https://doi.org/10.31648/ep.6720
This article is a continuation of the research on the Polish authorities’ forceful attempts to disband Jehovah’s Witnesses on the Polish territory in 1950 (Operation J). The article focuses on the events that took place in the Olsztyn Voivodeship. In June 1950, church leaders and citizens who had contacted the previously arrested representatives of the Governing Body of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Poland were detained on the orders of the Ministry of Public Security. The circle of repression widened after brutal interrogations forced several people to confess to spying for the United States of America. The Ministry of Public Security gave free rein to regional authorities, and local officers who were eager to score favor with their superiors began arresting Jehovah’s Witnesses solely on the grounds of their religious affiliation. More than one hundred Jehovah’s Witnesses from the Olsztyn community of approximately one thousand members were arrested in the second half of 1950. Nearly 20 Jehovah’s Witnesses had to stand trial. The aftermath of Operation J, including trials, sentences, administrative decisions, attempts to recruit collaborators among the detainees, or the attempts to force them to abandon their religion, are not discussed in detail in this article due to space constraints.
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