A communist by conviction. By passion - a sadist. Her nickname chilled the blood of political prisoners. "Bloody Luna" was adored by party comrades and hated by opponents of communist rule. Who was Julia Brystiger and how did she deserve her legendary nickname?
"I don't feel Polish ..."
When Julia Prajs was born on November 25, 1902 in Stryj, Ukraine, nothing indicated that the charming girl would ever become one of the bloodiest torturers associated with the security apparatus of the People's Republic of Poland.
She was the first of four children of Hermann Preiss, MA in Pharmacy, and Berta Salzerberg, whose family owned many estates in New Siola. The family was doing extremely well, so they could afford to provide their daughter with a decent education. Julia loved to learn, and her intelligence was clearly superior to her peers.
She graduated in history from the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv, continued her education in Paris. Eventually she obtained a doctorate in philosophy. In the meantime, she married a Zionist activist, Natan Brystiger, to whom she gave birth to a son. At the end of the 1920s, she started working as a history teacher in Vilnius.
Julia's ambitions, however, went far beyond the walls of the school where she taught. Fascinated by Bolshevism, in 1931 she joined the Communist Party of Western Ukraine. From that moment on, it began its activities against the authorities of the Second Polish Republic. She was imprisoned several times.
Julia Brystiger graduated from the excellent Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv. The building of the former Jesuit boarding school, handed over to the university in 1851 (author:Stako, license:CC BY-SA 3.0).
She did not feel Polish and she emphasized it at every step. She was much closer to Ukraine. As soon as in 1939 the Red Army entered the borders of the Second Polish Republic, Brystigerowa did not hide her joy. She quickly adopted Soviet citizenship and became an informer of the NKVD.
Career in the Party
Her career gained momentum just before the end of the war, when the Soviet authorities began the process of installing and strengthening the communist power in Poland. In October, she joined the Polish Workers' Party, she also joined the National National Council. She was very different from her coworkers.
First and foremost, she was a woman, which was rare in these structures. Besides, her education was noticeable. Her superiors were impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication that characterized Julia. Her way of being has also become Brystigerowa's strength. In her circles she was considered an extremely sociable and cheerful woman, extremely intelligent. Her erudition, grace, elegance and exceptional taste meant that no one could resist Julia. Some people were surprised by this state of affairs.
Stefan Starzewski, head of the press and publishing department of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, said directly that Julia may have a pretty face, but her figure was terribly awkward. Her short stature and very thick legs were immediately visible. Besides, she was often aggressive and wildly possessive.
It did not bother her, however, from choosing men. She could have anyone she wanted - she chose those who were able to help her. Numerous romances with party dignitaries allowed Julia to easily climb the ranks of a quick and brilliant career.
Enemies of Blood Luna
Finally, the Department of Public Security asked for it. A few months later, Julia Brystiger got a job she was very keen on - in 1945 she became director of Department 5 of the Ministry of Public Security.
She dealt with fighting the anti-communist underground and the anti-state activities of the Church. Its main task was to fight against religious organizations and groups. She hated Protestants and… Jehovah's Witnesses.
She performed her duties ruthlessly, quickly achieving her first successes. She installed a network of secret agents in parishes and curias. Everyone reported, both lay and clergy. She often used students from the oldest grades to surveillance school catechists.
The superior and colleague of "Bloody Luna" - Stanisław Radkiewicz, head of the Ministry of Public Security in 1945–1954, has never been held accountable for his crimes (source:public domain).
The Church has suffered an unprecedented wave of brutal persecution. In the 1950s, over a thousand priests were arrested. Many of them were sentenced in show trials. At that time, colleagues gave Julia the nickname "Luna". Those who fell into her hands, and after the interrogations still had the strength to speak - called her "Bloody Luna". For good reason…
"That was a terrible woman!"
She often personally participated in interrogations of people accused of acting to the detriment of the state. She did it with pleasure and with extreme zeal. It wasn't enough just to ask questions and psychologically torture her. She wanted something more - physical violence, and one that would not be ashamed of the cruelest male torturers.
There is a known case of the head of the PSL propaganda in the Olsztyn voivodeship, named Szafarzyński, who came into her hands. Tomasz Grotowicz described in "Nasz Polska" what his interrogation looked like: Szafarzyński was stripped naked, and then Julia began to torment his genitals with her own hands , so much so that "the testicles were at knee level."
As if that was not enough, she led the interrogator to the dresser in the room and put the man's body in a drawer, then slammed it shut. In the meantime, Szafarzyński was constantly beaten with a metal cable. Soon after this interrogation, the man died of exhaustion.
After Stalin's death, a difficult time came for his ardent supporters ... The body of the leader on display at the Moscow House of Unions. Still from the movie "Death of Stalin - the end of the epoch".
Bloody Luna reportedly loved to abuse young men, whose torture always ended in the genital area. Beating, twisting, pricking, burning - the barbarism of the woman quickly made her think of a "beast whose cruelty exceeded the caretakers from Nazi concentration camps."
Some believe that Brystigerowa's treatment of prisoners is related to her sick sexual inclinations and to the sadistic fantasies she fulfilled during the torture. However, there is no evidence to support this claim.
"Bloody Luna" contributed to the release from prison of the writer and historian Paweł Jasienica, who was threatened with the death penalty, but it is difficult to talk about her human face in this case. It was more about pragmatism, as Luna was convinced that Jasienica would be more useful to the communist regime alive than dead.
She showed less mercy towards Primate Stefan Wyszyński, whom she interviewed personally. In this case, did Bloody Luna get to the genitals of her victim? The sources are silent about this. However, the interrogation had to be brutal, and afterwards the Primate was supposed to say:"She was a terrible woman!".
Rejected writer
After the death of Joseph Stalin, a difficult time came for the communists. There was a struggle for power in the Kremlin, and in Poland there were whispers about the necessity to hold Stalinist dignitaries to account. Eager executioners of the secret police were brought to court, but Brystigerowa managed to avoid the trial. It was said that Gomułka himself stood up for Bloody Luna.
Julia did not want to wait for further developments and resigned from her position herself. On November 16, 1956, she left the Security Service. She received a departmental pension and started working in state-owned publishing houses, such as "Nasza Księgarnia" and "PIW". She also decided to try her hand at being a writer…
As Julia Prajs, she published the novel "Crooked Letters" and a collection of short stories "Znak H.". However, her work was not successful. The literary community in Poland treated her with distrust. Her past has not been forgotten. Also about the page of her biography, which is particularly painful for artists. Many writers, whose works were perceived as hostile and harmful in the communist country, fell into the hands of "Bloody Luna". When in the late 1960s she tried to join the Polish Writers' Union - her application was immediately rejected.
A beast of remorse
At the end of her life, Julia Brystiger experienced a spectacular conversion. Was it because of actual guilt or just cold calculation? Opinions are divided. The fact is that she became a frequent guest of the Institute for the Blind in Laski. Under the influence of the local Franciscan Sisters, she converted and was baptized. However, there is no act of Brystiger's baptism that could clearly confirm this.
People around her said that Bloody Luna realized at one point how much evil she had done in her life. Through her conversion (real or show), she wanted to atone for the harm she had done to others.
Until the end of her days, she behaved like a devout Catholic. She died on October 9, 1975 in Warsaw, although there are also those who claim that she lived her life surrounded by sisters in the center in Laski. Her body was laid to rest in the Powązki Military Cemetery.
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During her lifetime, Julia Brystiger was presented as a role model to all security officers who wanted to contribute to the People's Republic of Poland. Today it is spoken of no differently than "beast", "criminal monstrosity" or "monster". Find out more about her figure in the book "Bloody Luna and others" by Iwona Kienzler.