Stanisław Radkiewicz
Stanisław Radkiewicz | |
|---|---|
Radkiewicz in 1946 | |
| Minister of Public Security | |
| In office 22 July 1944 – 2 December 1954 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Minister of State Agricultural Farms | |
| In office 7 December 1954 – 19 April 1956 | |
| Prime Minister | Józef Cyrankiewicz |
| Preceded by | Hilary Chełchowski |
| Succeeded by | Mieczysław Moczar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 January 1903 Slonimsky Uyezd, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 13 November 1987 (aged 84) Warsaw, Polish People's Republic |
| Political party | Communist Party of Poland Polish Workers' Party Polish United Workers' Party |
| Alma mater | Communist University of the National Minorities of the West |
| Awards | Order of the Cross of Grunwald Order of the Banner of Work Order of Polonia Restituta Medal for Warsaw |
| Military service | |
| Rank | Major general of Public Security |
Stanisław Radkiewicz (Polish pronunciation: [staˈɲiswaf ratˈkʲevit͡ʂ]; 19 January 1903 – 13 December 1987) was a Polish communist activist with Soviet citizenship, a member of the pre-war Communist Party of Poland and of the post-war Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR). As head of the Ministry of Public Security of Poland (Urząd Bezpieczeństwa or UB) between 1944 and 1954, he was one of the chief organisers of Stalinist terror in Poland. He also served as a political commissar and was made a divisional general in Communist Poland.
Unlike other individuals responsible for the Stalinist terror in the 1940s and 1950s, Radkiewicz was never held responsible for his crimes, although in 1956, after the Poznań protests and his official "self-critique", he was removed from his post as Minister of Public Security and made Minister of State Agricultural Farms (PGRs).