The case of operational investigation (code name: “Monk”). Invigilation of Rev. Henryk Surma by Security Service in the years 1974-1977
Andrzej Szymański
Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Opole, , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3504-0497
Abstract
The aim of the study is to depict, using the case of one of the monks as an example, the operational activity of Security Service towards the clergy, who were the focus of attention of this institution due to suspicions of conducting “anti-state” activity. Such cases of operational investigation were frequently launched by Security Service in the Polish People’s Republic, and they aimed at verifying allegations of activity considered to be hostile to the communist regime. Rev. Henryk Surma, who did not consent to the communist restrictions of human rights and the authorities’ efforts to relegate the Church to the periphery of society, made attempts to gain the resources for the renovation of his parish church using his private connections with citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany. Suspected of conducting anti-state activity, he was subjected to numerous forms of control and pressure. Ultimately, the investigation was closed after several years, and the charges of conducting activity against the Polish People’s Republic were not proved. The records of the case show that Rev. Surma was a good priest whose commitment attracted the attention of Security Service. The present article is based on the archival documents from the Archive of the Institute of National Remembrance.
Keywords:
Security Office, People’s Republic of Poland, surveillance, freedom of conscience and religion, Church-State relations, monks, clergy, Church in the period of People’s Poland, religious freedom, Law on ReligionReferences
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Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Opole,
Dr hab. prof. UO, Katedra Historii Państwa i Prawa oraz Doktryn Polityczno-Prawnych, Wydział Prawa i Administracji, Uniwersytet Opolski, ul. Katowicka 87a, 45-060 Opole.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3504-0497License
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