Wojciech Jaruzelski: biography, personal life and government activities

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

The leader of Poland, an outstanding politician, an interesting person Wojciech Jaruzelski lived a long and very eventful life. In his life there were successes, failures, victories and a lot of events that matter not only for the whole nation, but also for the world as a whole. It is unreasonable to ask about who Wojciech Jaruzelski is for the Poles and wait for a definite answer. His activities were too diverse to receive an unambiguous assessment. Moreover, today the inhabitants of the country cannot adequately assess its significance for Poland, many accuse him of all sins. But his life is worthy of a more detailed study.

Family and childhood

In the Polish town of Kuruw on July 6, 1923, a son, Wojciech Jaruzelsky, was born into the family of a local nobleman, a large landowner. The family had rather ancient roots, in the 15th-16th centuries the ancestors of Jaruzelsky were among the bearers of the Slepovron coat of arms. Wojciech's great-grandfather participated in the well-known Polish uprising in the name of restoring the Commonwe alth within its ancient borders. The rebels were defeated in 1863, and Jaruzelski's grandfather wasexiled to Siberia. The family later returned to Poland, but, surprisingly, the family history tended to repeat itself.

Wojciech spent his childhood years in a Polish estate, when he was 5 years old, he had a younger sister Teresa. The boy was sent to an elite Catholic gymnasium at the age of 6, but in 1939 the family moved to Lithuania, and this was an unfortunate choice. The young man did not have time to finish the gymnasium.

Deportation

In 1939, Lithuania, as a result of an agreement between the USSR and Nazi Germany, was ceded to the Soviet Union as a result of a non-aggression agreement. But during the German invasion of Poland, the Soviet government decided to play it safe and sent a large number of Polish nobles (as unreliable) from the B altic republics to Siberia.

Wojciech Jaruzelski and his family ended up in Altai. The head of the family was sent to a camp in the Altai Territory, and a mother with two children went to a settlement in the taiga Turochak, where Wojciech worked at a logging site. Living conditions were impossibly difficult, Jaruzelski earned "snow blindness" there. But, according to his recollections, the locals treated the deportees very well. Wojciech learned Russian and changed his attitude towards the Russian people. He was brought up in anti-Russian traditions, and when he got to Altai, he met many very sincere people who tried to make life easier for the exiles.

The elder Jaruzelsky could not bear the hard work and soon died, Wojciech buried him, wrapping him in the newspaper Pravda instead of a shroud. Soon the mother also died. The sister was sent to an orphanage, and the future President of Poland was sent to work inKaraganda. There he had to work in the mine, where he received a back injury, which made itself felt all his later life.

World War II

In 1943, Wojciech Jaruzelski voluntarily joined the army, in the Polish infantry division Kosciuszko. He was trained at the Ryazan Infantry School and went to the front with the rank of lieutenant. He began as a platoon commander and by 1945 had become assistant chief of staff for intelligence. Jaruzelski took part in the battles for the liberation of Warsaw, fought in the B altic, Vistula, Oder, Elbe. For courage he received several military awards, including the most honorable order in Poland - the Order of Military Valor (Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari).

Party Life

After the war, Wojciech Jaruzelski stayed at home. Since 1945, he has been participating in the struggle of the underground organization "Freedom and Independence", whose main goal was to fight against the Soviet regime and occupation and the withdrawal of the Red Army from Poland. The organization interacted with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, with Western countries and the CIA, and was actively suppressed by the Polish authorities with the support of the USSR. In 1947, Jaruzelski joined the Communist Party, which a year later became known as the Polish United Workers' Party. He decided that military service was his calling, and entered the Higher Infantry School, then graduated with honors from the General Staff Academy.

Career path

After the Academy, Jaruzelski quickly goes tomountain. First, he holds a teaching position in an infantry school, then quickly becomes the head of the country's military educational institutions, commands a mechanized division for three years, then heads the Main Political Directorate of Poland. In 1962, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense, and after 6 years he became a minister. On his account in this position, participation in such a controversial action as the entry of troops of the Warsaw Pact countries, and in fact Soviet ones, into Czechoslovakia.

In the 1970s, Minister Jaruzelski used force several times against popular indignation. He first gave the order to quell the unrest caused by rising food prices. He was accused of shooting demonstrators in Gdansk in 1970 by security forces.

Jaruzelski has always been a pro-Soviet statesman, and this helped him move up. Wojciech's party career is also developing successfully. In 1970, Jaruzelski was a candidate member of the Politburo, and since 1971, a member of the Politburo of the PUWP. In 1981, he headed the Council of Ministers of the Polish People's Republic, although he held this position for only a few months.

At the helm of Poland

In October 1981, Wojciech Jaruzelski became the second person in the country, he headed the Central Committee of the Party of Poland. When he became the head of the party, social tensions grew in the country. This was greatly facilitated by the activities of the Solidarity Union, which called for getting rid of the protectorate of the USSR. In response to this, the Soviet Union only pulled up troops to the Polish borders, which caused new rounds of indignation. ATIn this situation, the head of Poland was most afraid of bringing troops into his country, and therefore decided to introduce martial law, which lasted 2 years. The state began persecution and arrests of resistance activists.

In 1985, Jaruzelski becomes the head of the State Council, that is, the most important person in the country. For two years he tried to overcome the indignation, but they only grew. In addition, this confrontation led to economic consequences, a crisis began in Poland, and this only increased social tension. Wojciech Jaruzelski decided to negotiate with members of Solidarity, he was the only leader from the socialist countries. camp, which took a similar step. He made a number of concessions demanded by the protesters, but this did not resolve the conflict. The country at that time was in a difficult situation, it had a large external debt to the USSR and Western countries, the economy fell into decline due to planned management, and the dissatisfaction of ordinary citizens with the hardships of life grew. And Solidarity, led by Lech Walesa, begins to make not only economic, but also political demands.

Jaruzelsky believed that the introduction of Soviet troops had extremely negative consequences not only for his country, but for the world as a whole, so he tried to negotiate with the protesters. Poland was a very important country for the USSR, geographically and politically, so the Soviet troops were ready to enter it to preserve their regime, and this, according to the head of Poland, was fraught not only with a local, but also with a world war.

"Wojciech Jaruzelski and the Cold War" is still a topic for future research by historians and political scientists, but it is clear that he did not want this outcome, and therefore tried to find a peaceful solution. But the negotiations did not lead to the desired results, and he had to agree to holding democratic elections.

In 1989, elections were held to the Seimas and to the presidency with the only candidate - Jaruzelski. For a year he was the President of the PPR, but he could no longer solve the problems of Poland. In 1990, his era ended, he agreed to hold democratic elections and did not take part in them. He stood "at the helm" for 9 years, during his time there were many difficulties that he tried to eliminate in different ways, but for most Poles he became the "face" of the hated regime.

Life after power

Many poignant moments are described in the biography of Jaruzelski Wojciech, but after his resignation, his life changed dramatically: there was nothing left of great activity and responsibility. The days passed peacefully and calmly. Lech Walesa, unlike his "colleagues" from other former socialist countries, did not persecute the former leader of Poland, although the population really wanted this. Jaruzelski withdrew from active social life. But his person haunted the Poles, several parties tried to hold him accountable for the victims of the crackdown. And in 2007, nevertheless, the court opened a war crimes case against Jaruzelski and eight of his associates. The proceedings were very long, and in 2011 the courtdecided to drop the case against the former head of Poland due to his state of he alth.

Ranks and awards

During his long life, Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski received a large number of awards. He was most proud of his military merits: the Order of Military Valor, two Crosses of the Brave, the Order of the Cross of Grunwald. In addition, he was awarded a considerable number of awards from the USSR and other countries of the socialist camp.

In 2006 he was awarded the Order of the Exiled Cross, upon receipt of which Jaruzelski said he was glad that President Lech Kaczynski was able to overcome prejudice against the past. This caused a great resonance in society. To this, the president replied that he simply did not see Jaruzelski's name on the list of those awarded when he signed the decree. And the offended Wojciech returned the reward.

Jaruzelski rose to the rank of army general, he did not give himself any honorary titles or medals during his reign.

Private life

Wojciech Jaruzelski, whose personal life has always interested the Poles, did not give any reason for gossip and scandals. Since 1960, he has been married to Barbara Jaruzelskaya, the couple had a daughter, Monika, and a grandson was growing up. It seemed that everything in his family was just perfect. But in 2014, a scandal erupted. The 84-year-old wife accused the 90-year-old Jaruzelski in connection with the hospital nurse and was going to file for divorce. He stated that he would not agree to a divorce. The development of the scandal is nothappened due to the death of the ex-president.

Death and memory

On May 25, 2014, Wojciech Jaruzelski, whose photo appeared in all media around the world, died. Before that, he had another stroke, and the doctors could no longer cope with its consequences. The president was buried with military honors, the ceremony was attended by former Polish presidents Lech Walesa and Aleksander Kwasniewski. Jaruzelski was buried in the Necropolis of Polish soldiers, which caused discontent among many Poles. In the memory of his compatriots, Wojciech Jaruzelski remains almost a dictator, but in fact he tried to find a balance between external influence and internal contradictions in the country. Today, the realization is gradually coming that Poland and Jaruzelski were lucky that he did not allow the establishment of harsh pro-Soviet pressure on the state.

Quotes

Wojciech Jaruzelski always spoke about Russia with great warmth. He was not a supporter of the Soviet regime, he was not an ardent defender of communism, but he treated the Russian people with warmth all his life. He said that "the deportation to the Altai changed his attitude towards the Russians." Wojciech Jaruzelski, quotes from whose speeches are still found in political texts today, said that "the decision to introduce martial law will hang on his conscience until the end of his days." He was fully aware of the severity of his actions. "I never tire of apologizing for what was wrong," Jaruzelski said.

Interesting facts

WojciechJaruzelski was a deeply decent man, all his life he remained faithful to the noble code of honor. During his reign, he did not accept a single Polish award, except for military, commemorative medals. He did not assign himself any titles and titles, even his life was very modest. Almost always, Jaruzelsky wore dark glasses, for which the people attributed many atrocities to him, but the reason was an injury received during the years of deportation to Altai. He spoke perfect Russian, did not drink at all, read a lot and was a very reasonable person.