Charles McCarry - The Miernik Dossier

The first book in the Paul Christopher series, 1971

This narrative is set in the middle years of the cold war; the year could be 1959. Travelers familiar with that time, and with the scenes in which the story takes place, will recognize landmarks and atmosphere and attitudes. But they will search in vain for familiar figures. No character is intended to resemble any person who ever lived, and no event is based on fact.

The attached dossier is submitted to the Committee in response to the request by its Chairman for “a complete picture of a typical operation.”

The file includes:

a) agents’ reports, including those of intelligence services other than our own;

b) written communications exchanged by the principals outside security channels;

c) transcripts of telephone conversations and of other conversations that were recorded by listening devices;

d) certain other documents, e.g., surveillance reports, diary entries, biographical sketches;

e) footnotes supplied by our Headquarters.

Apart from a minimal number of footnotes, which were considered necessary to a full understanding of the material, no comment or interpretation has been provided. It is hoped that the documents will, as it were, “draw their own picture” of this operation.

No changes have been made in any of the documents, except that some have been shortened so as to exclude extraneous material, and each of the principals has been assigned a single fictitious name. In the original documents, they were, of course, identified under a variety of cryptonyms, identification numbers, etc.

For reasons that will be understood by the Committee, the means by which certain of these documents came into our possession are not specified.

The genuinity of all material in this file may be assumed.

To Mr. Khan

The Polish Ambassador has requested, in a conversation with me today, that we not renew the contract of Mr. Tadeusz Miernik when it expires next month. The Ambassador explained that Mr. Miernik’s professional skills are required by the Polish Ministry of Education.

May I have your advice as to whether we may accede to the Ambassador’s wish (which has the effect of a formal request from the Polish government) without undue inconvenience to the Organization?

8 May DIRECTOR GENERAL

To Director General

Mr. Miernik’s work can be assigned to another official without undue inconvenience. I venture to add that I should, in the ordinary course of events, have recommended a permanent contract for Mr. Miernik, whose performance over the past two years has been of the highest quality.

Mr. Miernik has, moreover, expressed a strong interest in remaining with the Organization. He considers that he has personal as well as professional reasons to remain in Geneva.

If you wish me to do so, I shall be happy to discuss these reasons with you, or to arrange for Mr. Miernik to do so himself.

11 May H. KHAN

Chief of Political Research

To Mr. Khan

Would it be convenient for Mr. Miernik to state his case to me in writing?

15May DIRECTOR GENERAL

To Director General

Mr. Miernik would welcome the opportunity of discussing his case with you. He prefers not to commit his arguments to writing.

15 May H. KHAN

Chief of Political Research

To Mr. Khan

The Director General would be pleased to see you and Mr. Miernik in his office at three o’clock on Thursday, 18 May.

16 May N. COLLINS

First Assistant

Tadeusz Miernik and his chief, H. Kahn, today (18th May) made their case to the Director General that Miernik be retained in the Organization under a permanent contract. Khan confined his arguments to an affirmation of the professional competence of Miernik and then asked to be excused from the remainder of the conversation.

2. After Khan’s departure, Miernik stated with some emotion that he had reason to believe that his government wished to arrange his return to Poland so that he might be tried on political charges and imprisoned. Miernik denies that he has engaged in any activity that runs counter to Polish national interests. He believes, however, that the security services have looked upon his friendships with foreigners (i.e., Westerners) “with their usual demented suspicion.” He fears for the welfare of his sister, a university student in Warsaw who is his only living relative.

3. The Director General made no immediate response to Miernik’s plea. He (the D.G.) is annoyed with Khan, whom he regards as an excitable and rather naive man, for having placed him in the uncomfortable position of judging whether the Ambassador of a member state (Poland) has sinister motives towards Miernik.

4. The D.G. asked me, after Miernik had departed, what I thought about the Pole’s fears. I replied that I was sure that these were, at least in Miernik’s mind, quite genuine. The D.G. replied, after a moment of rather comic thought:

“I can hardly ask the Ambassador to guarantee to me that Miernik will not be shot by his secret police!” He delayed a decision on Miernik’s contract, which expires on 30th June, until the middle of next month.

5. Is it possible to confirm that Miernik does in fact have a sister in Warsaw University?

22nd May . Warsaw replies that no female named Miernik appears on the rolls of Warsaw University. Other Polish universities?

28th May . Not on rolls of any other Polish university.

Tadeusz Miernik was born on 11 September 1929 at Krakow. His father, Jerzy, was a university graduate who worked before World War II as a manager of a meat distributing firm. During the war he was connected to the anti-German underground. From 1947 until his death five years later, he was employed in a managerial capacity by a state enterprise. The mother, Maria Prokochni, was killed by a strafing airplane during the Soviet-German battle for Poland in 1941. Her son claims to have witnessed this incident.

Miernik was educated at Warsaw University, which awarded him a doctorate in history. He taught Polish history at Warsaw University for a brief period, until he was awarded a fellowship at a Soviet university. Two years after this fellowship expired, he appeared in Geneva and was granted employment under a temporary contract at the World Research Organization.

Miernik speaks fluent English, Russian, and German, as well as good French. His circle of acquaintances includes many persons of Western nationality. In general, he has avoided political discussion, but he has implied that his strong religious beliefs conflict with Communist teachings. He claims to be a Roman Catholic and regularly attends mass. He has stated that his mother intended him for the priesthood, and that he regrets that political circumstances in Poland prevented his entering on this vocation.