Who was Gaston de Cerizay? The never-realized trial of Stanisław Mackiewicz for working with Kultura
When Stanisław “Cat” Mackiewicz, as a signatory of “List 34” in 1964, was deprived of the possibility to publish his writings in the domestic press, he began to write articles under the pseudonym Gaston de Cerizay for Kultura, the Polish-émigré literary-political magazine published in Paris. The Security Service (SB) suspected from the very start that Mackiewicz was hiding behind this name. Cat’s apartment was wiretapped and the SB also intercepted a parcel containing an article by Gaston de Cerizay, he had mailed to an address in France with a request to forward the text to the editor of Kultura, Jerzy Giedroyc. In late June 1965, Mackiewicz was summoned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for interrogation. He confessed that he had been the author of several articles published under the pseudonym in the émigré monthly. In Kultura’s July-August issue of 1965, another article by Gaston de Cerizay appeared, although Mackiewicz staunchly denied being its author. The matter of the authorship of the article is convoluted and unclear. It is likely that it had been written by Cezary Janusz Ketling-Szemley, who had also been charged with sending earlier articles by Cat to Kultura. Could he have been acting on the SB’s instructions in impersonating Mackiewicz? Mackiewicz faced several years of imprisonment for the “subversive” articles published in Kultura. In the fall of 1965 the prosecutor drew up an indictment, but the court suspended the proceedings referring to a medical opinion attesting that Cat was chronically ill. This odd lack of punishment only encouraged Mackiewicz, who, through friends at home and abroad, continued to send articles to Kultura. From the authorities point of view, the best solution to their problem would be for Cat to emigrate again but he had no intention of leaving the country. Finally, on February 16, 1966, under pressure from the Ministry of the Interior, the prosecutor’s office launched an investigation against Mackiewicz. Two days later, however, Cat died and the prosecutor dismissed the case.
When Stanisław “Cat” Mackiewicz, as a signatory of “List 34” in 1964, was deprived of the possibility to publish his writings in the domestic press, he began to write articles under the pseudonym Gaston de Cerizay for Kultura, the Polish-émigré literary-political magazine published in Paris. The Security Service (SB) suspected from the very start that Mackiewicz was hiding behind this name. Cat’s apartment was wiretapped and the SB also intercepted a parcel containing an article by Gaston de Cerizay, he had mailed to an address in France with a request to forward the text to the editor of Kultura, Jerzy Giedroyc. In late June 1965, Mackiewicz was summoned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for interrogation. He confessed that he had been the author of several articles published under the pseudonym in the émigré monthly. In Kultura’s July-August issue of 1965, another article by Gaston de Cerizay appeared, although Mackiewicz staunchly denied being its author. The matter of the authorship of the article is convoluted and unclear. It is likely that it had been written by Cezary Janusz Ketling-Szemley, who had also been charged with sending earlier articles by Cat to Kultura. Could he have been acting on the SB’s instructions in impersonating Mackiewicz? Mackiewicz faced several years of imprisonment for the “subversive” articles published in Kultura. In the fall of 1965 the prosecutor drew up an indictment, but the court suspended the proceedings referring to a medical opinion attesting that Cat was chronically ill. This odd lack of punishment only encouraged Mackiewicz, who, through friends at home and abroad, continued to send articles to Kultura. From the authorities point of view, the best solution to their problem would be for Cat to emigrate again but he had no intention of leaving the country. Finally, on February 16, 1966, under pressure from the Ministry of the Interior, the prosecutor’s office launched an investigation against Mackiewicz. Two days later, however, Cat died and the prosecutor dismissed the case.
