We especially remember Władysław Stasiak at the head of the law firm Lech Kaczyński. However, Wiktor Świetlik in “Stasiak’s Poland” reveals much more – from the struggle of young people against communism, to the prevention of arms smuggling, to the secret international talks concerning the fate of Iraq and European security.

For Minister Stasiak, history was not an opportunity to show his scholarship, but only a call to learn practical lessons from it: to avoid repeating more than once the evil that our community has experienced.

– wrote Professor Andrzej Nowak in the introduction to the book. “Polska Stasiak” by Wiktor Świetlik is a biography of one of the most interesting and talented Polish politicians active after 1989.

It is not only a fascinating history of political life, but also reflections on what is missing from Polish public life today.

– says the author of the book.

With him we follow the biography of the hero of the Wrocław opposition era, high school and university students in the last period of the Polish People’s Republic. Then we will cross the corridors of the Supreme Court of Auditors and find ourselves in the chambers of inspectors fighting against corruption, arms smuggling and links with Esbek. We will witness the fight against crime in Warsaw and the closing of an illegal club with the participation of former Grom soldiers. We will finally find ourselves in the world of global politics. In the corridors of the White House, international missions, strategic meetings at the headquarters of the Polish national security office, then in the office of Lech Kaczyński, where Władysław Stasiak was treated as the future leader of the Polish right.

In 2010, it seemed to everyone that it was the start of a great political career. Future right-wing leader and president

– says Wiktor Świetlik.

So how would his hero’s future fate develop? The logic of events and the history of the second decade of the 21st century would indicate that a presidential career seems the most likely. These hopes were interrupted by the tragedy of Smolensk, during which the hero of the book died on board the presidential plane.

Wiktor Świetlik not only presents the profile and biography of Władysław Stasiak, but also deals with the most important problems that Poland faced in 1989 and looks for solutions precisely in the actions of the protagonist of his book. The book, like the protagonist’s profile, became particularly topical in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while the intelligence, knowledge and determination of the book’s protagonist would certainly serve Poland. Fortunately, we are left with his intellectual legacy and accomplishments on which to draw and feel more secure.
Wiktor Świetlik, “Stasiak’s Poland”, Unitas, 2022