Christopher Andrew - The Sword and the Shield

The anti-Socialist forces are not only gaining sway in many large industrial enterprises, but are also continuing to spread their influence among ever wider segments of the population. Worse still, the leaders of Solidarity and the counter-revolutionaries are still appearing before various audiences and making openly inflammatory speeches aimed at stirring up nationalist passions and directed against the PUWP and against Socialism. The direct consequence of this is the dangerous growth of anti-Sovietism in Poland.

…The leaders of the anti-Socialist forces… are placing great store by the fact that a new group of recruits will be entering the army who have been worked on by Solidarity. Doesn’t this suggest to you that a failure to take harsh measures against the counter-revolutionaries right away will cost you valuable time? 54

Jaruzelski seems finally to have given way to Soviet pressure at the beginning of December. He told a meeting of the PUWP Politburo on December 5 that, after thirty-six years of the “people’s power” in Poland, there sadly seemed no alternative to using “police methods” against the working class. The Politburo unanimously accepted the need to declare martial law. 55The main details of its implementation were worked out under the supervision of Kiszczak, 56who briefed Pavlov on December 7. One hundred and fifty-seven SB and other interior ministry personnel had been sent around the provinces in groups of up to five to ensure that preparations had been made to isolate and arrest Solidarity leaders and other “extremists.” Pavlov reported to the Centre that the SB had agents “at all levels of Solidarity,” and intended that, where possible, these agents should step into the shoes of the arrested activists. Their main task after the declaration of martial law would be to prevent workers from going on strike or taking to the streets. 57Suspect members of the government and Party leadership were placed under close SB surveillance. Kania’s former supporter, Barcikowski, told his friends that the SB followed him wherever he went and recorded all his telephone calls. 58

On the night of December 8-9 Jaruzelski briefed Marshal Kulikov on the timetable for martial law. Approximately 80,000 personnel had been selected to arrest 6,000 Solidarity activists on the night of either December 11-12 or 12-13. Troops would begin moving from their barracks at 6 a.m. on the morning after the arrests. Though the plans appeared resolute, however, Jaruzelski did not. “During our discussions,” Kulikov reported, “W. Jaruzelski’s indecisiveness and wavering and his apprehension about the successful implementation of the plan to impose martial law were palpable.” The PUWP, Jaruzelski complained, had little authority left. Six to seven hundred thousand of its members were associated with Solidarity, and it was compromised by numerous instances of theft, bribery and other abuses of the people’s trust. For martial law to succeed, it might be necessary for him to appeal for assistance from Warsaw Pact forces—though he asked for East German troops not to be used. “I can assure you that you have no need for concern on that score,” Kulikov told him. “The question of assisting you in the event that your own resources become exhausted is being addressed at General Staff level.” 59

On December 9 Milewski brought Pavlov further evidence of Jaruzelski’s anxious state of mind. Jaruzelski had still not set a date for the introduction of martial law. If the Church opposed martial law, Jaruzelski had told him, Glemp would turn into “a second Khomeini.” 60Next day the CPSU Politburo met in emergency session to discuss the Polish crisis. It began by hearing a report from Nikolai Baibakov of Gosplan, just returned from a visit to Warsaw to discuss Poland’s appeal for economic assistance. Jaruzelski, Baibakov reported, had become an “extremely neurotic” wreck, terrified that Glemp would declare a holy war. Though all the Politburo members who spoke after Baibakov made scathing criticisms of Jaruzelski, none suggested trying to replace him. It was plainly too late for that. There was general agreement, too, that Soviet forces must not intervene. Andropov declared bluntly:

If Comrade Kulikov actually did speak about the introduction of troops, then I believe he did this incorrectly. We can’t risk such a step. We don’t intend to introduce troops into Poland. That is the proper position, and we must adhere to it until the end. I don’t know how things will turn out in Poland, but even if Poland falls under the control of Solidarity, that’s the way it will be. 61

Jaruzelski complained to Milewski and others that, by refusing to allow Warsaw Pact military intervention if Polish security forces proved unable to cope, the Soviet Politburo had let him down:

They pressed us to take firm and decisive action, and the Soviet leaders promised to provide all the assistance and support needed. But now, when we have made a firm decision to take action and we would like to discuss it with the Soviet leaders, we cannot get a concrete answer from the Soviet comrades.

Jaruzelski was gloomy about the prospects for martial law without Soviet military support. “We’re about to go on the offensive,” he told Milewski, “but I’m afraid that later on we’ll be branded as conspirators and hanged.” Milewski rang Andropov to report what Jaruzelski had said. 62

Until the very last moment Moscow continued to fear that Jaruzelski’s nerve would crack. On December 11 Aristov, Kulikov and Pavlov jointly reported to the Politburo that all the preparations for “operation X” (the enforcement of martial law) had been completed. But:

In view of W. Jaruzelski’s inclination toward vacillation and doubt, we can’t exclude the possibility that, under pressure from the episcopate and other forces, he may refuse to take the final decision and will pursue the line of making concessions and agreements. In the light of the current situation, such a step could prove fatal for the PUWP and for the future of Socialism in Poland. 63

On Saturday December 12 Jaruzelski telephoned Brezhnev and Suslov, asked for and received their approval for operation X to begin that evening. 64The KGB mission in Warsaw, however, was still not convinced that Jaruzelski would go ahead. He continued to agonize over whether the loss of life which might be necessary to prevent Solidarity turning Poland into “a bourgeois state” could possibly be justified. And if martial law failed, he was convinced that all those responsible for declaring it would be “physically eliminated.” “If we fail,” said Jaruzelski, “there will be nothing left for me to do but to put a bullet in my head.” 65Pavlov also reported that if Jaruzelski’s nerve failed, Olszowski was prepared to stage a coup—provided he had the backing of Moscow. Olszowski’s plan of action included the immediate arrest of Solidarity leaders; the prohibition of strikes and protests; the confiscation of food supplies in the countryside; close “economic cooperation” with the Soviet Union; the enforcement of martial law throughout the country; and the sealing of Polish borders. 66

To Pavlov’s relief, Kiszczak, who was in charge of implementing operation X, appeared much more resolute than Jaruzelski. In the course of Saturday December 12 he provided the KGB with the detailed timetable of the operation. At 11:30 p.m., telephone communications throughout the country would be shut down; all embassies would lose their landline connections; communications abroad would cease; and the borders would be closed. Foreign reporters without permanent accreditation would be expelled. The arrests would begin at midnight. Four thousand two hundred would be detained overnight and another 4,500 placed in “protective custody” on Sunday December 13. Wałęsa would be asked to enter talks with the government and arrested if he refused. In a broadcast at 6 a.m. Jaruzelski would declare martial law and announce the creation of a “Military Council for National Salvation.” In order to keep people at home and off the streets on Sunday, church services would—unusually—be televised. If necessary, Monday December 14 would be declared a public holiday. The security forces had orders to open fire if they encountered serious resistance. But, Kiszczak warned, there was no guarantee of success: