Stefan Mikuła, the boy who witnessed history and defied the regime
Born in 1946 in a Zielona Góra in the midst of post-war reconstruction, Stefan Mikuła was a direct witness to the great transformation of the Recovered Territories. His childhood was marked by the arrival of settlers from the Eastern Borderlands, by the reconstruction of a city that had been German and was becoming Polish, and by the silent tension between the authorities and the Church. But it was on May 30, 1960, during the grand celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland, that Stefan—still a child—was caught up in events that would define him forever: the so-called Events of the Catholic House in Zielona Góra, a clash between the faithful and the militia that marked a before and after in the history of the city.
Testimony
Despite the reprisals at school, the incessant surveillance during his adulthood, and the constant threat of the security services, Stefan Mikuła never stopped attending his church or manifesting his faith. His is a story of daily courage, of small acts of resistance that, added together, built a life of dignity under a regime that sought to crush the human spirit. His testimony reminds us that resistance is not only fought in the streets with banners, but also in the privacy of a home, in a whispered prayer, in the decision not to be afraid.
Below, we invite you to listen to his full testimony. In this interview, Stefan Mikuła recounts in first person the events of May 30, 1960, what it meant to grow up in a Poland that sought to silence any dissident voice, and how he faced the repressive apparatus of the State with his head held high. An invaluable document of oral history that we have the duty to preserve and share.