Abstract
A growing number of Polish intellectuals have been voicing their concern at the abuse of power on the part of the authorities and, in particular, the police. One of the most interesting of the many protests and appeals made in recent months is that by Wladyslaw Bienkowski, which we publish here in full.
Wladyslaw Bienkowski is a former Minister of Education (1956–9) who was responsible for the revival of religious teaching in Polish schools. Active in the Communist youth movement before the war and, after 1942, with Gomulka in the Communist underground, he was a member of the Party's Central Committee from 1945 to 1948. Dismissed with Gomulka but not imprisoned, he was appointed Director of the National Library (1949–56). His liberal views led to his dismissal from the Ministry of Education and all his political posts. He is the author of three books of political theory, published by the Polish émigré publishers, Kultura, in Paris.