Helena Wolinska-Brus
Encyclopedia
Lt. Col. Helena Wolińska-Brus (1919 – 26 November 2008) born Fajga Mindla Danielak, was a military prosecutor in Poland
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel (podpułkownik), involved in Stalinist
regime show trials of the 1950s. She has been implicated in the arrest and execution of many Polish anti-Nazi resistance fighters including key figures in Poland's Home Army. From , Poland sought the extradition of Wolińska from the United Kingdom
to stand trial in Poland. The official charges against her were initiated by the Commission for Investigating Crimes against the Polish Nation
.
Wolińska was accused of being an "accessory to a court murder," classified as a Stalinist crime and a crime of genocide
, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Among other alleged crimes, she organised the unlawful arrest, investigation and trial of, Poland's wartime general Emil August Fieldorf
, a legendary commander of the underground Polish Home Army during World War II. Emil August Fieldorf was executed on 24 February 1953 and his family were never shown the body. Communist authorities concluded in a 1956 report already that Wolińska had violated the rule of law by her involvement in biased investigations and staged questionable trials that frequently resulted in executions.
family in Warsaw
, where she married Włodzimierz Brus (born Beniamin Zylberberg). They were separated during the Holocaust. Wolińska joined the People’s Guard and became a mistress to Franciszek Jóźwiak, the commander of the Gwardia Ludowa
and the first commandant of the communist state police Milicja Obywatelska
in postwar Poland. She met her husband again in 1944 having thought he was dead. They remarried in 1956, once she separated from her new partner, now a deputy minister of stalininst Secret Police
(1945-1949) and a member of Politburo
of the governing communist Polish United Workers' Party
(until 1968). She was fired from her job as prosecutor during the Polish October
of 1956.
Wolińska and her first husband left Poland in 1968 after Polish 1968 political crisis
and spent the rest of her life in the United Kingdom. Wlodzimierz Brus
became a professor of economics at Oxford University (died in 2007). Wolińska lived in Oxford until her death, having previously acquired British citizenship.
and the Polish Prosecutors related to the case, and again in 2001. Both requests were refused on humanitarian grounds by the British Home Office; in particular, stating her advanced age and the period of 50 years since the alleged crimes occurred.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Wolińska said she would not return to "the country of Auschwitz and Birkenau", claiming she would not receive fair trial in Poland. Despite her involvement in Stalinist-era crimes she called to forget that period in her life and, in her own words, "not to disrupt her with this silly prosecution". The Polish media and government in turn criticized the inefficiency of the international extradition process.
In 2004, Poland joined the European Union, allowing access to the European extradition procedures. In January 2006 her prosecutorial pension was revoked. Later that year Polish president Lech Kaczyński
revoked the Polonia Restituta
decoration that Wolinska was awarded by the Polish communist authorities in 1954. In 2007 the Commission for Investigating Crimes against the Polish Nation
asked Polish prosecutors to issue a European Arrest Warrant
(EAW) against Wolinska, which was duly issued on 20 November 2007; this was the third attempt at her extradition.
Helena Wolińska-Brus died on 26 November 2008 in Oxford, UK. She was buried in secret. The service was to have been on Friday 5 December 2008. However, two days beforehand, Wolinska was buried in a closed ceremony with only a few family members attending.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel (podpułkownik), involved in Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
regime show trials of the 1950s. She has been implicated in the arrest and execution of many Polish anti-Nazi resistance fighters including key figures in Poland's Home Army. From , Poland sought the extradition of Wolińska from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to stand trial in Poland. The official charges against her were initiated by the Commission for Investigating Crimes against the Polish Nation
Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
.
Wolińska was accused of being an "accessory to a court murder," classified as a Stalinist crime and a crime of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Among other alleged crimes, she organised the unlawful arrest, investigation and trial of, Poland's wartime general Emil August Fieldorf
Emil August Fieldorf
Emil August Fieldorf was a Polish Brigadier General. He was Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Home Army or AK, after the failure of the Warsaw Uprising...
, a legendary commander of the underground Polish Home Army during World War II. Emil August Fieldorf was executed on 24 February 1953 and his family were never shown the body. Communist authorities concluded in a 1956 report already that Wolińska had violated the rule of law by her involvement in biased investigations and staged questionable trials that frequently resulted in executions.
Biography
Wolińska was born to a JewishHistory of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
family in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, where she married Włodzimierz Brus (born Beniamin Zylberberg). They were separated during the Holocaust. Wolińska joined the People’s Guard and became a mistress to Franciszek Jóźwiak, the commander of the Gwardia Ludowa
Gwardia Ludowa
Gwardia Ludowa or GL was a communist armed organisation in Poland, organised by the Soviet created Polish Workers Party. It was the largest military organization which refused to join the structures of the Polish Underground State. It was created in 1942 and in 1944 it was incorporated by the...
and the first commandant of the communist state police Milicja Obywatelska
Milicja Obywatelska
Milicja Obywatelska was a state police institution in the People's Republic of Poland. It was created in 1944 by Soviet-sponsored PKWN, effectively replacing the pre-war police force. In 1990 it was transformed back into Policja....
in postwar Poland. She met her husband again in 1944 having thought he was dead. They remarried in 1956, once she separated from her new partner, now a deputy minister of stalininst Secret Police
Ministry of Public Security of Poland
The Ministry of Public Security of Poland was a Polish communist secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage service operating from 1945 to 1954 under Jakub Berman of the Politburo...
(1945-1949) and a member of Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
of the governing communist Polish United Workers' Party
Polish United Workers' Party
The Polish United Workers' Party was the Communist party which governed the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1989. Ideologically it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism.- The Party's Program and Goals :...
(until 1968). She was fired from her job as prosecutor during the Polish October
Polish October
Polish October, also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the Polish internal political scene in the second half of 1956...
of 1956.
Wolińska and her first husband left Poland in 1968 after Polish 1968 political crisis
Polish 1968 political crisis
The Polish 1968 political crisis, also known in Poland as March 1968 or March events pertains to the major student and intellectual protest action against the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland...
and spent the rest of her life in the United Kingdom. Wlodzimierz Brus
Wlodzimierz Brus
Włodzimierz Brus born Beniamin Zylberberg was a communist economist in Stalinist Poland. He emigrated from Poland in 1972, removed from power after the Polish 1968 political crisis. Brus spent the rest of his life in the United Kingdom.Brus was born in 1921 in Płock in northern Second Polish...
became a professor of economics at Oxford University (died in 2007). Wolińska lived in Oxford until her death, having previously acquired British citizenship.
Extradition requests
Two applications for Wolińska-Brus' extradition had been made by Poland. First in 1999, by the Institute of National RemembranceInstitute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
and the Polish Prosecutors related to the case, and again in 2001. Both requests were refused on humanitarian grounds by the British Home Office; in particular, stating her advanced age and the period of 50 years since the alleged crimes occurred.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Wolińska said she would not return to "the country of Auschwitz and Birkenau", claiming she would not receive fair trial in Poland. Despite her involvement in Stalinist-era crimes she called to forget that period in her life and, in her own words, "not to disrupt her with this silly prosecution". The Polish media and government in turn criticized the inefficiency of the international extradition process.
In 2004, Poland joined the European Union, allowing access to the European extradition procedures. In January 2006 her prosecutorial pension was revoked. Later that year Polish president Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
revoked the Polonia Restituta
Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta is one of Poland's highest Orders. The Order can be conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, defense of the country, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries...
decoration that Wolinska was awarded by the Polish communist authorities in 1954. In 2007 the Commission for Investigating Crimes against the Polish Nation
Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
asked Polish prosecutors to issue a European Arrest Warrant
European Arrest Warrant
The European Arrest Warrant is an arrest warrant valid throughout all member states of the European Union . Once issued by a member state, it requires the receiving member state to arrest and transfer a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing state so that the person can be put on...
(EAW) against Wolinska, which was duly issued on 20 November 2007; this was the third attempt at her extradition.
Helena Wolińska-Brus died on 26 November 2008 in Oxford, UK. She was buried in secret. The service was to have been on Friday 5 December 2008. However, two days beforehand, Wolinska was buried in a closed ceremony with only a few family members attending.