Stefan Melak

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Stefan Melak

Stefan Melak (born August 13, 1946 in Warsaw ; † April 10, 2010 near Smolensk ) was a Polish civil rights activist and journalist.

Melak studied law at the University of Warsaw from 1965 to 1974 , where he participated in the student protest in 1968. From 1972 to 1981 he was an employee of the Fundusz Wczasów Pracowniczych . With Father Wacław Karłowicz he founded the National Remembrance Circle ( Kreg Pamięci Narodowej ) in 1974 , which organized lectures on topics undesirable to the Polish authorities and held the first commemorative events for the victims of the Katyn massacre in the Powązki cemetery in Warsaw.

In 1979 he founded the Katyn conspiratorial committee with Father Karłowicz. From 1979 to 1985 he was a member of the opposition Konfederacja Polski Niepodległej , from 1980 to 19883 as head of its central district, responsible for the printing and distribution of publications. He was also a member of the editorial board of independent magazines such as Niepodległość and Gazeta Polska and an employee of Komitet Obrony Więzionych za Przekonania (KOWzP).

After martial law was imposed in 1981, he was interned for anti-communist activities and participation in Solidarność meetings . Between 1892 and 1989 he worked as an editor and publisher in an underground publishing house and organized pilgrimages to Jasna Góra , rallies, lectures and collections of signatures. He was arrested several times for these activities.

In the 1990s Melak designed monuments and crosses for the murdered Poles in Katyn, Mednoye and Kharkov. He also organized anniversary celebrations, patriotic fairs, exhibitions and historical readings. From 2006 he was a member of the editorial board and columnist of Gazeta Polska and Nasz Dziennik .

On April 10, 2010 Melak was killed in a plane crash near Smolensk . After the Commander's Cross (2006) he was posthumously awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order Polonia Restituta in 2010 .

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personal data
SURNAME Melak, Stefan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish civil rights activist and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH August 13, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Warsaw
DATE OF DEATH April 10, 2010
Place of death near Smolensk