The fall of Communism
Poland: Remembering the victims of Communism
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In a series of special reports to mark 20 years since the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, this week Euranet focuses on Poland - a country moving on from its Communist past, but where the relatives of those who died at the hands of the former regime are still waiting to see justice.
"There was too much bloodshed. Too much regret exists in many people's hearts that so many innocent, unarmed people had to die for a better Poland," says Grazyna Browarczyk talking about the loss of her brother, Anton.
Anton Browarczyk, a member of the then-illegal trade union Solidarity, was just 19 years old when he was shot and killed on 17 December 1981 by the Polish militia.
A few days before the government had introduced martial law to quell growing anti-Communist unrest, sending the army in to every major city and cracking down on pro-democracy organisations. The exact number of civilian fatalities is still unknown - at the time only a dozen people were reported dead, while later estimates put the figure at over 90.
Waiting for justice
When Solidarity swept to power in 1989, the families of those who died at the hands of the Communist regime hoped they would soon see those responsible for their loved ones' deaths brought to trial.
Cecylia Szczepanska, who believes her 19-year-old son Tadeusz was murdered because of his connections to Solidarity, expresses despair at the lack of political will to investigate the crimes of the past. She accuses Solidarity leader and former Polish President Lech Walesa of neglecting his promises to seek justice for families such as hers.
"There was such hope when Walesa was elected president.... But, unfortunately that hope was extinguished and everything fell apart," she says.
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