Sprawa zabójstwa Józefa Cechnowskiego w 1925 roku a rola Stanisława Radkiewicza
The case of the murder of Józef Cechnowski in 1925 and the role of Stanisław Radkiewicz

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to fill the gaps in the biography of Stanisław Radkiewicz by describing the period of his communist activity in Lviv. It focuses on Radkiewicz as one of the organizers of the assassination of Józef Cechnowski. Cechnowski, a police informer (a so-called agent provocateur), was killed by Naftali Botwin in July 1925. Therefore, this paper may be a contribution to Botwin’s biography as well. The article presents this event in a broader historical context, which is essential to explain the socio-political background and the consequences of the assassination. It also shows some aspects of the Botwin myth created by the Communist Party of Poland and supported by the authorities of the Polish People’s Republic. The sources used as the basis of the article are archival documents, especially personal files and memories of direct participants and witnesses of these events in Lviv. It is a little-known episode which had a significant impact not only on Radkiewicz’s career but also on the labour movement in Poland.

• Details
• Contents