AdamRed222
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Before I will explain the case, I will first have to give context. Bohdan Piasecki was the son of Boleslaw Piasecki, a Polish nationalist activist and founder of the Falanga movement from the Interwar Period. Boleslaw was an antisemite, he had fascist sympathies, and his movement led antisemitic attacks on Jews. However, following World War Two, Boleslaw changed sides and joined the communist camp. He founded the Pax association, an association of priests and members of the clergy who worked with the Polish communist government.
On January 22, 1957, at approximately 1:50 PM, near the intersection with Wejnerta Street in Warsaw, 15-year-old Bohdan Piasecki and his friends were approached by a man. The man showed Bohdan some documents and had Bohdan come with him to a nearby taxi. Inside the taxi was another man and the taxi's driver, Ignacy Ekerling. The taxi drove to a house at 82a Świerczewskiego Avenue, where Bohdan was murdered the same day he was taken. Bohdan's two friends would later inform his father about what happened. Two hours later, the kidnappers called Bolesław Piasecki, informing him that there was a letter for him at Post Office No. 1. In the message, the kidnappers demanded four thousand American dollars and one thousand zlotys. Two days later, the kidnappers called Piasecki and instructed him to go with the money to the "Kameralna" restaurant on Foksal Street. A priest and close friend of Boleslaw Piasecki, along with two militiamen, was sent there. At the premises, the priest was informed by phone that he needed to go to the building at 65 Na Skarpie Avenue. There, he was instructed to go to 16 Jakubowska Street, from where the kidnappers ordered him to drive to Wal Miedzeszynski. Ultimately, the kidnappers did not show up.
Later the same day, 22nd January 1957, police interviewed Ignacy Ekerling. Ekerling simply testified that his taxi was rented by the two men and that he was not involved in the kidnapping. The police officers found that the driver's testimony was full of contradictions, and in many respects did not match the accounts given by other witnesses, including the location and time the car stopped on Wejnerta Street and who was sitting in the taxi and in what configuration. On 1st April 1958, Ekerling was arrested and his house was searched. During the search, police found handwritten notes that contained the details of people living in houses where the kidnappers had left clues for Boleslaw Piasecki. His notes also contained the details of Security Service employees he knew: Jan Kossowski, Torunczyk, and Kostanski. These 3 men travelled to Israel on the same day Bohdan was kidnapped. On December 8, 1958, the body of Bohdan Piasecki was discovered in the basement of the house at 82a Świerczewskiego Avenue during an inspection done by the plumbers. Later, the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party called for the investigation to a halt. For the rest of his life, Boleslaw Piasecki tried to get the government to continue the investigation but he failed. Boleslaw Piasecki died in December 1979 while Ignacy Ekerling died in October 1977.
There are multiple theories on who killed Bohdan Piasecki. For example, the murder was possibly a revenge plot against Boleslaw Piasecki for his antisemitic actions during the interwar and the post-war period. Ekerling, Kossowski, Torunczyk, and Kostanski were of Jewish origin or of Jewish descent. Another theory is that a faction within the Workers' Party organized the kidnapping. At the time, Poland was undergoing a process of de-Stalinization, which the faction supported but which Boleslaw Piasecki opposed. Another theory argued that former soldiers of the National Armed Forces, a right-wing underground resistance group from World War Two, organized the kidnapping. They did this to get revenge on Piasecki for joining the communists.
The link below is the only link I could get about Piasecki's case. This is an English website. Should I add links to Polish websites that talk about the case?
christopherothen.wordpress.com
On January 22, 1957, at approximately 1:50 PM, near the intersection with Wejnerta Street in Warsaw, 15-year-old Bohdan Piasecki and his friends were approached by a man. The man showed Bohdan some documents and had Bohdan come with him to a nearby taxi. Inside the taxi was another man and the taxi's driver, Ignacy Ekerling. The taxi drove to a house at 82a Świerczewskiego Avenue, where Bohdan was murdered the same day he was taken. Bohdan's two friends would later inform his father about what happened. Two hours later, the kidnappers called Bolesław Piasecki, informing him that there was a letter for him at Post Office No. 1. In the message, the kidnappers demanded four thousand American dollars and one thousand zlotys. Two days later, the kidnappers called Piasecki and instructed him to go with the money to the "Kameralna" restaurant on Foksal Street. A priest and close friend of Boleslaw Piasecki, along with two militiamen, was sent there. At the premises, the priest was informed by phone that he needed to go to the building at 65 Na Skarpie Avenue. There, he was instructed to go to 16 Jakubowska Street, from where the kidnappers ordered him to drive to Wal Miedzeszynski. Ultimately, the kidnappers did not show up.
Later the same day, 22nd January 1957, police interviewed Ignacy Ekerling. Ekerling simply testified that his taxi was rented by the two men and that he was not involved in the kidnapping. The police officers found that the driver's testimony was full of contradictions, and in many respects did not match the accounts given by other witnesses, including the location and time the car stopped on Wejnerta Street and who was sitting in the taxi and in what configuration. On 1st April 1958, Ekerling was arrested and his house was searched. During the search, police found handwritten notes that contained the details of people living in houses where the kidnappers had left clues for Boleslaw Piasecki. His notes also contained the details of Security Service employees he knew: Jan Kossowski, Torunczyk, and Kostanski. These 3 men travelled to Israel on the same day Bohdan was kidnapped. On December 8, 1958, the body of Bohdan Piasecki was discovered in the basement of the house at 82a Świerczewskiego Avenue during an inspection done by the plumbers. Later, the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party called for the investigation to a halt. For the rest of his life, Boleslaw Piasecki tried to get the government to continue the investigation but he failed. Boleslaw Piasecki died in December 1979 while Ignacy Ekerling died in October 1977.
There are multiple theories on who killed Bohdan Piasecki. For example, the murder was possibly a revenge plot against Boleslaw Piasecki for his antisemitic actions during the interwar and the post-war period. Ekerling, Kossowski, Torunczyk, and Kostanski were of Jewish origin or of Jewish descent. Another theory is that a faction within the Workers' Party organized the kidnapping. At the time, Poland was undergoing a process of de-Stalinization, which the faction supported but which Boleslaw Piasecki opposed. Another theory argued that former soldiers of the National Armed Forces, a right-wing underground resistance group from World War Two, organized the kidnapping. They did this to get revenge on Piasecki for joining the communists.
The link below is the only link I could get about Piasecki's case. This is an English website. Should I add links to Polish websites that talk about the case?
A Kidnapping In Poland
If you get lost in the woods, leave a trail of breadcrumbs. Don’t stay out after dark. Don’t talk to strangers. The schoolboy is walking along Warsaw’s ulica Naruszewicza with two friends. It is th…
christopherothen.wordpress.com
