“Laconia Order” and the responsibility of Admiral Dönitz before the Nuremberg Military Tribunal

The article concerns the theme related to the order of 17 September 1942 issued by Ad-miral Karl Dönitz, Commander-in Chief of the German submarine fleet during the World War II. In the German literature this order is known as the Laconia Befehl. It was issued in connection with the rescue operation after the sinking of the British ship ‘Laconia’, which was commenced by the crew of a German submarine. Not only weighty military and ethi-cal, but also legal nature issues appear against the background, since in connection with the order issued Admiral Dönitz was charged before the Nuremberg Military Tribunal for war crimes

Zapowiedź praworządnej policji. O wyroku Pruskiego Najwyższego Sądu Administracyjnego z 14 czerwca 1882 r.

Przedmiotem rozważań jest wyrok zapadły w efekcie sporu między obywatelem a policją. Dla zrozumienia motywów i znaczenia orzeczenia konieczne wydaje się przytoczenie ewolucji prawa państwowego, która dokonała się w Niemczech. Zasadniczym zagadnieniem dla rozstrzygnięcia była bowiem dokonana przez sąd redefinicja zakresu pojęcia policji

Maximilian Becker: „Mitstreiter im Volkstumskampf. Deutsche Justiz in den eingegliederten Ostgebieten 1939-1945”. München: De Gruyter Oldenburg, 2014, 352 s. [recenzja]

Recenzja książki Maximiliana Beckera: „Mitstreiter im Volkstumskampf. Deutsche Justiz in den eingegliederten Ostgebieten 1939-1945”. München: De Gruyter Oldenburg, 2014, 352 s

Piotr Kołakowski, Andrzej Krzak: „Sprawa majora Jerzego Sosnowskiego w świetle dokumentów analitycznych Oddziału II SG WP i zeznań Franza Heinricha Pfeifera” - recenzja

Recenzja książki: Piotra Kołakowskiego i Andrzeja Krzaka: „Sprawa majora Jerzego Sosnowskiego w świetle dokumentów analitycznych Oddziału II SG WP i zeznań Franza Heinricha Pfeifera”

Ściganie sprawców kłamstwa katyńskiego w III Rzeszy

This article addresses the criminal liability of German citizens for the so-called Katyń Massacre Lie during the Third Reich. Its source materials are the records of three cases discovered in German archives. Questioning the official (and actual) German propaganda’s version about the massacre of Polish prisoners of war by the Soviets or negating its perpetration by the Soviets while attributing it to the Germans was subject to prosecution as criminal speech against the state. This paper brings to attention the circumstances under which such an act was committed, the statements said by the perpetrators, and a legal qualification which was grounds for indictment and conviction

Walentego Fojkisa opracowanie "Zagadnienia gmin zbiorowych" dla Rządu RP na uchodźstwiez 1943 roku

The article is devoted to the 1943 émigré elaboration “Issues of collective communes” [Zagadnienia gmin zbiorowych] for the Polish Government in Exile by Walenty Fojkis. The article presents the author's person, construction of the study and individual reflections of the author, in which he focused on choosing the most favorable, from the point of view of his own experience, system of basic local government unit. Contrary to the title of the study, he recommended not collective communes but individual communes supported by special purpose associations as the best foundation for Poland's future local government

Wznowienie postępowania karnego w praktyce Sądu Specjalnego w Katowicach (Sondergericht Kattowitz) 1939-1945

The study is devoted to the institution of resumption of criminal proceedings in the practice of the Special Court in Katowice (1939—1945). It outlines the specificity of proceedings before special courts of the Third Reich. The legal prerequisites for resumption, resulting from the provisions of the Code of Penal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung), are discussed. Then, on the basis of the preserved archives, individual cases of attempts to resume proceedings in the most serious cases judged by the Sondergericht, ending with a death penalty, are presented

Karol Marian Pospieszalski, „To wszystko przeżyłem…” Wspomnienia

Karol Marian Pospieszalski, „To wszystko przeżyłem…” WspomnieniaKarol Marian Pospieszalski, „To wszystko przeżyłem…” Wspomnieni

Pierwszy Sondergericht na ziemiach polskich. Z działalności Sądu Specjalnego w Częstochowie (Sondergericht Tschenstochau) (1939-1945)

The article concerns the activity of the Special Court in Częstochowa (Sondergericht Tschenstochau) between 1939 and 1945, i.e. one of the German special courts operating in the territory of the General Government. Tackling this topic is justified by a lack of even fragmentary findings in this area. Accordingly, the aim of the research was to make basic findings: what types of cases were dealt with by the Sondergericht; what was the nationality of the majority of the defendants; what sentences were handed out to them; was the death penalty pronounced, and if so, when; who led the work of the Sondergericht, what judges were its members and what prosecutors participated in the hearings at the Sondergericht, where did the lawyers involved in the work of the Sondergericht come from, were its judicial decisions challenged by extraordinary legal measures. Archival materials, literature, and media articles constitute the sources which served as the basis for the deliberations. On this basis, original and hitherto unknown findings concerning the Special Court in Częstochowa were made.Artykuł dotyczy działalności Sądu Specjalnego w Częstochowie (Sondergericht Tschenstochau) w latach 1939–1945, tj. jednego z niemieckich sądów specjalnych funkcjonujących na obszarze Generalnego Gubernatorstwa. Podjęcie tego tematu jest uzasadnione brakiem nawet fragmentarycznych ustaleń w tym obszarze. W związku z tym celem badań było poczynienie podstawowych ustaleń: jakiego rodzaju sprawy były rozpatrywane przez Sondergericht, oskarżeni jakiej narodowości przeważali, na jakie kary byli skazywani, czy i w jakich sprawach orzekano karę śmierci, kto kierował pracami Sondergerichtu, jacy sędziowie byli jego członkami i jacy prokuratorzy brali udział w rozprawach przed Sondergerichtem, skąd pochodzili prawnicy zaangażowani w prace Sondergerichtu, czy jego orzeczenia były wzruszane na drodze nadzwyczajnych środków prawnych. Podstawę źródłową rozważań stanowią archiwalia, literatura oraz prasa. Na tej podstawie poczyniono oryginalne, nieznane dotychczas ustalenia dotyczące Sądu Specjalnego w Częstochowie

Wyrok niemieckiego Trybunału Ludowego z 1943 r. w sprawie kłamstwa katyńskiego

The article concerns a singular criminal case which constitutes probably the only (!) case of a valid conviction for dissemination of false information which stated that it were the German forces who were responsible for the Katyn massacre, i.e. the Katyn lie. The perpetrator of the crime — sentenced to death in the court of law — was an Austrian man, demobilized after the September Campaign in 1939. The crime was committed on May 31st, 1943 in an Austrian inn, where the perpetrator imbibed alcohol in the company of German soldiers remaining on leave at the time. Referring to a newspaper article concerning the exhumation of Polish officers, the man claimed that the Polish officers were not murdered by the Russian forces, but rather by Waffen- SS. His claim had been classified as defeatism and high treason by means of a propagandist lie. The sentence was passed by the German People’s Court, which constitutes a subject of a brief description in the article. The aforementioned study has been based on the verdict and its justification, discovered in a German archive