"Invisible", which is the greatest secret of the special services of the Polish People's Republic

There was as much as nothing about the mysterious department's activities.The group was secret enough that "each private officer was convinced that the faculty deals with technical problems within counterintelligence, and thus repair some devices, standard searches in hotels and apartments and that's it".How was it really?What did the officers actually do?And what work methods did they use?- Tomasz Awłasewicz in the book "Invisible" discovers the greatest secret of the special services of the PRL.

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Who, or what is Department IX

Department IX is a special group of counterintelligence that operated during the Polish People's Republic and was subject to the Ministry of the Interior (exactly Department II).The task was to enter regularly - at night, because mainly between.23 and 4 am - to the buildings of embassies and consulates.There, they searched safes and treasures, copied secret documents so that a few hours later they could hit the desks of the highest state officials.Translated from any language.

Employees of Department IX entered not only American institutions and other NATO members (sometimes even twice a week!).Countries outside the alliance?And how!There were also plenty of them;from the Argentina's embassies after e.g..Embassy of Pakistan and Japan.

As in the 70s.I left the facility, I knew that a few hours later such a gierek would sit at home and watch an album with documents photographed by.On the left photo of the original, on the right already earned translation, in the middle of a coffee.It happened so quickly - recalls one of the living officers (their names and surnames were not disclosed).

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top shelf.Elite.

What, i.e. the greatest secrets of the special services of the Polish People's Republic

They were interested in all secret documents - from the current activities of representative offices, including guidelines for commercial negotiations, to the archives of intelligence.It was thanks to their work that Polish counterintelligence "knew the identity of foreign spies, the government had the content of the widest international meetings regarding Poland, and the company's directors knew what the plans of Western companies were".

Another thing is that "the vast majority of people using the information obtained, however, had no idea about where exactly they came from".It did not have representatives of the Specgrupa - as they say: we copied several dozen thousand pages a year and only today we find out what it was.

How, i.e. the details of the campaign in embassies and consulates

They moved in the dark - they rarely illuminated the way with flashlights in their teeth.The hands were occupied and - as they assure - pulled to their knees.Always, for each action, they carried with each other in suitcases several dozen kilos.Radio, pug.In addition, a special folder.And in it copies of the keys, building plans, work graphics and information on security,.And even such detailed notes as: the first step on the stairs between the second and third floor crackling, as it will happen on the left.

Penetracja – bo tak oficjalnie nazwano akcje na obiektach – była starannie zaplanowana. Do pomocy w zdobywaniu cennych informacji werbowano obcokrajowców pracujących w ambasadach albo/i zatrudnionych tam Polaków. Dostarczali dane o zmianach w grafiku sprzątaczek czy np. późniejszych godzinach pracy dyplomatów w danym tygodniu. Wsparciem były także grupy: penetracyjna – wiedziała, jakimi drogami i kiedy zwyczajowo poruszali się pracownicy placówek, a także interwencyjna Biura B. Patrzyli w okna pobliskich domów, wypatrując czy gdzieś nie zapali się światło. Czyścili też ulicę, jeśli niespodziewanie pojawił się na niej dyplomata. Mieli opracowanych kilka(dziesiąt) scenariuszy działań. I tak np. wyjmowali wódkę, brali kilka łyków i udawali pijanych chuliganów. Inny sposób? Na stłuczkę ("zanim skończyliby z nim rozmowę i dopełnili formalności, to nas by już dawno nie było"). Albo podstawienie radiowozu ze swoimi ludźmi przebranymi za policjantów.

After entering, they immediately closed from the inside and put on a blockage so that no one else could get to the building at that time.They applied felt shoes (similar to museum slippers) or stayed in socks.Then he enters the most protected room of the facility - "one second door, cipher mechanism, key locks, electronic" locks ".They used gloves.Before they touched anything.The rules were simple: walk like ghosts, not touch anything, not to talk, you can read in the book "Invisible".

Actually, one sound accompanying them at work was quiet picn.The signal was emitted by radiation equipment held in the hands reminiscent of large calculators (...) Have alerted that being here is deadly.

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All because they also transported a container with radioactive isotopes: cobalt-60 and iridium-192 (they came from the Institute of Nuclear Research in Świerk; to get it, he served as the army).What for?To overcome the castles - mechanical, cipher.High-quality.Thanks to the x -ray of their mechanisms, gamma radiation was obtained by a photo similar to X -rays.There were cutouts in the discs, and this allowed to conclude what movement with the knob must be made to set the shields in the right position and thus open the castle - says one of the officers.

Do you know what the Russians called what we did?"Secret penetration", not "secret entrance".Why the penetration?Because you can enter the ambinate of the ambassador, rummaging in the castle.But it will get inside the bunker (safes were secured with reinforced concrete walls - RED footnote.) without leaving the slightest signs, it deserves to be called penetration.Spear-Mary, sir-emphasizes a member of the Specgrupa.

"Faculty of Lostes"

Standards during work with isotopes were exceeded up to 500 times.Sometimes, during one action, SpecGrupa took a dose 2-3 times higher than working with radiation for a year!

Although these events took place 30 years ago and today knowledge about the effects of radiation is much greater, I would like there to be no doubt: we were not stupid.What we did, we did, with full awareness of the threats that resulted from this work - reserves another officer.

No wonder that the group was also called the "Faculty of Lostes" (apart from the fact that when they were going to the action, they never knew if they would come back from it).And to this day there are no more than 10 people from Department IX;How many exactly were employed in it still unknown.

Those who live their work described briefly: diplomats leaving sejs, doors, put on a thousand padlocks and went home.For Western people, it was simply unbearable that such poor Poles would come at night and leave no signs, overcome the alarm system, operate all the doors and safes of the highest class, and they will also kick disks with interview documents.