The Prosecutor’s Office at the District Court in Zamość in the years 1944–1950: Selected issues

Abstract

The study is an attempt to present in general terms the institution of the Prosecutor’s Office in the years 1944–1950 in the reality of the Polish state revived after the Second World War. On account of the fact that Zamość was located in the border strip within newly established borders, special attention is paid to the activity of the Prosecutor’s Office at the District Court in Zamość.

The Prosecutor’s Office, just like other state authorities, was created after the Second World War along with the formation of a Polish statehood. The system and the competencies of the post-war Prosecutor’s Office were based on the legal regulations enforced in the interwar period, i.e. the Decree Law of the President of the Republic of Poland on organisation of common law courts dated 6th February, 1928. A capitalist type of prosecutor’s office was established, based on the German model in particular. Although the new authorities did not make any amendments to these regulations in the years 1944–1945, they introduced some legal acts that had an impact on the functioning of the Prosecutor’s Office. The prosecutors’ obligation of loyalty to the political system and the people’s authorities instead of the existing obligation of impartiality was a clear symptom of that. Consequently, the authorities demanded absolute obedience from prosecutors.

The Prosecutor’s Office at the District Court in Zamość began its activity on the initiative of the local authorities after the German occupiers left the region on 1 August 1944. In terms of territory, the Prosecutor’s Office included four districts: Zamość, Tomaszów Lubelski, Biłgoraj and Hrubieszów. The post-war social and political situation, as well as the immediate proximity of the border had a significant influence on the scope of the cases handled by the Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation into the mass murders of Polish people by the Germans in the area of the Zamość “Rotunda” was the greatest challenge for the Prosecutor’s Office at the District Court in Zamość.

The Prosecutor’s Office functioned until the middle of 1950, when, as a result of system changes, it was replaced by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Zamość.