"Who has not survived it, does not know what madness this kind of constant phone calls can lead to" - recalled the well-known writer Irena Krzywicka. The same could have been said by one of the pre-war parliamentarians, harassed by erotic phone calls.
In free Poland, our great-grandmothers quickly gained full voting rights. However, they were not given equal opportunities in politics. Neither in 1919, when the first elections to the parliament of the Second Polish Republic took place, nor in 1938, when the latter were held. Women consistently occupied the worst places on the election lists. They were not allowed to break through with their programs, and the press had no interest in them. And party leaders only treated them like a pretty flower for a sheepskin coat.
Telephone line in the women's dormitory. Photo from 1927
As a result, the MEP was almost as rare as a white unicorn. In the first term of office, 8 women and ... 436 men got to the Sejm! Few parliamentarians were particularly responsible. But also a special risk.
"Type persecuted the handsome female MP"
"Police are known to be of the type of lunatics who pick on above all famous women, especially when they are young and pretty," said Police Superintendent Leon Nagler. And he probably knew what he was saying, considering that he was one of the highest-ranking figures in the Polish services. From the end of the 1920s, he headed the Central Investigation Service, and then the Inspectorate of the National Police Headquarters. In one of these positions he encountered a peculiar case bordering on politics and erotomania.
A group of female MPs on the sidelines of the Sejm. Photo from 1930
"Some type was stalking a handsome female MP," recalled Nagler. Continuous phone calls, panting, threats. The situation was completely unbearable. The police entered the action. The politician was ordered to "hold" the pervert "on the phone as long as possible". Her camera was, of course, tapped. As soon as it was possible to establish the address from which the call came, the command sent a good patrol. They found:"Half-conscious guy masturbating while talking to a female MP."
Nagler did not specify which particular the parliamentarian was referring to. Although it is possible to indicate the approximate date of the event (it was the Sejm of the second or third term of office - that is, the years 1928-1935), it is impossible to decide which of the dozen or so women holding seats at that time was generally considered "handsome". No photos of some of them have survived.
As for Nagler, he was considered a professional. He did not intend to reveal the case, much less indicate the identity of the victim. He told the story during a private meeting with a journalist friend, Irena Krzywicka. These were not gossip but an attempt to calm the interlocutor. A loud scandalist and propagator of the most progressive ideas, she had her own persecutor. And she didn't know what to do with him.
"We will meet you, but this meeting will be your last"
The situation was confusingly similar. Blackmail, threats and repeated innuendo at any time of the day or night. "Whoever did not survive it, does not know what madness such constant calls can lead to" - emphasized Krzywicka in her memoirs published at the end of her life. Her husband was an attorney, so she couldn't just not pick up the phone. But she always hung up as soon as it became clear that her stalker was on the other side of the line, not the firm's client. Only once did she make an exception. And she regretted it very much.
When I picked up the phone aloud in disgust and disgust, I heard a well-known, "fat" bass voice, which with feverish haste said:"Don't hang up the phone , I have something very important to say ”.
There was such an insistent plea in that voice that I reluctantly held the handset to my ear (...). Meanwhile, the voice continued:“I want to apologize to you, for what I have been doing, it is unforgivable, but I am deeply unhappy. My wife and my child left me and as she left she said:“Why am I ditching you, ask Krzywicka. So I'm asking… ”.
Police Superintendent Leon Nagler in a portrait photo
"Who are you?" - I asked. "My name is Jarecki." "I do not know any Mrs. Jarecka, but I assure you that if your wife has left you, I have nothing to do with it, but I am not surprised that she has left a man capable of such telephone blackmail."
A very calm voice to this:"Perhaps. But I want to say one more thing. We will meet you, but this meeting will be your last one, because I will kill you. "
Krzywicka was terrified. But fear did not paralyze her at all. She immediately went to Superintendent Nagler, hoping that he would be able to do something for her. There, she heard an interesting anecdote, but nothing else. The policeman indulgently said:"Don't worry, these crazy people are harmless." And when asked to wiretap and help locate the perpetrator, he calmly gave a negative answer.
Irena Krzywicka in a portrait photograph from before the war
"Here, you would need a separate line, which is assumed only in special cases ..." - he began to explain to a child. Krzywicka could not stand it. "But this is about my life!" She screamed. Completely to no avail.
On behalf of the minister
The harassment only got worse. The stranger threatened to kidnap the little son of Krzywicka. He even sent her home ... a coffin. The journalist questioned all relatives and friends. She finally found out who the persecutor was.
He was a respected teacher of a decent private school. He was commonly considered an intelligent man with class. But she knew that under the mask of impeccable culture there was an unpredictable madman. And there was no way she could stop his actions.
The case ended only when Krzywicka confided her problems to… the wife of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jadwiga Beckowa. The next day an officer knocked on her door with a bunch of roses and a sumptuous chocolate box. On behalf of the "lady minister" he listened attentively to the whole story. However, he refused when the wiretap was asked again. Krzywicka was convinced that nothing would help her anymore. Meanwhile, the phone went silent unexpectedly.
A child with a telephone receiver. Postcard from the beginning of the 20th century
The journalist knew that the type of persecutor kept her job, and that care was taken not to let the matter see the light of day. Justice by no means triumphed. But at least she was finally able to stop worrying about her life.
Did the madman find another victim in return? Has he started poisoning the life of someone who has not been able to intervene with members of the government and the police chief? Krzywicka did not know the answer to this question. But she wasn't so naive as to think that the madman had given up his obsessions overnight.