Stanisław Jastrzębski


Stanisław Jastrzębski is a Polish writer, lawyer and historian.

Early life

He was born in the village of Bubło, Rohatyn County, in Stanisławów Voivodeship. Jastrzębski is a survivor of the World War II massacres of Poles in Volhynia, during which he witnessed the UPA murder of his family. Following Nazi and Soviet invasions of Poland, Jastrzębski was a soldier of Armia Krajowa and member of the Polish self-defence unit in Stanisławów, where he fought against OUN-UPA pacification raids. A political prisoner under Stalinism in the Polish People's Republic, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Wrocław.

Career

For many years Jastrzębski worked as a barrister. As of 2009, Jastrzębski resided in Chorzów in southern Poland.

Books

Jastrzębski's 2007 book Ludobójstwo nacjonalistów ukraińskich na Polakach na Lubelszczyźnie w latach 1939-1947 revealed the extent of atrocities committed against Polish civilians in Kresy by bands of Ukrainian nationalists. The book made use of materials collected by the Society for the Remembrance of Victims of Genocide Committed by the Ukrainian Nationalists and the Institute of National Remembrance.
In his 2008 book Samoobrona Polaków na Kresach Południowo-Wschodnich II RP w latach 1939-1946, Jastrzębski conducted an in-depth study of the Polish attempts at self-defence against UPA pacification operations and gave a detailed account of the defence units' activities during Nazi German and Soviet occupation. The book was based on documents and narratives collected by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance.