Before he became minister. On Ryszard Zakrzewski’s contacts with the Polish People’s Republic intelligence Cover Image

Zanim został ministrem. O kontaktach Ryszarda Zakrzewskiego z wywiadem PRL
Before he became minister. On Ryszard Zakrzewski’s contacts with the Polish People’s Republic intelligence

Author(s): Krzysztof Tarka
Subject(s): Diplomatic history, Military history, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949)
Published by: Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Polish political émigrés in Great Britain after World War II;Ryszard Zakrzewski;Polish People’s Republic intelligence;

Summary/Abstract: After the Second World War Ryszard Zakrzewski (1913–1994) was a well-known exile political and social activist in Great Britain. In the late 1940s he became one of the leaders of the Polish Socialist Party in emigration. He was also active in the Polish Ex-Combatants’ Association and the Federation of Poles in Great Britain. In 1956, the intelligence of the Polish People’s Republic got interested in his person. Over the next few years Zakrzewski maintained contacts with intelligence officers, employed as diplomats at the Polish Embassy in London. Despite the fact that he was not formally recruited, he provided information about activities of certain political groups on emigration, especially socialists. And, as evidenced by documents, he was paid money by some of his contacts. And it was also him, who sought to made his talks of political nature. When his contacts were exposed by British counterintelligence, he ended his collaboration. In the following years Zakrzewski continued to participate actively in the political life of the Polish emigration, and in 1989 he became a minister of the last Polish government in exile.

  • Issue Year: 2017
  • Issue No: 15
  • Page Range: 313-335
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Polish