Stanisław Krakiewicz (born 16 May 1892 in Dubienka, died 4 January 1985 in Warsaw) was a legal advisor for the Polish Ministry of Public Works during the interwar period and actively participated in the military actions of 1920 and 1939. He was a long-time activist and one of the leaders of the . After World War II, he became one of the founders of the United Evangelical Church, serving as its president from 1947 to 1975.
In 1950, Krakiewicz was arrested and sentenced to many years in prison. After being released in 1952 due to an amnesty, he adopted a conciliatory approach towards the authorities, for which he was repeatedly recognized. Towards the end of his life, he was expelled from the United Evangelical Church and joined the Baptists.
Krakiewicz primarily published in the monthly magazine . A collection of selected articles was published in the book Aby byli jedno (English: That They May Be One) in 1975.
Early life Stanisław Krakiewicz was born on 16 May 1892 in Dubienka, in the Lublin Voivodeship, into a Roman Catholic family. His father, Franciszek Krakiewicz (1852–1923), was a farmer and also worked as a coachman, transporting various goods and people from Hrubieszów to Dubienka. Krakiewicz had six siblings. His brother Feliks was a social activist and led a partisan group during the German occupation. Another brother, Tomasz, was a Roman Catholic priest and later, from 1907 to 1922, a member of the Mariavite Church. Part of the Krakiewicz family cooperated with the Home Army during the occupation.
Krakiewicz began his education in his hometown, completing five grades of primary school before continuing at the progymnasium in Hrubieszów (founded by Stanisław Staszic). Starting from the fourth grade of gymnasium, due to the family's difficult financial situation, he supported himself. In 1908, he continued his education at the gymnasium in Chełm, and from 1911 in Płock. He graduated from high school in 1912.
In 1908, Krakiewicz began to take an interest in politics, sympathizing with the Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction. He read brochures published by the party, propagated its ideas, and distributed leaflets during International Workers' Day celebrations. Between 1911 and 1917, he lived with the Mariavites in Płock, where he had no contact with Polish Socialist Party activists.
He enrolled in the law faculty at the University of Warsaw. He participated in the Polish–Soviet War in 1920, volunteering and being assigned to the 5th Infantry Regiment of the 18th Infantry Division. During his studies, he was interested in theosophy and messianism, reading works by , Józef Hoene-Wroński, and Blaise Pascal. His belief in the missionary role of the Polish nation accompanied him throughout his life. He graduated in 1924 with a master's degree in law.
Legal career After completing his studies, Krakiewicz began his career in the civil service. He initially worked in the Legal and Construction Department of the Ministry of Public Works. He served as a personal secretary to , , , and Gabriel Narutowicz. From 1921, he worked as a personnel referent, and from 1926 as a legal advisor in the Ministry of Public Works. In 1932, he joined the Department of Construction at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, becoming the deputy head of the Legal and Construction Department. In 1936, he became the deputy chairman of the Appeals Disciplinary Commission at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In 1939, Krakiewicz participated in the September Campaign, being assigned to the censorship office. His unit disbanded on September 17. During the German occupation, he collaborated with a group of Polish specialists on plans for the country's future reconstruction, working with Professor Bohdan Pniewski, Adam Kuncewicz, , and . He spent the Warsaw Uprising period in Radość near Warsaw. In the post-war years, he worked as the head of the legal department at the Ministry of Reconstruction. He retired in 1953.
Religious conversions
Stanisław Krakiewicz was born into a Roman Catholic family. His attachment to Catholicism was shaken after reading Andrzej Niemojewski's book Explanations of the Catechism, which argued that the catechism led to mindlessness, hypocrisy, and fanaticism. Niemojewski also critically assessed the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in the context of the Mariavite movement. In 1911, Krakiewicz moved to the Mariavite monastery in Felicjanów and converted to Mariavitism. In 1914, he was ordained as a deacon by Bishop , taking the monastic name Maria Tomasz. He left the Mariavites in 1917 and showed no interest in religious matters until 1925. From 1918, Krakiewicz engaged in political activities with the Polish Socialist Party, which he continued until 1925.
In 1925, he joined the and soon became the leader of the , a role he later held within the United Evangelical Church for over 50 years. During the war, he closely collaborated with Baptists, a relationship he continued in the post-war years. From 1945 to 1947, he served as the secretary of the board of the Baptist Christian Church of the Republic of Poland. Between 24 and 26 May 1947, together with , he organized the Brotherly Conference in Ustroń, where the United Evangelical Church was established, and he became its president.
Arrest and imprisonment The Security Office began gathering information about Krakiewicz as early as 1946. From September 1947, his correspondence was monitored. Early assessments by the Security Office inaccurately identified him, even mistaking him for a Roman Catholic. The officers were interested in his activities during the Sanation regime and the German occupation. On 24 June 1950, the Fourth and Fifth Departments of the Ministry of Public Security opened an agent investigation into Krakiewicz, suspecting him of espionage.
On the night from 19 to 20 September 1950, Krakiewicz was arrested by the Security Office during Operation B on charges of "intelligence work". During the initial interrogations, he was asked about his life story, particularly his activities in the interwar period. He was tortured during interrogations, leading to his breakdown. In April and May 1951, he provided information that partly confirmed the suspicions of the Security Office, admitting that Evangelical activists engaged in political activities before, during, and after the war. He also confirmed that foreign emissaries of sects inquired about Poland's political and economic situation, though he denied that anyone had answered such questions. His testimonies reinforced the Ministry of Public Security's belief in the legitimacy of the arrests. Arkadiusz Liberman, deputy head of Department III of Department V of the Ministry of Public Security, considered that the testimony could serve as a starting point for further investigation and provide a perspective for achieving results.
In 1951, Krakiewicz fell seriously ill for several months. A medical commission on 13 September 1951 diagnosed him with atherosclerotic degeneration of the heart muscle, hypotension, secondary anemia, and gastritis, assessing that his life was in danger.
On December 3, Władysław Góra drafted an indictment. The verdict's justification included accusations such as: In 1932, Krakiewicz received a booklet titled 'What Awaits Us' from in Warsaw, which he kept in his library until his arrest on 19 September 1950. The booklet 'Bolshevism and Communism' slanderously depicted the conditions in the Soviet Union in the 1920s regarding youth education and the political-economic situation. In 1946, Krakiewicz resumed contacts with representatives of foreign missions belonging to related sects, namely with Leas and Fugowski, discussing the economic situation in Poland. In the summer of 1946, in Warsaw, Krakiewicz received $100 from Leas as aid, which he sold in June 1950 for 200,000 PLN, using the money to finance a lawyer for his relative.On 19 December 1951, he was handed over to the General Prosecutor's Office along with the indictment. During the trial, the focus was on his work for the Government Delegation for Poland during the occupation. In January 1952, he was sentenced to two years in prison for "whispering propaganda" and "illegal foreign currency trade". In prison, he was surveilled, and fellow inmates reported on him, alleging that he sang religious songs in German. He was released on 8 October 1952. The prison experience left a lasting impact on him, and he was convinced that Szymon Biliński contributed to his arrest. He warned prospective clergy that they too could face imprisonment.
President of the United Evangelical Church After his release from prison, Stanisław Krakiewicz was elected as the president of the United Evangelical Church. As president, he frequently violated the existing United Evangelical Church Statute. He often stated, I will accept the position of president of the council if the Brothers entrust me with this mandate. He made efforts to expand the United Evangelical Church, encouraging Baptists to join his church, but they remained cautious and accused Krakiewicz of inconsistency. Supporting his faction, he entrusted church agendas to its activists. He maintained good relations with the , and trusted him. Under Krakiewicz's influence, Kiryłowicz opposed separatist tendencies within the United Evangelical Church. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs Department IV had limited trust in him. Colonel Stanisław Wypych believed Krakiewicz did not have control over the United Evangelical Church situation.
In the 1960s, Krakiewicz had successes in effectively resolving conflicts at the congregation level. In Międzyrzecz, he attempted to take over part of the Methodist Church members by establishing a United Evangelical Church branch. In 1966, he attracted a group of Jehovah's Witnesses to the congregation in Zielona Góra, which was positively received by the authorities. He also tried to win over followers of other religious groups in Żary. In October 1966, the United Evangelical Church Presidium transferred 7,350 kg of Bible paper to the Pallottines for the needs of the Millennium Bible. This transaction was carried out without the knowledge of the Office for Religious Affairs. informed his handling officer (Major Władysław Setla) about this. Consequently, Krakiewicz and Teodor Maksymowicz (the United Evangelical Church treasurer) were summoned by political and religious authorities, which lowered their trust in Krakiewicz.
In a letter to district presbyters on 12 December 1970, Krakiewicz informed them that the United Evangelical Church was not authorized to operate outside the country's borders and, therefore, had no right to smuggle Russian Bibles into the Soviet Union. He actively participated in the activities of the Polish Ecumenical Council and the Christian Peace Conference. From 1970 to 1975, he fought against Pentecostals, trying to impose pastors from other groups on congregations where Pentecostals were the majority (e.g., in Szczecin, Legnica, Oleśnica, Wrocław, Poznań, Przemyśl).