Identity Statement

Reference Code

HU OSA 300-50-6

Title

Program Transcripts and Background Material Relating to Józef Swiatlo

Date(s)

1954 - 1955

Description Level

Series

Extent and medium (processed)

8 Archival boxes, 1.0 linear meters

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Abstract)

Józef Światło was born in Poland in 1915. He joined the Communist movement in 1933, and became a Polish Security Service officer in 1945. He rose to the rank of Deputy Chief of Department X, which was responsible for protecting the Communist Party from non-Party subversive forces and for protecting "the purity of the Party from within the Party".
After his escape into the United States, Jozef Swiatlo made his first public statements in Milwaukee, in carefully controlled testimony given before a Congressional Committee on 21 and 22 October 1954, and again a few weeks later in Washington. His testimony was recorded and broadcast over RFE on 28 September. Until 31 December he was a constant figure on RFE's Polish Service broadcasts: one hundred taped programs and almost 150 news items. These programs were called, "a brilliant tactical decision that brought unforseeable strategic gains," and "one of the most successful pieces of radio propaganda ever’.
The series includes original texts, background reports, Information Items and press clippings on the Światło case.

Accruals

Not Expected

System of arrangement

Arranged by types and thereunder chronologically

Conditions of Access and Use

Conditions governing access

Unknown

Languages

English, Polish

Description Control

Archivist's note

Processed by Miklós Tamási, September 30, 2002.