back...A meeting of the youth of Łódź with the youngest political prisoner of the Stalin era in Poland
On March 2 this year,Muzeum Dzieci Polskich – ofiar totalitaryzmu [eng.Museum of Polish Children – Victims of Totalitarianism] hosted a meeting of high school students in Łódź with Mr. Janusz Niemiec-Żubryd, a representative ofStowarzyszenie Dzieci Żołnierzy Wyklętych[eng. Association of Children of Cursed Soldiers], also known as the youngest political prisoner of the Stalinist era in Poland.
Janusz Niemiec-Żubryd was born in 1941. He was the son of Antoni Żubryd, a commander of Samodzielny Batalion Operacyjny of Narodowe Siły Zbrojne (NSZ) [eng. the Independent Operational Battalion of the National Armed Forces], alias “Zuch”. In June 1945, at the age of four, he and his grandmother were arrested for the first time by Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego [eng. Security Office]. He was released a few days later, however, after his father issued an ultimatum to the communist authorities, threatening to execute seven captured Civic Militia officers if his son and mother-in-law continued to be detained. In 1946 he was arrested again by the Security Office, making him the youngest political prisoner of the Stalin era in Poland.
“Five-year-old Janusz was detained on suspicion of collaborating with an NSZ unit commanded by his father. The boy was released after several months of imprisonment. In the same year, 1946, his parents were murdered by Jerzy Vaulin, a confidant of the Security Office and later director of documentary and educational films on military topics,” explains Dr. Ireneusz Piotr Maj.
After his release, Janusz Niemiec-Zubryd was adopted by Stefania Niemiec, his mother's sister.
He graduated in the 1960s, specializing in foundry engineering. In the course of his successful career, he has worked in Africa, among other places, and managed one of the foundries in Nigeria for 10 years as its technical director. For years, he has been actively involved in activities to commemorate and popularize knowledge about the Polish anti-communist underground.
Since 2022, he has been a member of Rada Muzeum Dzieci Polskich – ofiar totalitaryzmu [eng. Council of the Museum of Polish Children – Victims of Totalitarianism].
