Janusz Kulas

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Not to be confused with actor Eddie Polo and footballer Edward Polo.
Janusz Kulas
Born(1936-12-06)6 December 1936
Poznań, Poland
Died8 December 1972(1972-12-08) (aged 36)
Poznań, Poland
Other namesEddie Polo, Italian Bandit
Occupationparticipant of the Poznań June
ChildrenWioletta, Piotr, Janusz

Janusz Kulas (aliases: "Eddie Polo"; "Włoski bandyta (Italian Bandit)") (6 December 1936, Poznań – 8 December 1972, Poznań) was a manual worker, participant of the Poznań June, steadfast participant of the "Trial of Ten", victim of persecution in Polish People's Republic.

Biography[edit]

Janusz Kulas was born in 1936 in Poznań. He finished the first year of the Technikum Budowy Taboru Kolejowego (Train Building Technical School). Before the Poznań June he worked as a diver for the Przedsiębiorstwo Transportowego Budownictwa Miejskiego and was a ticket tout.[1]

On 28 June 1956 he convinced the company's employees to join the ongoing peaceful demonstration in Poznań.[1] He himself stood in the vanguard, carrying a banner with the sentence "Żądamy chleba" ("We demand the bread").[2]: 64  After the demonstration escalated into a riot he took part in the acquisition of arms from the Military Study of the Wyższa Szkoła Rolnicza (Agricultural Academy),[2]: 129  disarming of the VII MO Commissariat at Grunwaldzka 34 and in the fights on Dąbrowskiego Street.[2]: 130  During these fights Janusz Kulas contributed to the procurement of a tank and made an unsuccessful attempt to bring it online.[1] After the community riots were suppressed, he was arrested on 30 June 1956.[1] During the investigation he was tortured into incriminating other participants of the demonstration and riot.[1]

The "Trial of Ten" began on 5 October 1956 in the Sąd Wojewódzki (Voivodeship Court) in Poznań, led by judge Dionizy Piotrowski.[2]: 273  Prosecutor Czesław Borkowski,[2]: 253  together with two other prosecutors from outside Poznań, accused Janusz Kulas and the remaining nine defendants of, among many accusations, robbing a Milicja Obywatelska outpost and classified it as covered by Article 1 of Mały kodeks karny (Small penal code) and thus punishable by sentences from 10 years to life in prison or by death.[2]: 242  Władysław Banaczyk was Kulas's attorney.[2]: 273  During the trial Janusz Kulas behaved with dignity and steadfastly defended his position.[2]: 275  It is also noteworthy that he exhibited sense of humour.[2]: 275  After eleven days the trial ended and 22 October 1956 was designated as the day when the sentence would be declared.[2]: 282  Due to the beginning Thaw, signalled by Władysław Gomułka's speech, the judge initially resumed the trial, but quickly re-suspended it, to never resume it.[2]: 283 

During the trial's suspension one of the prison guards entered Janusz Kulas's cell and stabbed him in the stomach, wounding him severely.[3] At the end of October 1956, Kulas was released.[4] After the release, having been forced to leave Poznań, he worked as a driver for Polskie Przedsiębiorstwo Fotogrametrii (Polish Photogrammetry Company).[4] In 1957 he was conscripted into the military, however due to repressions he declined to serve and was sentenced to either prison or service in a penal division in Szczecin, which he left on 28 October 1957.[4] Since then, until his death in 1972, he worked as a driver, while constantly being invigilated and repressed by Służba Bezpieczeństwa (SB) (Security Service).[5] This forced him to change his job several times.[5] He died in unclear circumstances on 8 December 1972.[5]

Private life[edit]

Son of Józef Kulas, participant of 1939 defensive war, and Aniela Just.[2]: 362  Married (1958) with Eugenia Maria Zajdel (born 1937). Father of three children: one daughter, Wioletta, and two sons, Piotr and Janusz.[4]

Commemoration[edit]

  • A street in Poznań, situated between Solna and Stanisława Hejnowskiego, is named after him (2016)[6]
  • A memorial slab with his biography located at the intersection of Janusza Kulasa nad Stanisława Hejnowskiego (2018)[7]
  • A post stamp and a block by Poczta Polska (Polish Post) depicting a photo of workers marching down the Armii Czerwonej (Red Army) Street (currently Święty Marcin – Saint Martin), with banner-bearing Janusz Kulas among them, made using steel engraving and rotogravure[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Piotr Bojarski (2016-06-23). "Czerwiec 1956. Eddie Polo zdobywa czołg.[HISTORIA JANUSZA KULASA]". Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Edmund Makowski (2001). Poznański Czerwiec 1956 – pierwszy bunt społeczeństwa w PRL. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie. Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  3. ^ Piotr Bojarski (2016-06-25). "Czerwiec 1956. "Nie róbcie ze mnie wariata!" [HISTORIA JANUSZ KULASA]". Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  4. ^ a b c d Piotr Bojarski (2016-06-27). "Czerwiec 1956. W takim wojsku nie będę służył! [HISTORIA JANUSZA KULASA]". Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  5. ^ a b c Piotr Bojarski (2016-06-28). "Czerwiec 1956. Tajemnica ostatnich urodzin [HISTORIA JANUSZA KULASA]". Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  6. ^ Maciej Jędrysik (2006-06-28). "2006.06.28. Rok 2006 - Rokiem Czerwcowych Zrywów Robotniczych - Poznań". Poczta Polska. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  7. ^ "Uchwała Nr XXXI/445/VII/2016 Rady Miasta Poznania z dnia 21-06-2016 w sprawie zmiany nazwy części ulicy Tadeusza Kościuszki na Janusza Kulasa". Rada Miasta Poznania. 2016-06-21. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  8. ^ "Pamięci Janusza Kulasa". Wydawnictwo Miejskie Posnania. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2018-07-04.

External links[edit]

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