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Outbreak of the Korean War
Jan Józef Lipski Social activist
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I remember the outbreak of the Korean War well because there was a group of us walking home from a party and we were talking about what had just happened. At the time, I was convinced that this was the start of an atomic war and that very soon, we'd all be dead. Of course, things turned out differently because since we're sitting here talking, it means I was obviously mistaken. Even though I had no information and knew very little, I was thoroughly convinced from the beginning that North Korea had attacked South Korea and then soon after I learned that South Korea had no heavy weapons or aeroplanes so it was little wonder that this test had been delayed for so long. In any case, I was very alarmed by this. But I wouldn't say that changed anything in my views, convictions or attitudes except that I was frightened.

Wybuch wojny koreańskiej... dobrze pamiętam, między innymi dlatego, że po jakiejś imprezie towarzyskiej wracaliśmy gromadą i rozmawialiśmy o tym, co się właśnie stało i byłem wówczas przekonany, że jest początek wojny atomowej, i że już bardzo niedługo nikt z nas żyć nie będzie. No, okazało się właśnie inaczej, bo jeżeli tu... rozmawiamy – to znaczy, że się pomyliłem najwyraźniej. Natomiast, chociaż nie miałem żadnych danych, właśnie niewiele wiedziałem, to byłem... na początku, to byłem głęboko przekonany, że to Północna Korea napadła na Południową, a szybko zresztą potem dowiedziałem się, że Południowa Korea nie rozporządzała ani bronią pancerną, ani samolotami, więc dziwne, że tak długo jakoś czekano z tą próbą. W każdym razie byłem tym mocno przerażony. Ale nie można powiedzieć, żeby to cokolwiek w moich poglądach, przekonaniach, nastawieniach zmieniło, poza tym, że mnie przestraszyło... byłem przestraszony.

Jan Józef Lipski (1926-1991) was one of Poland's best known political activists. He was also a writer and a literary critic. As a soldier in the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. In 1976, following worker protests, he co-founded the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR). His active opposition to Poland's communist authorities led to his arrest and imprisonment on several occasions. In 1987, he re-established and headed the Polish Socialist Party. Two years later, he was elected to the Polish Senate. He died in 1991 while still in office. For his significant work, Lipski was honoured with the Cross of the Valorous (Krzyż Walecznych), posthumously with the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1991) and with the highest Polish decoration, the Order of the White Eagle (2006).

Listeners: Jacek Petrycki Marcel Łoziński

Cinematographer Jacek Petrycki was born in Poznań, Poland in 1948. He has worked extensively in Poland and throughout the world. His credits include, for Agniezka Holland, Provincial Actors (1979), Europe, Europe (1990), Shot in the Heart (2001) and Julie Walking Home (2002), for Krysztof Kieslowski numerous short films including Camera Buff (1980) and No End (1985). Other credits include Journey to the Sun (1998), directed by Jesim Ustaoglu, which won the Golden Camera 300 award at the International Film Camera Festival, Shooters (2000) and The Valley (1999), both directed by Dan Reed, Unforgiving (1993) and Betrayed (1995) by Clive Gordon both of which won the BAFTA for best factual photography. Jacek Petrycki is also a teacher and a filmmaker.

Film director Marcel Łoziński was born in Paris in 1940. He graduated from the Film Directing Department of the National School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź in 1971. In 1994, he was nominated for an American Academy Award and a European Film Academy Award for the documentary, 89 mm from Europe. Since 1995, he has been a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science awarding Oscars. He lectured at the FEMIS film school and the School of Polish Culture of Warsaw University. He ran documentary film workshops in Marseilles. Marcel Łoziński currently lectures at Andrzej Wajda’s Master School for Film Directors. He also runs the Dragon Forum, a European documentary film workshop.

Tags: Nort Korea, South Korea

Duration: 1 minute, 14 seconds

Date story recorded: October 1989

Date story went live: 09 March 2011