Działalność Biskupich Komitetów Pomocy w województwie katowickim w stanie wojennym (1981-1983)
Activity of Bishop’s Relief Committees in the Katowice Province During Martial Law in Poland (1981-1983)

Summary/Abstract: After the introduction of martial law in Poland on 13 December 1981, 1,911 people were interned in the Katowice Province. Bishops at the head of individual dioceses began to appoint the so-called Bishop’s Relief Committees. The aim of the article is to describe the church aid provided to the residents of the Katowice Province subjected to prosecution and to answer the question whether it covered all those in need. Foreign gifts sent to Katowice were shared among the Bishop’s Committees in Katowice and Częstochowa, and then they went to Chorzów, Tarnowskie Góry, Rybnik and Bielsko-Biała, as well as to aid stations in Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Sosnowiec and Zabrze. From 23 February 1982 to 21 December 1983, the Bishop’s Relief Committee in Katowice issued 44 shipments of gifts to aid stations. Help for those subjected to prosecution also included legal and med-ical support. Most likely, several dozen people did not receive any aid.

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