THE ROAD THROUGH THE FORBIDDEN

CHAPTER V (I AM GAY...)

Operation Hyacinth - People's Republic of Poland 1985-1988

Commissioned by the then Minister of Internal Affairs - General Czesław Kiszczak, a massive action was launched across the country on 15 November 1985. The officers of the Citizen's Militia were tasked with finding all homosexual men (of whom they had information) and forcing them to sign a statement with the following content:

"I hereby declare that I [name and surname] am a homosexual since birth. I have had many partners in my life, all of them of legal age. I have no interest in minors...".

Furthermore, dossiers were set up for them (in later years they became known as the 'pink dossiers').

Officially, it was presented to the public that only information on people involved in criminal cases was collected. Today, after the declassification of the materials - the so-called "dossiers" - we know that this was not the case. The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) officially issued a statement that these actions did not violate the rights of citizens... They refused to initiate proceedings. The LGTBQ+ community has expressed its dissatisfaction and disagreement with this attitude. Unfortunately, to no avail.

One of the consequences of the above-mentioned actions was the mass emigration of homosexuals from Polish People's Republic, while those who stayed lived in fear, often blackmailed or forced to cooperate with the Polish Security Service (SB). Many times, fearing for their lives, they became secret collaborators informing on their relatives, friends or Solidarity activists.

This story was the basis for the film 'Hyacinth', available on Netflix.

***

August, 1987

– Mark and I arranged to meet in the evening near Batory High School. Although we hated this school on a daily basis, during the holidays it became the most popular meeting place. There was no chance of mistaking it for any other, and it was not easy to get lost either. This day was special. The whole neighbourhood seemed to be bustling, even though normally in late July it was difficult to meet anyone near our high school. People were hanging around, talking animatedly, some even singing Just Can't Get Enough, so popular at the time. I was so excited about the situation that I could barely stand still. I had been begging my parents for several months for cabbage for the Depeche Mode concert. We were not well-off, and I wasn't a very good student either, so it was hard to give the old folks anything in return. But I think in their own twisted way they really loved me and knew how bloody important it was to me.

It was hard to hide, because my cassettes were practically worn out from playing Depeche Mode music every day. The Unitra player, licensed from Thomson, which my parents bought me at the Różyckiego Market, was also barely working.

- I was 17 at the time and before the start of my final year of secondary school. I felt I should be doing something with my life, but I had absolutely no idea. In addition, I was going crazy at the time because all sorts of strange things were happening to me, the origin of which I couldn't explain, and I didn't really know the phenomenon either. Hence the terrible chaos both in my life and in my head and heart. For I had one particular problem, in fact two problems. Probably all the girls in my class were in love with me. It was difficult for me because I only loved one person at the time... If I haven't told you yet, Doc, I was in love with Dave of Depeche Mode to death back then. Gosh, gosh, gosh, how I liked him! I was so angry at myself and everything around me that I could only get an erection when I imagined myself and the Depeche Mode singer together in bed, in the car, on the bar... wherever! That was the only way I could reach orgasm. That's right, only when I thought about that damned bleached blond guy could I successfully satisfy my female colleagues. They were entranced that not only was I handsome, but I was also getting a great fuck. And all I could think about at the time was Dave. Are you disgusted Doc?