The following text is not a historical study. It is a retelling of the witness’s life story based on the memories recorded in the interview. The story was processed by external collaborators of the Memory of Nations. In some cases, the short biography draws on documents made available by the Security Forces Archives, State District Archives, National Archives, or other institutions. These are used merely to complement the witness’s testimony. The referenced pages of such files are saved in the Documents section.

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Andrzej Kiełczewski (* 1959)

• Urodzony 08.05.1959 roku we Wrocławiu, woj. Dolnośląskie, Polska

• W 1977 roku rozpoczął studia filozoficzne na Uniwersytecie Wrocławskim

• W latach ’70 członek Studenckiego Komitetu Solidarności we Wrocławiu

• W sierpniu 1980 roku brał udział w strajku w Zajezdni przy ulicy Grabiszyńskiej we Wrocławiu

• W trakcie stanu wojennego, został internowany, po pół roku został warunkowo zwolniony z tzw. wilczym biletem (paszportem ważnym na wyjazd tylko w jedną stronę)

• W sierpniu 1982 roku wraz z rodziną wyjechał do Szwecji, gdzie osiedlił się

• Po transformacji ustrojowej, zaczął przyjeżdżać do Polski, początkowo w ramach równych projektów gospodarczych

• Przedsiębiorca

• Członek Fundacji Bente Kahan (Wrocław)

Andrzej Kiełczewski started to study philosophy at the University of Wroclaw in 1977. There, he met people who were in the opposition. After creating the Student Solidarity Committee he engaged in its activity. Through his seniors at the university he was involved into the organizational structures – later he was appointed a spokesman. At the parallel faculty, colleagues from Polish studies created the students’ government. Because of his activity Andrzej Kiełczewski, along with fellow students , was suspended during studies (Polish and foreign professors sent letters asking to stop the suspension of the students who were in the Student Solidarity Committee).  

In the summer of 1980 Andrzej Kiełczewski was busy with his private issues, he was expecting a baby. “I took a dean’s leave”. Contact with the other activists due to holiday travels was limited. “I don’t even remember at which moment, who brought me the news that my friends were already settled at Grabiszyńska street”. The same day he reached the depot’s gate where he was referred to his friends from opposition. “I received such a task, surprisingly the telephone was not disconnected. During those times generally telephones were such an invention that I guess in the whole depot there were maybe two lines or so. Anyway, I had such a telephone line in an office room and I was trying to keep the contact by calling other Inter-Factory Strike Committees and got the information what was going on there. This way with the surprisingly working connection, but I guess also overheard one, we were trying to find out what was going on, who… This way we were finding out that discussions started, proceeded, were proceeding. And also via the phone we found out that the discussions in Gdansk were coming to an end.”

During the strike: there was a Holy Mass; music concert; false information about an attempt to pacify the strike appeared. The activist of the opposition received a great credit of trust from workers. They let people from the outside take most of the important roles (who were already experienced anti-communist activists). Some journalists from the radio and television came to the depot. Andrzej Kiełczewski expected the journalists to prove themselves reliable before the strikers, prove that they have good intentions but Władysław Frasyniuk convinced them that they have to trust someone at last. “We left the place as well. I travelled with Żuk (“The beetle”) with a strike banner.” From the parish of St. Augustine (from father Gustav) Andrzej Kiełczewski received from his friends a sound system which was used during the Holy Mass and a concert. “People were less and less afraid of coming to the Inter-Factory Founding Committee and somehow revealing their sympathies”.

The Holy Mass „I remember that there was a big crowd outside the depot singing „Ojczyznę Wolną racz nam wrócić Panie” (“Give us back free motherland, Father”) and with the ladies’ choir heard really well. This is the specific church singing. There was quite a big crowd. Many people around”. (not many people however expected the consequences of the strike). „All the time there were such discussions and echoes of what was being negotiated in Gdansk and Szczecin. What do the free unions mean, what is it really? Who is this Wałęsa fellow? Where does that lead to?[...] but the discussions about what free unions are, I mean what it will be, how authorities will allow for a free union to be formed and that name- that it will be independent- was not yet given, that was later. I guess independent it was during the registration procedure, anyway the names I guess were given then to free unions because of the tradition of free unions in the coast. And many workers attended such discussions about unions and all that. That was a hot topic.” After signing the August Agreements in Gdansk. Quickly some new trade union structures began to emerge (regional Solidarity). When students came back they started to work in the Independent Students’ Union.

Andrzej Kiełczewski thinks of his part in the strike as a conscious decision. Oppositionists understood that the communist system is getting weaker. The events in August were something everyone in opposition was waiting for. The strikes gave much hope- a hope that overshadowed fear. “There were many symptoms that the society is less and less effectively controlled by the regime”. News from the radio Free Europe which informed about the situation in Poland gave a sense of security. Previous events did not have such an a great importance as the events in August 1980 It seemed that the events in 1968 had changed much but as it appeared the most important changes were yet to come. The strike connected all the communities and generation which were fighting with communism. 10 millions – members of Solidarity People, who did not join had to be verified strongly why they did not join the Solidarity.

During the strike oppositionists easily shared the duties. “Let’s remember the workers repeated the already known… The first figure [of the strike – added by E.Sowińska] was established in Gdansk. There was the Strike Committee, advisors in the Strike Committee and now we all know how it all works. There were some attempts to contact the authorities to talk with Warsaw.” They contacted other factories which were also on the strike. Andrzej Kiełczewski received a list with factories which he called from the depot and informed them about the situation and also confirmed the messages from them. He remembers one special phone call: confirming the information from the media about signing the agreements. Mieczysław Rakowski took it (man from the party, close to the decisive centers) – he joked that they would send the confirmation by helicopter to Wroclaw.

When they were leaving the city they could sense a very positive approach of the people from Wroclaw to the strike. „We thought that the city was ours”; „The street was with the strikers”. The atmosphere in the city did not changed during the whole Solidarity carnival . “Suddenly our community is probably under an impression that it takes part in something important and positive, a historical process.”

Andrzej Kiełczewski was interned in December 1981. But because of the wrong address the Security Service did not come for him on the first day. He recalls the situation in the city this way: army; and at the University there was still the carnival atmosphere until the time of first shots”. The society did not know what the martial law was.

In one bus in the morning everyone left the depot together and the driver took them home. Two previous nights- few people could sleep and everyone was very tired and when the emotions subsided they fell asleep immediately. Some of the activists right away began to work in the center of Solidarity. Andrzej Kiełczewski returned to his private activities. He did not engage in any organizational structure, even though he was certainly interested and followed the political situation.

Andrzej Kiełczewski was interned since December until half of June 1982. He received a pass after applying for going abroad (to Sweden) where he came and settled down. He started to come to Poland at the beginning of 1990’s for work, various international projects.

Asked whether it was a good decision to fight he replies that the main reason to leave was the pressure on his family, however: „The previous activities were not senseless anyway because it was well done.”