Polish accountant known for anti-communist self-immolation
Ryszard Siwiec
Born
(1909-03-07)7 March 1909
Dębica, Austria-Hungary
Died
12 September 1968(1968-09-12) (aged 59)
Warsaw, Polish People's Republic
Cause of death
Burns from self-immolation
Nationality
Polish
Occupation(s)
accountant, teacher
Known for
self-immolation
Spouse
Maria Siwiec (m. 1945–1968; his death)
Children
5
Awards
Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk In memoriam (2001)
Order of Polonia Restituta Komtur (2003)
Order of the White Double Cross In memoriam (2006)
Ryszard Siwiec (Polish pronunciation:[ˈrɨʂartˈɕivjɛt͡s]; 7 March 1909 – 12 September 1968) was a Polish accountant and former Home Army resistance member who was the first person to commit suicide by self-immolation in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Although his act was captured by a motion picture camera,[1] Polish press omitted any mention of the incident, which was successfully suppressed by the authorities. Siwiec prepared his plan alone, and few people realized what he tried to achieve with his sacrifice. His story remained mostly forgotten until the fall of communism, when it was first recounted in a documentary film by Polish director Maciej Drygas. Since then, Siwiec has been posthumously awarded a number of Czech, Slovak, and Polish honours and decorations.
Siwiec's death foreshadowed the much better known self-immolation of Jan Palach in Prague four months later. Siwiec was the first person from Central and Eastern Europe to self-immolate in protest of the invasion.[2][3]
^"Jan Palach - Living Torches".
^Cite error: The named reference Stolarik was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference rp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
RyszardSiwiec (Polish pronunciation: [ˈrɨʂart ˈɕivjɛt͡s]; 7 March 1909 – 12 September 1968) was a Polish accountant and former Home Army resistance member...
journalist Natalia Siwiec (born 1983), Polish glamour model RyszardSiwiec (1909–1968), Polish anti-communist All pages with titles containing Siwiec This page...
Palach's self-immolation was the third act of that kind after those of RyszardSiwiec in Poland and Vasyl Makukh in Ukraine, which were successfully suppressed...
opening of the stadium, the new street on its northern side was named for RyszardSiwiec, who committed suicide by self-immolation in protest against the Warsaw...
who competed in the 1970s and 1980s Krzysztof Ryszard Sikora (born 1959), Polish politician RyszardSiwiec (1909–1968), the first person to commit suicide...
agencies. In the People's Republic of Poland, on 8 September 1968, RyszardSiwiec immolated himself in Warsaw during a harvest festival at the 10th-Anniversary...
Similar events were reported in central Europe, such as Jan Palach and RyszardSiwiec following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1970 Greek...
fire in 1972 leading to riots in Communist Lithuania Jan Palach and RyszardSiwiec, set themselves on fire in 1968 in separate incidents, both in protest...
Lesser Poland: Jan Piwnik, Emil August Fieldorf, Leopold Okulicki, RyszardSiwiec, Stanisław Pyjas, Hieronim Dekutowski, Andrzej Gwiazda, Andrzej Czuma...
List of political self-immolations Vasyl Makukh Jan Palach Jan Zajíc RyszardSiwiec Romas Kalanta Liviu Babeș Suzdal is a city in Russia. (in Ukrainian)...
situated at Siwiecova street, Prague-Žižkov (the street is named after RyszardSiwiec). Its purpose is to gather, analyse and make accessible documents from...
events, such as self-immolation protests against the communist regime by RyszardSiwiec in Poland and Jan Palach in Czechoslovakia. Tadeusz Konwicki (1970)...
Hirnyk Romas Kalanta List of political self-immolations Evžen Plocek RyszardSiwiec Thích Quảng Đức Jan Zajíc "Story of Kostas in Corfu City Hall website"...
Gabriela Beňačková Sir Derek Bowett Viktor Fainberg David O'Keeffe RyszardSiwiec President of the Slovak Republic official website State Honours, Orders...
Kieślowski. His first documentary as director was Hear My Cry, about RyszardSiwiec, who, in September 1968, protested against communist totalitarianism...
was never made known.[citation needed] Oleksa Hirnyk Romas Kalanta RyszardSiwiec Jan Palach Jan Zajíc Evžen Plocek Цензор.НЕТ (2015-11-06). "5 ноября...
the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II (Commander's Cross with Star) RyszardSiwiec — Protester Krzysztof Skowroński - Polish journalist Reinhold Smyczek...
Global Information
In memoriam (2001)
In memoriam (2006)