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| Main Directorate of Information of the Polish Army Główny Zarząd Informacji Wojska Polskiego | |
|---|---|
| Common name | Informacja Wojskowa |
| Abbreviation | GZI WP |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1944 |
| Dissolved | 1957 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Poland |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Warsaw |
| Elected officer responsible | |
| Parent agency | Polish People's Army |
Główny Zarząd Informacji Wojska Polskiego (English:Main Directorate of Information of the Polish Army) was an earlymilitary Police andcounter-espionage organ of thePolish People's Army in communistPoland during and afterWorld War II. It is also known by its acronymGZI WP (sometimes shortened toGZI) or simply asInformacja Wojskowa (lit. 'Military Information') .
The GZI was established in 1944 as part of the Polish Military in theUSSR. When it was founded, its officers were predominantlyRussian, having been sourced from the Soviet secret services like theNKGB, theNKVD, andSMERSH. In December 1945, the number ofPoles in the GZI did not surpass 43%, but by 1946–1947, it had grown to 77%. At the GZI's headquarters inWarsaw, the commendatory staff was initially entirely Russian and the first Polish officer was not installed until the end of 1945. By September 1947, almost all important positions at the headquarters were occupied by Polish army officers. In June 1950 headquarters again had been placed under the management of a Russian officer whenDmitrij Wozniesieński (a former SMERSH officer) become the head of GZI. With him came 150 new Russian officers who retook over all executive posts.
In 1945, the number of staff surpassed 1,000 officers. In the next year, because of the demobilization of the armed forces, the number of staff fell to 992. Increasing repression onArmy,Navy andAir Force officers, and the very fast development of the newPolish People's Army, again forced GZI to increase its manpower and the number of new posts. Whilst in January 1951, the number of permanent employees in GZI was 2,740 (1,002officers, 302non-commissioned officers, 1,198privates and 238 civil employees), by January 1953 the number of permanent employees had reached 4,130 people (1,502 officers, 453 non-commissioned officers, 1,795 privates and 380 civilian employees). Newinformers andsecret agents were recruited from regular army, navy and air force units. The biggest number of informers and secret agents was in 1952, when for a total of 356,481 Polish army soldiers there were 24,025 informers and secret agents, working inside military structure. At that time, every seventh soldier in the Polish military was in contact with a GZI officer. It was the approved norm that at least one agent from the GZI should be in each platoon.
In September 1955Główny Zarząd Informacji Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej became part of the Committee for Public Security (Polish:Komitet do spraw Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego; which directly translates from the RussianKomitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti), which was the well known successor toMinisterstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego. The Committee for Public Security then became known as the Main Directorate of Information of Committee for Public Security (GZI KdsBP). It was responsible for the political police, counter-intelligence operations, intelligence operations, and government protection. In November 1956, the GZI KdsBP separated from Committee for Public Security, and returned to its previous role, becoming again the Main Directorate of Information ofMinistry of National Defense.
After the reform instituted byWładysław Gomułka in 1956, and the role GZI played in repressions and executions, one year later in 1957 the Main Directorate of Information of Ministry of National Defense was dismantled and replaced byInternal Military Service (WSW; English:Military Internal Service).
In 1990 the WSW was merged with theSecond Department of Polish General Staff, so that Intelligence and counter-intelligence agents were working under one structure. The agency created by the merger became known asZarząd II Wywiadu i Kontrwywiadu (English:2nd Directorate for Intelligence and Counter-intelligence). The organization structure was accepted by minister of national defence GeneralFlolrian Siwicki, but at the same time, the Polish military and political establishment wasn't happy about the huge size of 2nd Directorate. Eventually, a decision was made to separate the law enforcement part responsible for law and order in military and create a new organization calledZandarmeria Wojskowa. The remaining post-communist services KI, and military intelligence were transformed in to theWojskowe Służby Informacyjne (WSI; English:Military Information Services).
When the agency was founded it was responsible for the:
The GZI was originally organised into eightOddział (English:Branches), which were supported and overseen by the "Office of Strategic Supplies" and the commendatory. By the end of 1945, GZI was made of nine sections and eight lower rank independent sections and detachments. The eight Oddział were:
The person in command of GZI was its "chief". The chief was responsible for GZI actions, and reported directly to first the vice-minister orminister of National Defense.
From 1944 to 1957 GZI WP played a role in cleansing the army of officers and soldiers from the pre-war Polish army who were admitted into the new,Polish People's Army, and was responsible for repressions and executions onHome Army soldiers.
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