Działania komunistycznego aparatu bezpieczeństwa wobec Kościołów mniejszości wyznaniowych w Grudziądzu w świetle akt archiwum IPN w Bydgoszczy

• Authors: Wojciech Sławiński

Title variants

EN

The activities of a safety apparatus towards the churches of denominational minorities in Grudziądz in the light of the IPN files

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

In his text, based first of all on the files stored in the archives of the Institute of National Remembrance, the author of this article describes the methods and the scope of activity of the communist safety apparatus towards the Churches of denominational minorities functioning in Grudziądz and its area. The author analyses the scope of conducted invigilation, recruiting agents amid believers of describable Churches, security services main areas of interest regarding the country and abroad contacts of believers, sermons and religious meetings subject matter, distribution of material help amid believers, collecting information about political views of church seniors (pastors), monitoring personal and doctrinal conflicts, their fomentation and use for own purposes by communist authorities. The author attempts to present not only the course of the above mentioned but also to establish an action scheme towards the denominational minorities and their main purpose. According to the author, the action scheme of the communist apparatus towards the denominational minorities was subsequent: 1. The appearances of democratic activities – legal acknowledgment of those denominations which in the Second Republic of Poland did not have a clear legal status; allocation of post-German confessional association properties, which after the end of the war had come into the state’s possessions; remaining the appearances of a kind neutrality from the state’s side and even some support. 2. An attempt of sorting the “religious scene” – the authority tries to join and unite some Churches and denominations in the name of “ecumenical principles”, where the purpose is obvious: easier control as the process of uniting may be partly controlled. When the opportunity occurs, the inconvenient persons among the Church authorities may be ousted from a rudder of government, some denominations are no more. 3. A seizure or a significant increase of denomination outlaw control, thanks to invigilation, secret service organisation (from first days), pressure, compulsion – arrests, confiscation of assets, appointing Church authorities with slow or dependent persons. The result: incapacitation of a given confessional association to a lesser or higher degree. 4. A missionary activity restriction of a confessional association, disorganization, structure disintegration or instrumental usage to fighting other Churches. 5. Liquidation of Churches – purpose: atheism. As we already know, the ultimate goal was never accomplished, which was the effect of a breakdown of the most repressive communist system version which was Stalinism.

• Publisher: Muzeum w Grudziądzu
• Journal: Rocznik Grudziądzki
• Year: 2011
• Volume: 19
• Pages: 179-224

Contributors

author

Wojciech Sławiński