Polish Solidarity Operative Witold Radwanski Reveals the Golden Rule of Konspiracja

TRANSMISSION 028

Witold’s experience as a daring underground operator working within and around the Polish borders offers a view into the relationships, ratlines, allies, enemies, and tradecraft necessary to fund and supply the Solidarity insurgency movement from the late 70s until the Communists were peacefully voted out of power in 1989.  He speaks to me from an apartment in Warsaw near the former Ghetto where his relatives had struggled a generation before him. 

His unassuming codename - Makaron - means ‘noodle' in Polish, which may offer an explanation to why he was never caught.  After the interview he showed me his favorite spot in Old Warsaw to lose a tail, how they encoded messages using poetry, and the home of controversial Polish spy Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski.

This is the first episode in collaboration with my sponsor the Wende Museum of the Cold War in Los Angeles, California.  I’ve included one of my interviews for the The Wende Museum’s Historical Witness Project, sponsored by Fiona Chalum and Joel Aronowitz, which seeks to preserve voices of the Cold War for future generations.  In November of last year I went to Warsaw, Poland to help retrieve historical documents and samzidat (smuggled during the near decade of martial law) for an upcoming exhibit for the Wende Museum.  I interviewed several key players in the Polish anti-communist movement, one of whom is my guest for this episode - Witold Radwanski.   thelivedrop.com

Hello Listener,

If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more, please consider signing up as a contributing patron and join the community for exclusive commentary, and content.  A $10 a month donation will really keep us going ---> https://www.patreon.com/thelivedrop Alternatively, if you would like to help make Season Three operational you could offer a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop Thank you for listening and your support, Mark Valley

Creator/Host

  Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.