293 --> 00:48:33,823
It was the heart of Poland
because we knew that priest
691
00:48:33,867 --> 00:48:35,521
is ready to die for us.
692
00:48:59,501 --> 00:49:00,981
Michael Wysocki
has
693
00:49:01,025 --> 00:49:07,335
visited this grave every week
for the past 27 years.
694
00:49:07,379 --> 00:49:09,903
It is the grave of Grzegorz
Przemyk,
695
00:49:09,947 --> 00:49:14,647
the only son of Barbara
Sadowska, a boy
696
00:49:14,690 --> 00:49:17,041
he only knew for 20 minutes.
697
00:49:23,003 --> 00:49:25,397
Barbara worked in the Catholic
Relief Center
698
00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:28,443
and frequently helped Father
Jerzy find medications
699
00:49:28,487 --> 00:49:30,489
banned by martial law.
700
00:49:30,532 --> 00:49:34,797
On May 3rd, 1983, she was
attacked at the relief center.
701
00:49:34,841 --> 00:49:36,364
Her hand was broken.
702
00:49:36,408 --> 00:49:40,064
She was warned to stay away from
Father Popieluszko.
703
00:49:40,107 --> 00:49:42,457
She refused.
704
00:49:42,501 --> 00:49:45,025
A week later, while celebrating
the completion
705
00:49:45,069 --> 00:49:47,332
of his high school exams with
friends,
706
00:49:47,375 --> 00:49:50,552
her son was dragged off the
street into a police car,
707
00:49:50,596 --> 00:49:53,773
driven to a local police
station, and brutally beaten.
708
00:50:09,223 --> 00:50:11,182
At the station one
of the boys
709
00:50:11,225 --> 00:50:13,923
was cursing at the officers.
710
00:50:13,967 --> 00:50:17,666
I was told to take care of the
quiet boy sitting in a chair.
711
00:50:17,710 --> 00:50:19,973
I looked into the young man's
eyes
712
00:50:20,017 --> 00:50:24,934
and they were wide open, glossy,
and frightened.
713
00:50:29,591 --> 00:50:30,636
Yes.
714
00:50:30,679 --> 00:50:32,377
I came to the consultation and
Greg
715
00:50:32,420 --> 00:50:35,554
was conscious but in critical
condition, in shock.
716
00:50:35,597 --> 00:50:37,338
He said that he was beaten at
the police
717
00:50:37,382 --> 00:50:39,036
precinct on Jazwyzka Street.
718
00:50:43,083 --> 00:50:47,218
Nevertheless, Doctor Kapinski
definitely operated on him.
719
00:50:47,261 --> 00:50:50,047
As the head surgeon, he opened
his stomach
720
00:50:50,090 --> 00:50:52,614
and he concluded that everything
in his stomach was smashed.
721
00:50:56,488 --> 00:50:59,099
Grzegorz Przemyk
died of his injuries
722
00:50:59,143 --> 00:51:05,105
on May 14th, 1983, just two days
after the beating.
723
00:51:05,149 --> 00:51:08,761
His funeral, coordinated by
Father Popieluszko,
724
00:51:08,804 --> 00:51:11,329
turned into a spontaneous
demonstration
725
00:51:11,372 --> 00:51:12,330
against the regime.
726
00:51:18,640 --> 00:51:22,122
Flanked by water cannon, ZOMO,
and the militia,
727
00:51:22,166 --> 00:51:27,823
50,000 people marched two miles
to Powazki Cemetery in silence.
728
00:51:36,441 --> 00:51:42,534
Father Popieluszko said even
pray in silence.
729
00:51:42,577 --> 00:51:45,406
There is a lot of military men
all over because they
730
00:51:45,450 --> 00:51:47,191
were thousands of them.
731
00:51:47,234 --> 00:51:48,366
They will provoke you.
732
00:51:48,409 --> 00:51:53,545
And they will even try to stop
us.
733
00:51:53,588 --> 00:52:01,379
Let him, let Grzegorz Przemyk
can be buried in peace.
734
00:52:32,366 --> 00:52:36,414
I knew his
mother.
735
00:52:36,457 --> 00:52:37,893
She was here.
736
00:52:37,937 --> 00:52:43,508
She was sitting just here
running away from militia.
737
00:52:43,551 --> 00:52:51,907
And I saw her and I've noticed
that she's already dead.
738
00:52:51,951 --> 00:52:56,216
That she's completely broken.
739
00:52:56,260 --> 00:53:02,048
So when Grzegorz Przemyk was
killed she was also killed.
740
00:53:06,357 --> 00:53:09,534
After the funeral,
Barbara dedicated her life
741
00:53:09,577 --> 00:53:12,493
to the work of Father Jerzy.
742
00:53:12,537 --> 00:53:14,191
She died three years later.
743
00:53:18,369 --> 00:53:21,763
Despite the eyewitness testimony
that Grzegorz was beaten
744
00:53:21,807 --> 00:53:25,985
to death at the police station,
Michal Wysocki, the volunteer
745
00:53:26,028 --> 00:53:29,336
ambulance driver who carried
Grzegorz to the hospital
746
00:53:29,380 --> 00:53:31,643
was falsely convicted of his
murder
747
00:53:31,686 --> 00:53:33,688
and served five years in prison.
748
00:53:48,964 --> 00:53:51,271
But the cover up backfired on
the government
749
00:53:51,315 --> 00:53:55,188
and attendance at the next mass
at St. Stanislaus exploded.
750
00:54:00,541 --> 00:54:03,022
After every Mass
for the Fatherland,
751
00:54:03,065 --> 00:54:06,895
Grzegorz Piotrowski filed
another report about the circus
752
00:54:06,939 --> 00:54:08,419
at Father Jersey's church.
753
00:54:10,986 --> 00:54:13,380
He reported on the presence of
Solidarity
754
00:54:13,424 --> 00:54:16,470
Underground members, activists,
famous actors,
755
00:54:16,514 --> 00:54:17,906
and intellectuals.
756
00:54:17,950 --> 00:54:20,082
And even with all of their
efforts,
757
00:54:20,126 --> 00:54:23,390
this courageous priest stood on
the balcony of his church
758
00:54:23,434 --> 00:54:24,478
and spoke the truth.
759
00:54:27,176 --> 00:54:30,789
And this continued until
December 12, 1983,
760
00:54:30,832 --> 00:54:34,401
when father Jerzy was arrested
for the first time.
761
00:54:34,445 --> 00:54:36,882
They claimed to have found
subversive materials
762
00:54:36,925 --> 00:54:38,187
in his apartment.
763
00:54:38,231 --> 00:54:40,755
At the police station, he was
strip searched,
764
00:54:40,799 --> 00:54:43,454
but the officer apologized,
embarrassed to have
765
00:54:43,497 --> 00:54:46,326
to do this to a priest.
766
00:54:46,370 --> 00:54:48,328
Only after intercession by
Cardinal
767
00:54:48,372 --> 00:54:52,593
Glemp was he released two days
later.
768
00:54:52,637 --> 00:54:54,987
Will you be answering any of
the questions that are asked?
769
00:54:59,208 --> 00:55:02,124
Father Jerzy went
to Cardinal Glemp to thank him,
770
00:55:02,168 --> 00:55:05,171
but Glemp had used a lot of
political capital
771
00:55:05,214 --> 00:55:07,695
to get his young parish priest
out of jail.
772
00:55:07,739 --> 00:55:10,089
Popieluszko went
into this meeting thinking
773
00:55:10,132 --> 00:55:13,135
that he was going to be told,
you know, son,
774
00:55:13,179 --> 00:55:14,354
you've done a lot of good.
775
00:55:14,398 --> 00:55:15,703
You have to be careful for your
own safety
776
00:55:15,747 --> 00:55:17,879
and-- but keep up the good work.
777
00:55:17,923 --> 00:55:20,969
And instead he got this--
778
00:55:21,013 --> 00:55:23,972
again, I wasn't there-- but
tongue lashing.
779
00:55:24,016 --> 00:55:24,886
What are you doing?
780
00:55:24,930 --> 00:55:28,063
You're outgrowing your britches.
781
00:55:28,107 --> 00:55:29,413
You know, learn some respect.
782
00:55:29,456 --> 00:55:30,979
Do what I tell you.
783
00:55:31,023 --> 00:55:32,677
Now get out of here.
784
00:55:32,720 --> 00:55:34,766
I'm sure it wasn't phrased quite
that way,
785
00:55:34,809 --> 00:55:37,638
but that's what Popieluszko took
with him in his heart,
786
00:55:37,682 --> 00:55:39,684
and it just crushed him.
787
00:55:39,727 --> 00:55:42,339
It's true that the
primate could have been upset
788
00:55:42,382 --> 00:55:44,515
because writing a letter to
Jaruzelski
789
00:55:44,558 --> 00:55:46,778
in my case cost him a lot.
790
00:55:46,821 --> 00:55:48,736
But the accusations he made
against me
791
00:55:48,780 --> 00:55:50,912
knocked me off my feet.
792
00:55:50,956 --> 00:55:52,914
Secret police during the
interrogation
793
00:55:52,958 --> 00:55:55,395
showed me more respect.
794
00:55:55,439 --> 00:55:57,136
Captain Piotrowski
was
795
00:55:57,179 --> 00:55:59,181
assigned two new lieutenants--
796
00:55:59,225 --> 00:56:04,317
Waldemar Chmielewski and Leszek
Pakala.
797
00:56:04,361 --> 00:56:07,059
Colonel Adam Pietruszka warned
them
798
00:56:07,102 --> 00:56:09,801
that the next time they arrested
Father Jerzy,
799
00:56:09,844 --> 00:56:10,758
it had better stick.
800
00:56:14,588 --> 00:56:17,809
Martial law was destroying
Poland's economy,
801
00:56:17,852 --> 00:56:20,681
which owed billions of dollars
to the West.
802
00:56:20,725 --> 00:56:24,990
Jaruzelski would get no more
financial aid until he started
803
00:56:25,033 --> 00:56:26,557
dismantling martial law.
804
00:56:29,473 --> 00:56:33,868
During the summer of 1984, he
called for a general amnesty,
805
00:56:33,912 --> 00:56:37,785
releasing hundreds of Solidarity
leaders and tens of thousands
806
00:56:37,829 --> 00:56:39,439
of common criminals.
807
00:56:39,483 --> 00:56:42,964
The leaders of Solidarity Warsaw
left prison and went
808
00:56:43,008 --> 00:56:44,705
directly to St. Stanislaus.
809
00:56:49,318 --> 00:56:51,799
A week later, Lech Walesa asked
Father
810
00:56:51,843 --> 00:56:55,020
Popieluszko to travel to Gdansk
to celebrate the amnesty.
811
00:57:00,591 --> 00:57:03,115
The crowd buried the priest in
flowers while Lech
812
00:57:03,158 --> 00:57:06,205
Walesa smiled and watched.
813
00:57:06,248 --> 00:57:09,251
It was a clear sign to the
secret police watching
814
00:57:09,295 --> 00:57:12,254
that Father Popieluszko was the
true voice of the growing
815
00:57:12,298 --> 00:57:13,342
call for freedom.
816
00:57:43,329 --> 00:57:45,070
It's difficult for young people
to understand, yeah.
817
00:57:45,113 --> 00:57:47,507
There was no-- no internet, no
satellite
818
00:57:47,551 --> 00:57:50,510
phones, and no Twitter.
819
00:57:50,554 --> 00:57:54,732
There was an event, those masses
for the homeland,
820
00:57:54,775 --> 00:57:56,037
10,000 people heard it.
821
00:57:56,081 --> 00:57:58,910
They spread the word.
822
00:57:58,953 --> 00:58:02,391
But thanks to the technology of
Western radio stations,
823
00:58:02,435 --> 00:58:06,004
it was fed back then into the
country to millions of people.
824
00:58:06,047 --> 00:58:07,396
To millions of people,
Popieluszko
825
00:58:07,440 --> 00:58:09,137
was becoming a national figure.
826
00:58:14,752 --> 00:58:16,884
On September 9th,
an article
827
00:58:16,928 --> 00:58:18,495
appeared in the Russian
newspaper,
828
00:58:18,538 --> 00:58:23,108
"Izvestia," railing against the
militant Father Popieluszko,
829
00:58:23,151 --> 00:58:27,460
saying his sermons so reek with
hatred for socialism
830
00:58:27,504 --> 00:58:30,245
that they are more like
anti-Bolshevik pamphlets
831
00:58:30,289 --> 00:58:32,378
than proper church sermons.
832
00:58:32,421 --> 00:58:34,032
For the first time, the Russians
had
833
00:58:34,075 --> 00:58:36,556
mentioned Father Jerzy by name.
834
00:58:36,600 --> 00:58:38,906
This was a clear sign from
Moscow
835
00:58:38,950 --> 00:58:42,475
that if Jaruzelski's government
couldn't handle this problem,
836
00:58:42,519 --> 00:58:45,173
then they would find someone who
could.
837
00:58:45,217 --> 00:58:48,655
And that's when everyone
panicked.
838
00:58:48,699 --> 00:58:53,007
Everyone started to panic within
government, not Department 4,
839
00:58:53,051 --> 00:58:54,792
not just the Department for
Buses,
840
00:58:54,835 --> 00:58:56,881
not just the head of the secret
police,
841
00:58:56,924 --> 00:59:02,190
but the whole regime thought, oh
my god, our time's run out.
842
00:59:02,234 --> 00:59:04,976
Difficult to collect
thoughts,
843
00:59:05,019 --> 00:59:06,934
a mental grinding mill.
844
00:59:06,978 --> 00:59:10,764
On April 11th, I was
interrogated for the 11th time.
845
00:59:10,808 --> 00:59:15,116
The secret police said I could
get 38 years in prison.
846
00:59:15,160 --> 00:59:17,597
It was draining him, draining
him.
847
00:59:17,641 --> 00:59:20,382
He put so much into those
masses, he got a lot of advice
848
00:59:20,426 --> 00:59:23,255
about how to do it, and he did
it and he it brilliantly.
849
00:59:23,298 --> 00:59:25,692
But at the end of it all, he was
completely drained.
850
00:59:25,736 --> 00:59:28,608
He was completely wiped out like
a sponge, you know,
851
00:59:28,652 --> 00:59:31,263
that had be squeezed.
852
00:59:31,306 --> 00:59:33,308
And yet people wanted more.
853
00:59:33,352 --> 00:59:34,962
They wanted to touch him.
854
00:59:35,006 --> 00:59:38,444
They wanted to be close to him
and so on, and he couldn't-- he
855
00:59:38,487 --> 00:59:39,706
couldn't handle that.
856
00:59:39,750 --> 00:59:45,016
It was really difficult.
857
00:59:45,059 --> 00:59:48,715
In late September,
Colonel Adam Pietruszka called
858
00:59:48,759 --> 00:59:50,761
Piotrowski into his office.
859
00:59:50,804 --> 00:59:53,981
He demanded to know how much
longer he would allow Father
860
00:59:54,025 --> 00:59:57,942
Jerzy to travel all over Poland
freely spreading
861
00:59:57,985 --> 00:59:59,334
his anti-government message.
862
01:00:02,250 --> 01:00:04,644
He said no more games.
863
01:00:04,688 --> 01:00:08,387
Stop planning, stop writing, and
do something.
864
01:00:08,430 --> 01:00:09,997
I surely do not have to tell
you,
865
01:00:10,041 --> 01:00:12,478
comrade, that this decision
comes
866
01:00:12,521 --> 01:00:14,436
from the very highest level.
867
01:00:17,135 --> 01:00:19,703
Pietruszka's efforts to silence
Father Jerzy
868
01:00:19,746 --> 01:00:21,879
began as simple harassment--
869
01:00:21,922 --> 01:00:25,012
slashed tires and vandalism then
arrests
870
01:00:25,056 --> 01:00:28,929
and prolonged interrogations.
871
01:00:28,973 --> 01:00:33,107
In early October, Father Jerzy
boarded a train for Gdansk
872
01:00:33,151 --> 01:00:35,588
followed closely by Piotrowski.
873
01:00:35,632 --> 01:00:37,111
The secret police captain
planned
874
01:00:37,155 --> 01:00:39,244
to catch him near a door and
throw him
875
01:00:39,287 --> 01:00:42,203
off the speeding train, but
Father Jerzy's friends
876
01:00:42,247 --> 01:00:45,206
never let him travel alone.
877
01:00:48,601 --> 01:00:51,082
The train was a test
in my opinion.
878
01:00:51,125 --> 01:00:52,649
It was an attempt to kill him.
879
01:00:56,522 --> 01:00:59,090
The next attempt
on Popieluszko's life
880
01:00:59,133 --> 01:01:02,702
came on the night of October
13th.
881
01:01:02,746 --> 01:01:05,966
Out of nowhere, Piotrowski
stepped out of the darkness
882
01:01:06,010 --> 01:01:08,708
and threw a brick at Father
Jerzy's windshield,
883
01:01:08,752 --> 01:01:10,797
but he missed.
884
01:01:13,757 --> 01:01:16,498
It wasn't being hit
with the rock.
885
01:01:16,542 --> 01:01:20,111
It was just a test when he threw
the rock, but it didn't work.
886
01:01:20,154 --> 01:01:24,071
We drove on past it to the
church.
887
01:01:24,115 --> 01:01:26,160
With every failed
attempt,
888
01:01:26,204 --> 01:01:31,644
the pressure on Piotrowski to
get something done increased.
889
01:01:35,039 --> 01:01:36,344
There were
situations when
890
01:01:36,388 --> 01:01:39,434
Walde Chrostowski or I was
driving the car
891
01:01:39,478 --> 01:01:41,610
with Father Jerzy and we were
being
892
01:01:41,654 --> 01:01:44,222
followed by the secret police.
893
01:01:44,265 --> 01:01:46,528
I would go to Suchowola with
Father Jerzy
894
01:01:46,572 --> 01:01:49,096
and during one of the trips, his
mother said dramatically,
895
01:01:49,140 --> 01:01:52,012
Jerzy, they can hurt you.
896
01:01:52,056 --> 01:01:54,798
He replied, mother, do not
worry.
897
01:01:54,841 --> 01:01:57,322
I have Jacek and 10,000 people
behind me.
898
01:01:57,365 --> 01:01:58,366
Nobody would dare.
899
01:02:05,852 --> 01:02:09,334
Later Father Jerzy's
situation got worse.
900
01:02:09,377 --> 01:02:12,816
He received many anonymous
letters with foul language.
901
01:02:12,859 --> 01:02:14,905
They once wrote him a letter
saying that they'd
902
01:02:14,948 --> 01:02:17,951
crucify him and cut his throat.
903
01:02:17,995 --> 01:02:19,518
He read the letters during the
mass.
904
01:03:06,478 --> 01:03:09,786
The man from [POLISH] went to
the primate without
905
01:03:09,829 --> 01:03:11,831
telling Father Popieluszko.
906
01:03:11,875 --> 01:03:14,312
And they begged him to send him
away.
907
01:03:14,355 --> 01:03:17,358
They realized that the pressure
was being turned up,
908
01:03:17,402 --> 01:03:21,232
that the danger level for Father
Popieluszko was way too high.
909
01:03:24,670 --> 01:03:27,716
At the time, there
was an idea sending your Father
910
01:03:27,760 --> 01:03:31,459
Jerzy to study abroad in Rome.
911
01:03:31,503 --> 01:03:33,897
Friends came up with this idea
to save
912
01:03:33,940 --> 01:03:36,073
him from the danger he was in.
913
01:03:39,076 --> 01:03:43,297
Father Jerzy knew about the
possibility of going to Rome,
914
01:03:43,341 --> 01:03:46,431
and he was really torn in his
decision
915
01:03:46,474 --> 01:03:49,695
because on the one hand, I think
he needed a break by that time.
916
01:03:49,738 --> 01:03:51,610
He was totally exhausted.
917
01:03:51,653 --> 01:03:56,484
But he had this enormous sense
of loyalty, a solidarity
918
01:03:56,528 --> 01:03:59,444
with the people, and just could
not accept the thought
919
01:03:59,487 --> 01:04:01,838
that anybody, not even one
person,
920
01:04:01,881 --> 01:04:04,492
would feel that he betrayed them
and he chose
921
01:04:04,536 --> 01:04:08,453
the easy option that he left
them back in Poland
922
01:04:08,496 --> 01:04:09,628
and went to Rome.
923
01:04:09,671 --> 01:04:11,108
The primate asked Father
Popieluszko.
924
01:04:11,151 --> 01:04:13,632
He met with him, and he said the
men came and talked to me.
925
01:04:13,675 --> 01:04:15,242
They're worried about you.
926
01:04:15,286 --> 01:04:17,201
And father Popieluszko's answer
was I'm not going to leave.
927
01:04:17,244 --> 01:04:18,593
I know what's happening.
928
01:04:18,637 --> 01:04:20,291
I know what's going to happen,
and it's my duty.
929
01:04:20,334 --> 01:04:21,901
I'm doing my job.
930
01:04:23,772 --> 01:04:26,340
He was aware that
his life was in danger.
931
01:04:26,384 --> 01:04:29,648
He knew about it, but that was
his character.
932
01:04:29,691 --> 01:04:32,912
It was his deep understanding
that he will go down this road.
933
01:04:40,789 --> 01:04:42,748
Father Jerzy had
promised
934
01:04:42,791 --> 01:04:45,490
to come celebrate mass with a
seminary colleague
935
01:04:45,533 --> 01:04:47,187
in Bydgoszcz.
936
01:04:47,231 --> 01:04:50,060
He was exhausted, had a bad
cold,
937
01:04:50,103 --> 01:04:52,497
and the staff at St. Stanislaus
wanted him
938
01:04:52,540 --> 01:04:54,760
to cancel and get some sleep.
939
01:04:54,803 --> 01:04:58,155
But Father Jerzy took these
commitments very seriously
940
01:04:58,198 --> 01:05:02,768
and promised he would rest on
the four-hour drive.
941
01:05:47,378 --> 01:05:48,248
Amen.
942
01:06:03,220 --> 01:06:06,223
On October 19, 1984,
Father
943
01:06:06,266 --> 01:06:12,098
Jerzy and his driver, Waldemar
Chrostowski, left for Bydgosz.
944
01:06:12,142 --> 01:06:15,884
They was supposed to come back
to Warsaw that night.
945
01:06:15,928 --> 01:06:19,279
A car followed them with three
members of the secret police--
946
01:06:19,323 --> 01:06:22,369
Grzegorz Piotrowski, Leszek
Pekala,
947
01:06:22,413 --> 01:06:24,023
and Waldemar Chmielewski.
948
01:06:32,292 --> 01:06:36,079
He was trained as a paratrooper
to roll--
949
01:06:36,122 --> 01:06:37,515
fall properly.
950
01:06:37,558 --> 01:06:39,996
He had the toughness of a fire
fighter.
951
01:06:40,039 --> 01:06:44,087
He had-- he's a strong, strong
man who can do that.
952
01:06:44,130 --> 01:06:45,697
And he has his wits about him.
953
01:06:47,351 --> 01:06:49,353
There were some
people on the side of the road,
954
01:06:49,396 --> 01:06:51,616
and I ran up to them and told
them that Father
955
01:06:51,659 --> 01:06:53,357
Jerzy had been kidnapped.
956
01:06:58,579 --> 01:07:02,583
The courier immediately put
everybody on alert that Father
957
01:07:02,627 --> 01:07:03,541
Jerzy had been taken.
958
01:07:25,171 --> 01:07:28,261
In eight hours, all the
churches
959
01:07:28,305 --> 01:07:30,350
in Poland knew that Father Jerzy
had
960
01:07:30,394 --> 01:07:32,483
been taken, started a vigil--
961
01:07:32,526 --> 01:07:36,008
a prayer vigil-- and masses in
support of his safe return.
962
01:07:39,272 --> 01:07:42,667
It wasn't that everyone assumed
right from the start
963
01:07:42,710 --> 01:07:43,668
that he was kidnapped.
964
01:07:43,711 --> 01:07:45,235
They had suspicions.
965
01:07:45,278 --> 01:07:47,715
It was more a disappearance.
966
01:07:47,759 --> 01:07:50,153
He had disappeared.
967
01:08:33,326 --> 01:08:36,634
I want to say that
if even one hair falls
968
01:08:36,677 --> 01:08:38,984
from Father Jerzy's head,
someone is
969
01:08:39,027 --> 01:08:41,682
taking a huge responsibility.
970
01:08:41,726 --> 01:08:43,293
We are Christians who think
that.
971
01:08:48,602 --> 01:08:51,997
At the time, I thought this
couldn't end well.
972
01:08:52,040 --> 01:08:55,131
I thought it couldn't end well
because the anger
973
01:08:55,174 --> 01:08:56,567
within the party--
974
01:08:56,610 --> 01:08:58,656
the Communist Party
establishment was too strong.
975
01:09:25,117 --> 01:09:27,815
During those
nights as the crowds of people
976
01:09:27,859 --> 01:09:31,689
who were standing vigil outside
the church continued to grow,
977
01:09:31,732 --> 01:09:33,821
it was completely peaceful.
978
01:09:33,865 --> 01:09:37,173
The [POLISH] were forced to back
up further and further
979
01:09:37,216 --> 01:09:39,653
until they disappeared into the
crowd that
980
01:09:39,697 --> 01:09:41,612
was surrounding the church.
981
01:12:03,971 --> 01:12:07,932
Today in the waters
of the lagoon in Wloclawek,
982
01:12:07,975 --> 01:12:09,455
Father Jerzy was found.
983
01:12:46,840 --> 01:12:50,409
And my dears will
repeat the hardest truth,
984
01:12:50,453 --> 01:12:52,716
the hardest particularly for you
brothers
985
01:12:52,759 --> 01:12:55,762
of our beloved martyred brother,
Father Jerzy.
986
01:12:59,549 --> 01:13:02,508
We'll repeat three times this
heroic--
987
01:13:02,552 --> 01:13:06,077
this is heroism and forgive us
our sins
988
01:13:06,120 --> 01:13:08,471
as we do those who trespass
against us.
989
01:13:12,953 --> 01:13:15,826
Once more and forgive us our
sins as we
990
01:13:15,869 --> 01:13:19,743
do those who trespass against us
once more.
991
01:13:24,835 --> 01:13:33,017
The reaction of the tens and
hundreds of thousands of people
992
01:13:33,060 --> 01:13:36,020
who followed his words and
followed his sermons,
993
01:13:36,063 --> 01:13:37,456
they didn't do anything.
994
01:13:37,500 --> 01:13:39,023
They did not set fires.
995
01:13:39,066 --> 01:13:44,071
They did not kill Polish police
or attack military bases.
996
01:13:44,115 --> 01:13:47,597
They didn't run into the streets
screaming
997
01:13:47,640 --> 01:13:50,034
into guns and automatic weapons
that
998
01:13:50,077 --> 01:13:51,470
were being trained on them.
999
01:13:51,514 --> 01:13:52,732
They didn't do that.
1000
01:13:52,776 --> 01:13:55,126
They did what Popieluszko told
them to do,
1001
01:13:55,169 --> 01:13:58,129
which was to keep your dignity,
remain silent,
1002
01:13:58,172 --> 01:13:59,173
and don't give up.
1003
01:14:08,487 --> 01:14:12,230
I was able to see
Father Jerzy's body
1004
01:14:12,273 --> 01:14:14,450
along with my friend and a
brother
1005
01:14:14,493 --> 01:14:18,062
from the priesthoods and a Mr.
Jacek Lipinski
1006
01:14:18,105 --> 01:14:21,631
from the Solidarity movement in
Warsaw.
1007
01:14:21,674 --> 01:14:25,330
We, along with the mom and dad
decided that he
1008
01:14:25,373 --> 01:14:28,028
would be buried in Warsaw.
1009
01:14:32,032 --> 01:14:34,382
At first, I was
going to Bialystok
1010
01:14:34,426 --> 01:14:36,559
to identify the body.
1011
01:14:36,602 --> 01:14:38,343
I could stomach it because I
worked
1012
01:14:38,386 --> 01:14:40,693
in a hospital and an ambulance.
1013
01:14:43,391 --> 01:14:45,916
No one from our family would
have known that it was him.
1014
01:14:50,747 --> 01:14:54,011
He was so massacred.
1015
01:14:54,054 --> 01:14:58,624
His lips were so beaten, they
looked like jelly.
1016
01:14:58,668 --> 01:15:01,409
I noticed a birthmark on him,
and that's
1017
01:15:01,453 --> 01:15:03,020
how I knew he was my brother.
1018
01:15:06,806 --> 01:15:09,113
I was like in shock.
1019
01:15:09,156 --> 01:15:10,593
We didn't believe it.
1020
01:15:10,636 --> 01:15:12,551
Probably most of the people
didn't believe it
1021
01:15:12,595 --> 01:15:14,684
that's going to happen because
everybody
1022
01:15:14,727 --> 01:15:16,512
was waiting for Father Jerzy.
1023
01:15:16,555 --> 01:15:19,645
Everybody told him he's going to
be maybe not healthy,
1024
01:15:19,689 --> 01:15:21,212
but he be alive.
1025
01:15:21,255 --> 01:15:23,257
So there was a shock for us.
1026
01:15:27,697 --> 01:15:31,701
On the 11th day at
night during mass,
1027
01:15:31,744 --> 01:15:33,746
the horrible news was announced.
1028
01:15:37,489 --> 01:15:39,709
When the people cried and
yelled,
1029
01:15:39,752 --> 01:15:42,102
I had a different reaction.
1030
01:15:42,146 --> 01:15:44,714
I just wanted it to be quiet so
that something
1031
01:15:44,757 --> 01:15:50,328
phenomenal could happen, so that
it would be quiet once more.
1032
01:15:57,378 --> 01:16:00,512
Father Jerzy's
coffin was escorted to the city
1033
01:16:00,556 --> 01:16:04,516
limits by hundreds of taxis and
private cars
1034
01:16:04,560 --> 01:16:07,824
before making the four-hour
drive to Warsaw where
1035
01:16:07,867 --> 01:16:10,304
thousands more were waiting to
welcome
1036
01:16:10,348 --> 01:16:12,655
him home for the final time.
1037
01:16:41,553 --> 01:16:45,426
On November 3, 1984, over 1
million people
1038
01:16:45,470 --> 01:16:47,124
came to his church.
1039
01:16:47,167 --> 01:16:51,432
With one voice, They said, "We
are here, Father Jerzy,
1040
01:16:51,476 --> 01:16:52,520
and we heard you."
1041
01:17:19,069 --> 01:17:22,681
Rest in peace,
Father Jerzy.
1042
01:17:22,725 --> 01:17:26,119
Solidarity is alive because you
gave your life for it.
1043
01:19:06,785 --> 01:19:10,180
Overriding
longstanding church law,
1044
01:19:10,223 --> 01:19:13,096
Father Jerzy was buried just
outside the doors
1045
01:19:13,139 --> 01:19:16,926
of his beloved St. Stanislaus
Kostka Church,
1046
01:19:16,969 --> 01:19:20,146
just close enough to hear the
pleas of his people
1047
01:19:20,190 --> 01:19:22,409
and their continuing prayers for
freedom.
1048
01:19:25,151 --> 01:19:29,808
And they
decided to frighten Poles,
1049
01:19:29,852 --> 01:19:35,640
to murder, to torture the most
popular priest,
1050
01:19:35,683 --> 01:19:40,471
and they wanted to say to us you
also must shut up.
1051
01:19:40,514 --> 01:19:44,692
Otherwise, you will end up like
Father Popieluszko
1052
01:19:44,736 --> 01:19:46,738
at the bottom of Vistula River.
1053
01:19:46,782 --> 01:19:48,696
We will kill you.
1054
01:19:48,740 --> 01:19:51,482
And the West will not say a
word.
1055
01:19:51,525 --> 01:19:55,660
Piotrowski's-- his
anger, his sadism,
1056
01:19:55,703 --> 01:20:00,621
and his frustration with the
system and everything that had
1057
01:20:00,665 --> 01:20:03,320
gone wrong with Poland and with
his life,
1058
01:20:03,363 --> 01:20:05,626
this combination of two things
made for one
1059
01:20:05,670 --> 01:20:08,804
of the most brutal murders in
the political
1060
01:20:08,847 --> 01:20:10,501
history of Eastern Europe.
1061
01:20:10,544 --> 01:20:13,243
It was a message to Poles.
1062
01:20:13,286 --> 01:20:15,288
Keep your mouth shut.
1063
01:20:15,332 --> 01:20:19,466
You are here, and what's more at
staying here, together
1064
01:20:19,510 --> 01:20:22,861
with us, together with Soviet
army,
1065
01:20:22,905 --> 01:20:25,516
and with your death of your--
1066
01:20:25,559 --> 01:20:26,778
his death.
1067
01:20:26,822 --> 01:20:29,825
And you're going to be also
dead, next day.
1068
01:20:29,868 --> 01:20:31,261
Shut up.
1069
01:20:31,304 --> 01:20:34,438
But the people
would not be silenced.
1070
01:20:34,481 --> 01:20:37,354
They took to the streets warning
the government that there
1071
01:20:37,397 --> 01:20:39,791
would be no more mock trials.
1072
01:20:39,835 --> 01:20:41,967
The people would be watching.
1073
01:20:42,011 --> 01:20:45,014
From Gdansk to Warsaw, his
message grew louder
1074
01:20:45,057 --> 01:20:47,233
in the months after his murder.
1075
01:20:47,277 --> 01:20:49,409
His sermons flooded the
underground.
1076
01:20:49,453 --> 01:20:51,890
His voice filled the airwaves
louder
1077
01:20:51,934 --> 01:20:53,805
and clearer than ever before.
1078
01:20:53,849 --> 01:20:55,676
And his Masses for the
Fatherland
1079
01:20:55,720 --> 01:20:59,506
continued, a monthly reminder of
what was lost
1080
01:20:59,550 --> 01:21:01,160
and what there was left to fight
for.
1081
01:21:04,207 --> 01:21:08,515
Their fight continued until the
first free democratic elections
1082
01:21:08,559 --> 01:21:13,042
in 1989, when Solidarity won the
majority of seats
1083
01:21:13,085 --> 01:21:16,132
in the government five months
before the collapse
1084
01:21:16,175 --> 01:21:17,611
of the Berlin Wall.
1085
01:21:22,834 --> 01:21:25,228
He sacrificed his
life for the truth
1086
01:21:25,271 --> 01:21:26,925
and for justice.
1087
01:21:26,969 --> 01:21:29,536
And this is why the workers
needed him as their role model.
1088
01:21:32,844 --> 01:21:34,759
He was a
representative
1089
01:21:34,802 --> 01:21:38,632
of those healthy forces in the
church, voices
1090
01:21:38,676 --> 01:21:41,940
that fought against slavery.
1091
01:21:41,984 --> 01:21:44,900
His courage, his preaching, cost
him his life.
1092
01:21:47,598 --> 01:21:50,906
In the end, 28
countries from East Germany
1093
01:21:50,949 --> 01:21:55,258
to Russia held open democratic
elections, setting 1 billion
1094
01:21:55,301 --> 01:21:57,477
people on the path to freedom.
1095
01:21:57,521 --> 01:21:59,697
But it all started in Poland.
1096
01:21:59,740 --> 01:22:04,136
It all started in Warsaw in a
rather unremarkable church
1097
01:22:04,180 --> 01:22:07,923
with a young priest that gave
his life for his faith,
1098
01:22:07,966 --> 01:22:10,621
for his friends, and for his
country.
1099
01:22:14,581 --> 01:22:16,670
What will I say to
him?
1100
01:22:16,714 --> 01:22:18,237
Dare say?
1101
01:22:18,281 --> 01:22:20,892
Even though you're not here, we
have not sold out.
1102
01:22:20,936 --> 01:22:24,069
And we can stand proud with our
heads up high 30 years
1103
01:22:24,113 --> 01:22:25,723
after martial law.
1104
01:22:25,766 --> 01:22:29,814
We came to a realization that
Jerzy is not ours anymore.
1105
01:22:29,857 --> 01:22:33,035
He is not our Jerzy from the
steel plant.
1106
01:22:33,078 --> 01:22:36,560
The Blessed Father Jerzy
Popieluszko,
1107
01:22:36,603 --> 01:22:39,389
his example will lead others to
holiness
1108
01:22:39,432 --> 01:22:44,002
and all of the situation and His
Holiness have overwhelmed me.
1109
01:22:44,046 --> 01:22:48,398
God wanted us to become close
and to experience it together.
1110
01:22:48,441 --> 01:22:49,312
And I thank him for it.
1111
01:23:05,458 --> 01:23:08,070
He was everything to
me.
1112
01:23:30,092 --> 01:23:32,442
Alphonse
Popieluszko,
1113
01:23:32,485 --> 01:23:36,924
from the small town of Okopy,
was declared Blessed Father
1114
01:23:36,968 --> 01:23:40,493
Jerzy Popieluszko, the last step
to sainthood
1115
01:23:40,537 --> 01:23:44,889
before an audience of 350,000
Poles and guests
1116
01:23:44,932 --> 01:23:47,457
from all over the world.
1117
01:23:47,500 --> 01:23:57,728
His life was a gift, his death a
tragedy, his legacy a miracle.
84901
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