Lech Wałęsa Loses Court Battle to Historian Sławomir Cenckiewicz Over Book Citations and Historical Truth

Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa has lost his final appeal in a lawsuit against historian Sławomir Cenckiewicz regarding book citations concerning his youth and historical disputes.

Court Battle Over Citations

Former Polish president Lech Wałęsa alleged in 2019 that historian Sławomir Cenckiewicz unlawfully quoted contents from two publications in his book “Wałęsa. Człowiek z teczki”. The publications in question referenced the former president’s youth.

The dispute involved Roger Boyes’ book “Nagi prezydent. Życie polityczne Lecha Wałęsy” and Paweł Zyzak’s “Lech Wałęsa. Idea i historia. Biografia polityczna legendarnego przywódcy Solidarności do 1988 roku”, which contained descriptions of Wałęsa and his siblings removing fence pickets for fights and engaging in violent altercations.

Judicial Decisions and Reactions

In March 2023, the Regional Court in Warsaw dismissed the former president’s lawsuit, and the Appellate Court subsequently dismissed his appeal.

Sławomir Cenckiewicz stated on the platform X that the lawsuit he won was both “absurd and dangerous,” noting that it effectively targeted a historian’s right to quote documents and findings by other researchers. He added that Wałęsa had tolerated similar stories for years until he cited them.

Wałęsa Defends His Legacy

Lech Wałęsa responded on social media, telling Cenckiewicz that the truth must prevail and claiming that the court victories belonged to the communist secret police (SB) based on fabricated evidence exposed by IPN interrogations.

The former president emphasized his role in ending communism and pulling Poland from the Soviet sphere through his leadership from December 1970 through August 1980, stating that these historic achievements motivated the attacks against him.

The “Bolek” File Controversy

Sławomir Cenckiewicz wrote in his 2008 book “SB a Lech Wałęsa. Przyczynek do biografii” that the former president was registered as a secret collaborator of the Security Service under the codename “Bolek” in 1970.

Wałęsa explained that he led the strike in the Gdańsk Shipyard in December 1970, quickly recognized the limitations for a successful outcome, and decided to analyze the situation to prepare future forms of resistance against the opponent and the SB.

The former president maintained that he was recognized as a lifelong enemy of communism and was never offered actual agent cooperation. Instead, he claimed authorities created the “Bolek” file to discredit him and bring him to trial using handwriting samples gathered from personal applications, CVs, court appeals, and workplace documents.