EIOCO-European Institute on Communist Oppression

18/03/2026

Bitter peace. The 1921 Treaty of Riga.

In November 1918, when Poland regained independence after 123 years of slavery, it had five difficult years ahead of it, struggling to recover the lost borders and to get them internationally recognised.

➡The Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1920, which officially ended with the signing of the peace treaty in Riga on 18 March 1921, was of greatest importance and consequence for the fate of the Republic of Poland and Europe.

➡The peace treaty was concluded in two stages - on 12 October 1920 the peace preliminaries were signed, which resulted in the end of fighting on the front, and then, after arduous and difficult negotiations, the final treaty was signed on 18 March 1921. It included provisions on, i.a., the course of the borderline between Poland and Soviet Russia, mutual respect for each other’s national sovereignty, and not supporting military action against the other side.

➡Furthermore, the Soviets undertook to respect the rights of Poles living in Soviet Russia, return to Poland cultural property seized during the annexations and pay 30 million roubles in gold.

➡The Treaty also put an end to Vladimir Lenin’s original plan to spread the flame of communist revolution to Western Europe, thus forcing the Soviets to build communism in one country. Unfortunately, Soviet imperialism was curbed for less than 20 years. Following Hitler’s Germany’s alliance with the Soviet Union in August 1939, the world created after the Great War was buried.

🔎 Read the article “Bitter Peace. The 1921 Treaty of Riga”.
➡ https://tiny.pl/w60bqz-3

📥Download our digital exhibition “The Treaty of Riga 1921”.
➡ https://tiny.pl/6rs9c19c

16/03/2026

A week after International Women’s Day, I find myself reflecting on what March 8 has meant in different parts of the world.
Today, the day is widely celebrated as a milestone in the advancement of women’s rights. Yet behind the former Iron Curtain, it once carried a very different meaning: carnations, a pack of pantyhose, official ceremonies and carefully crafted propaganda all masking a hollow promise of equality.

In this reflection, I revisit the complex history of the day and contrast its ideological use under communist regimes with the lived experiences of women who endured them. Through stories from , , and , we are reminded that the true meaning of freedom, dignity and resilience was not proclaimed in slogans it was lived and defended by women who quietly resisted, persevered, and helped shape the path toward real liberty.
My article for EIOCO-European Institute on Communist Oppression and CUExplorer: 👉 https://eioco.nl/en/international-womens-day-from-socialist-ideals-to-somber-memories/

Photo taken at a Grutas Park in Lithuania ©Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska

Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska Every year, International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide, often seen as a positive day for women’s rights and equality. For me and many others born under communism, however, March 8 carries a very different, somber meaning: a day shaped by propaganda rather than gen...

14/03/2026

International Women’s Day is widely celebrated as a triumph of women’s rights. Yet behind the former Iron Curtain, March 8 once carried a very different meaning: a pack of pantyhose, carnations, propaganda, and a hollow promise of equality. Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska revisits the complex history of the day, contrasting its ideological use under communist regimes with the real stories of women from , and whose courage under totalitarian oppression revealed the true meaning of freedom, dignity, and resilience.
https://eioco.nl/en/international-womens-day-from-socialist-ideals-to-somber-memories/

Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska Every year, International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide, often seen as a positive day for women’s rights and equality. For me and many others born under communism, however, March 8 carries a very different, somber meaning: a day shaped by propaganda rather than gen...

09/03/2026

On Friday evening, 6 March, our vice-chairman Patrick van Schie delivered an engaging lecture at the in on the history of women’s suffrage. The event was part of the activities organized around under the theme “Combative Women, Resilient Democracy.”

The lecture not only highlighted the struggle for women’s voting rights, but also the importance of free elections and democracy. Van Schie emphasized that under dictatorships voting rights are meaningless: in communist regimes women formally had the right to vote, but there was only one party to vote for.

He guided the audience through the historical road to women’s suffrage in free democracies from (1893) and (1906) to in 1919 and also discussed developments in countries such as , , and

Today universal suffrage for women and men is widely accepted. Yet by looking at history and at present-day dictatorships we are reminded how valuable truly free elections with multiple political parties are.

Read the full article below.

On Friday evening, 6 March 2026, our vice-chairman, Patrick van Schie, delivered a lecture on women’s suffrage at the museum of the Maczek Memorial in Breda. This was part of the “Strijdbare vrouwen, weerbare democratie” (“Combative Women, Resilient Democracy”) activities that the Maczek M...

09/03/2026

Lezing over vrouwenkiesrecht in het Maczek Memorial

Op vrijdagavond 6 maart gaf onze vice-voorzitter Patrick van Schie in het Maczek Memorial Breda een boeiende lezing over de geschiedenis van het vrouwenkiesrecht. De bijeenkomst maakte deel uit van de activiteiten rond Internationale Vrouwendag met het thema “Strijdbare vrouwen, weerbare democratie.”

Tijdens de lezing stond niet alleen de strijd voor vrouwenkiesrecht centraal, maar ook het belang van vrije verkiezingen en democratie. Van Schie liet zien dat stemrecht onder een dictatuur weinig betekent: in communistische regimes mochten vrouwen wel stemmen, maar er was slechts één partij om op te stemmen.

Hij nam het publiek mee langs de historische weg naar vrouwenkiesrecht in vrije democratieën van Nieuw-Zeeland (1893) en Finland (1906) tot Nederland in 1919 en belichtte ook hoe dit proces verliep in landen als Polen, België en Groot-Brittannië.

Vandaag vinden we algemeen kiesrecht vanzelfsprekend. Maar juist door naar de geschiedenis én naar hedendaagse dictaturen – te kijken, beseffen we hoe waardevol vrije verkiezingen met meerdere partijen zijn.

👉 Lees het volledige verslag van de lezing hieronder.

Op vrijdagavond 6 maart 2026 hield onze vice-voorzitter, Patrick van Schie, in het museum van het Maczek Memorial Te Breda een lezing over vrouwenkiesrecht. Dit in het kader van de ‘Strijdbare vrouwen, weerbare democratie’-activiteiten die Maczek Memorial in 2026 rond Internationale Vrouwendag o...

08/03/2026

01/03/2026

On 1 March, observes the National Day of Remembrance of the “Cursed Soldiers”, a state holiday established in 2011 to honor members of the anti-communist underground who continued to fight for Poland’s sovereignty after 1945.

These men and women resisted the Soviet-backed regime imposed on Poland at the end of the Second World War. For decades under rule, they were denounced as criminals and traitors. Today, many are recognized as symbols of resistance and unwavering commitment to independence. Historians estimate that up to 300,000 people were involved in the anti-communist underground between 1944 and 1963. The last of them, Józef Franczak, known by the nom de guerre “Lalek,” was killed in 1963, marking the end of an era of armed resistance.

Among the most extraordinary figures associated with both the wartime and post-war struggle for freedom was Witold Pilecki.

A cavalry captain in the Polish Army and a member of the Home Army, Pilecki demonstrated unparalleled courage. On 19 September 1940, during the German occupation of Poland, he deliberately allowed himself to be arrested in Warsaw in order to be sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. His mission was almost unimaginable: to infiltrate the camp, establish a resistance network inside, and gather intelligence on the atrocities being committed there.

While imprisoned, Pilecki organized underground structures among inmates and sent out what became the first comprehensive reports on the Holocaust and the mass extermination carried out by N**i Germany at Auschwitz. His accounts reached the Western Allies, providing some of the earliest eyewitness evidence of the scale of the crimes.

After the war, Pilecki continued his service to an independent Poland by joining the anti-communist underground. In 1947, he was arrested by the communist authorities, brutally interrogated, and sentenced to death in a show trial. He was executed in 1948. His reported final words were: “Long live free Poland.”

For decades, his name was erased from official history.

Today, as Poland commemorates the “Cursed Soldiers,” Pilecki’s life stands as a reminder of the moral complexity of the 20th century and of the individuals who chose resistance over resignation, even when the cost was their own lives.

European Institute on Communist Oppression

By Beata Bruggeman-Sękowska On September 19, 1940 Witold Pilecki, a member of the Secret Polish Army, let himself get caught and arrested by German policemen in Warsaw in order to be sent to Auschwitz death camp. His intention was to infiltrate the camp, set up a resistance network there and gather...

28/02/2026

45 years ago, on February 28, 1981, the authorities of the People’s Republic of Poland introduced ration cards for meat and cold cuts. Initially, they were supposed to last only a few months – but they persisted until 1989.

The rationing was a result of growing shortages and the crisis of the centrally planned economy. The cards did not guarantee the goods; they only gave the right to purchase them. Queues did not disappear, and over time the system came to cover more and more products.

Today, ration cards remain a symbol of the realities of the PRL — limitations, shortages, and the daily struggle for basic products.

45 lat temu, 28 lutego 1981 roku, władze PRL wprowadziły kartki na mięso i wędliny. Początkowo miały obowiązywać kilka miesięcy – przetrwały aż do 1989 roku.

Reglamentacja była efektem narastających niedoborów i kryzysu gospodarki centralnie sterowanej. Kartki nie gwarantowały towaru, dawały jedynie prawo do jego zakupu. Kolejki nie znikały, a system z czasem obejmował coraz więcej produktów.

Dziś kartki pozostają symbolem realiów PRL - ograniczeń, braków i codziennej walki o podstawowe produkty.

24/02/2026

On 24 February 1918, declared independence, founding the Republic of Estonia. Its independence was forcibly ended in 1940 when the country was incorporated into the Soviet Union, followed by a brief N**i German occupation between 1941 and 1944.
This cover photo was taken by me at the Patarei Memorial Museum for Victims of Communism, a powerful reminder of the decades of suffering under Soviet occupation. Between 30,000 and 75,000 Estonians were deported to Siberia and other remote regions of the Soviet Union in a country of just over one million people at the time.
Estonia restored its independence in 1991. Yet today, with renewed Russian aggression in Ukraine, history reminds us why freedom, sovereignty and vigilance still matter.
https://eioco.nl/en/estonias-struggle-for-independence-and-freedom/

Photo taken at Patarei Memorial Museum for Victims of Communism ©Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska The Estonian people fought for their independence from the Russian Empire between 1917 and 1920. Following the turmoil of World War I and the collapse of the Russian Empire, Estonia...

24/02/2026

Lezing ‘De liberale strijd voor het vrouwenkiesrecht’
Maczek Memorial Breda | 19.30 – 21.00uur (gratis toegang)

Lezing door Patrick van Schie. Vice-voorzitter van het Europees Instituut over de Communistische Onderdrukking (EIOCO) en mede-auteur van het boek ‘De liberale strijd voor vrouwenkiesrecht’.

Het voorwoord en de introductie van de lezing door Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska. Voorzitter van het Europees Instituut over de Communistische Onderdrukking (EIOCO) en hoofdredacteur van het Midden- en Oost-Europa Centrum CUExplorer

De strijd voor vrouwenkiesrecht wordt vaak gekoppeld aan het feminisme in het algemeen en daarmee geplaatst aan de linkerzijde van het politieke spectrum. Toch speelden juist liberalen een belangrijke rol in de eerste feministische golf. Klassiek-liberale denkers hielden zich eind negentiende en begin twintigste eeuw steeds meer bezig met de positie en rechten van vrouwen. Het gaat niet alleen over de realisatie van vrouwenkiesrecht, maar ook over de rol die liberalen speelden in andere vrouwenkwesties na de eerste feministische golf. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan de positie van de vrouw in het arbeids- en huwelijksrecht en de strijd voor de legalisatie van abortus. Daarbij worden de ontwikkelingen in Nederland vergeleken met die in de ons omringende landen.

Maczek Memorial, Breda 6 maart | 19.30 – 21.00uur (gratis toegang) Lezing door Patrick van Schie. Vice-voorzitter van het Europees Instituut over de Communistische Onderdrukking (EIOCO) en mede-auteur van het boek ‘De liberale strijd voor vrouwenkiesrecht’. Het voorwoord en de introductie van ...

09/02/2026

Boeksignalement van Emmanuel Waegemans, Samizdat. Geschiedenis van de Russische ondergrondse
Door Patrick van Schie
''Direct nadat de communisten in Rusland in oktober/november 1917 hun staatsgreep pleegden stelden zij censuur in. Niet alleen kranten en politieke berichten maar alle publicaties werden onder controle van de communistische partij gebracht. De Russische filosoof Vasili Rozanov constateerde meteen dat er een “ijzeren gordijn” [!] werd neergelaten. De schrijver Konstantin Paoestovski schreef hierover: “De middeleeuwen verbleekten bij de wreedheid, de teugelloosheid en de plotseling uitbrekende barbaarsheid van de twintigste eeuw”. Zelfs Maxim Gorki, later door het communistische regime gevierd als hun literaire boegbeeld, uitte zich kritisch. Reeds op 20 november 1917 schreef hij: “Lenin, Trotski en consorten zijn al verpest door het stinkende gift van de macht: daarvan legt getuigenis af hun schandelijke houding tegenover de vrijheid van woord, van persoon en al die vrijheden waarvoor de democraten vroeger gevochten hebben.”

Bovenstaande citaten komen uit het boek Samizdat van emeritus hoogleraar Russische literatuur en cultuur aan de KU Leuven Emmanuel Waegemans. Samizdat slaat op de ‘illegale’ publicaties na de dood van Stalin in 1953 die Waegemans uitvoerig belicht; de auteur behandelt overigens eveneens de weg ernaartoe. ''

Lees meer hier:

Boeksignalement van Emmanuel Waegemans, Samizdat. Geschiedenis van de Russische ondergrondse (Antwerpen, 2024) 256 pp.   door Patrick van Schie   Direct nadat de communisten in Rusland in oktober/november 1917 hun staatsgreep pleegden stelden zij censuur in. Niet alleen kranten en politieke berich...

29/01/2026

Voor en veel landen in Midden/Oost-Europa betekende 1944-45 geen bevrijding, maar nieuwe overheersing door de , met geweld door het : roof, verkrachting en moord, zoals het lot van twee Poolse laat zien.

Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska Stanisława Falkus en Leopolda Ludwig waren lidmaten van de Congregatie van de Zusters van de Goddelijke Verlosser (Salvatorianessen). Op 27 januari 1945 werden zij in een kapel vermoord door soldaten van het Rode Leger, nadat zij waren verkracht. Hun zaligverklaringsproc....