Martyrdom / October 19, 1984

Author: Sławomir Dynek

MOTTO: True information is an extremely dangerous weapon. Having it – you stop feeling lost in the maze of disinformation … It allows you to better understand the reality that surrounds us.

There was a cross around Father Jerzy’s neck. And there was a rope around His hands.

Surrounded by snoops, harassed, ravaged, followed, eavesdropped on and peeked at, scoffed at, spit on, tortured and finally murdered. Life of a Martyr. Father Jerzy’s time.

They feared him. They feared them more than he did. So they tightened the noose – slowly, methodically – the rulers of the People’s Republic of Poland, generals Wojciech Jaruzelski and Czesław Kiszczak. And they set the Security Service to fight one priest with officers and traitors from outside the ministry. They attached the entire propaganda apparatus with TV, radio and newspapers. They surrounded Fr Popieluszko. There was one goal: to break and silence the rebellious priest, disperse people gathering at Masses for the Homeland in the church of St. Stanisław Kostka in Warsaw’s Żoliborz. The prosecution’s accusations did not help.

Hearings also nothing. Provocation in the apartment at ul. Chłodna, where the SB planted compromising materials, including ammunition and anti-state leaflets – no effect. Father Popieluszko was not broken. The last option to deal with it was death. Murder.

Propaganda built by Urban through the regime’s media was from the very beginning correlated with the activities of the security services (UB) towards Fr. Popieluszko. It even foreshadowed the tragic events of October 19, 1984 and did not stop even after the priest’s death.

Fr. George began on October 19, 1984. Chaplain of Solidarity, at the invitation of the Workers’ Pastoral Office, came to the parish of Holy Polish Brothers Martyrs. On the same day, he returned to Warsaw. The murderers, three officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs: Captain Grzegorz Piotrowski, Lieutenant Leszek Pękala and Lieutenant Waldemar Chmielewski, chose their victim. They were officers of the Security Service, the 4th department of the Ministry (UB) of the Interior fighting the Church.

What exactly happened then? What were the last moments of Father Jerzy’s life like? Who was hitting, who was tying, who was the decisive blow? Or maybe the torturers threw a still alive priest into the Vistula River from the dam in Włocławek? The problem is that historians must rely on the accounts of murderers who pried and lied and the manipulated Toruń Trial. Even if we never know the details – it is certain that the last moments, hours or minutes of the priest’s life were a path of suffering. Even if we rely solely on the accounts of the murderers.
Can you imagine what Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko when they kidnapped him? When they were hitting, scaring, or challenging? When they locked it in the trunk of a car and drove it into the unknown? When they tied in such a way that he would choke when trying to loosen the ties … This is such a terrible attempt … But it was the end of Fr Jerzy’s martyrdom. A long and terrible ending.

Fr. Jerzy in Bydgoszcz celebrates the last Mass in his life. Around 10 p.m. the green Volkswagen golf leaves in front of the church. Waldemar Chrostowski is behind the wheel. Next to him, Father Jerzy Popiełuszko. They are watched by three men in a light gray Fiat 125th floor. Pękala is driving, Chmielewski is sitting next to him, and Piotrowski is in the back. Fiat goes golf.

The action was planned. While still in Warsaw, Chmielewski chose a police uniform and a white cap. He was supposed to look like a traffic cop. They also had a flashlight with a red light with them. Everything was ready to stop the golf course on the way. And kidnap the priest. But for kidnapping and intimidation, additional things were needed, prepared at the request of Piotrowski: change of license plates, string to tie the priest, plaster that allowed Popiełuszko to be gagged, ether, handcuffs, pistols and … a bag with stones to load the body?

„Well! Dress up!” – Piotrowski gave the command to Chmielewski. The murderers kept the green golf in sight all the time. Chmielewski put on a jacket with the sergeant’s insignia, put on a cap and took a flashlight in his hand. He also checked if the red light was working. The last moments of Fr. George. The Fiat racing behind them flashed its lights. After a while he caught up with golf. The passenger side window of the Fiat slid down. A figure in a white militia hat appeared in the window. A red flashlight flashed. Chrostowski did not stop. He rode on. Fiat overtook golf, cut him off, and they started release. Golf overtook them, but after a while Chrostowski stopped the car. Pękala stood a few meters behind him.

They pretended to be a police roadside check. But only for a moment. First, Waldemar Chrostowski was brought to Fiat. He was handcuffed and gagged with a rag. Zwitek had to be pushed deep, because Chrostowski was breathing hard and gagging. After a while, Father Jerzy stood near the murderers’ car. He protested. He did not want to get in. A dark forest on one side. On the other, a dark road. There are no witnesses. Nobody will come to the rescue.

The first blows are here. Pękala is sitting in the car. Behind the wheel. He turns the radio up to avoid listening to Chrostowski’s gurgling. Yet despite the radio humming loudly, he can hear hollow beatings. „Open the trunk” – he hears after a while. The lever is in the car and Pękala opens without getting out. There are sounds of moving objects in the back. There is a place for a priest in the trunk … The car shuddered and sat on its rear wheels … Popieluszko was lying in the trunk.

Chmielewski and Piotrowski got into the car. Fiat has started. Handcuffed, Chrostowski grips the door handle imperceptibly with his little finger. He’s waiting for an opportunity. The chance to escape appears when he notices two people standing by the motorcycle on the side of the road. Pulls the handle and pushes the door open. It falls outside. He is rolling. She gets up and runs towards the people. Is free. He jumped out of a speeding car at a speed of 80-100 km per hour. It ended up with the abrasions and the torn jacket … And in addition, the handcuffs on the right hand released … A lot of this luck.

„Heat the pipe!” – one threw to Chmielewski. He pressed the gas pedal all the way. The Esbets (Ubecy) did not stop to catch the fugitive. The only witness to his crime.
Father Popieluszko regained consciousness. Ache. The noise of the wheels on the road. Dark. Tightly. Stuffy. Stink. The trunk from the inside. Squeezed in the darkness of the trunk, Popiełuszko begins to fight. He pushes himself. It hits the flap. Three in the Fiat hear the impact from the trunk.

„Popieluszko is breaking in the back! He regained consciousness … „- says Chmielewski to his colleagues. They stopped the car.

He felt the car stopped. The senses work like crazy. The body feels and hears. Car shake. Someone is getting off. Steps. The tailgate goes up. Tired of the stuffiness and the stench, my lungs catch gulps of the night air. Eyes tired of the dark. Blows. Blows with a truncheon. To unconscious ***. The flap goes down. There will be a few more such stops on the way to the dam. During one of them, Popiełuszko escapes but is caught. He is beaten and knocked to the ground. The torturers bind the priest. Popiełuszko is already very weak. Just moans.

“Leg pebbles. And into the water, ”said Captain Piotrowski. No more chances. The murderers are heading towards the dam in Włocławek.

Dam. It’s empty. The murderers come to the railing. They look down at the water table. They go back to the car and look around. There are no witnesses. Trunk lid up. Last time. Father Jerzy, tortured and gagged, lies with his head in the left part of the trunk.

… The rested legs are on the right. Three pairs of hands grasp the priest. The cassock gets caught on the trunk lock, but the killers are stronger. The cassock lets go. The last thread breaks. The three of them carry him to the railing. They are flipping. It goes down. Chained. Pebbles in a bag at the feet. A black waterhole opens. The pebbles pull down. Mercilessly. Quietly. The circles on the water disappear.

A place on „Tamie we Włocławek”, from which the torturers threw the bound priest Jerzy Popiełuszko to the water | photo: SebastianM / WikimediaCommons /

*** Father Jerzy Popiełuszko was horribly tortured. He was tortured. It was even difficult to recognize the body from identification. The face was bruised and mutilated. The autopsy showed severe damage to internal organs.

There was a cross around Father Jerzy’s neck.

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The so-called Toruń process. Cpt. Grzegorz Piotrowski (L), followed by Lieutenant Waldemar Chmielewski. Photo PAP / CAF / D. Kwiatkowski

Author Slawomir Dynek

Translation into English, and photo prepared by the editors of naszepismo.pl

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