The media loved him. He received love letters from hysterical female fans. Even when he was in prison, he was convicted of underage seduction, fraud and beatings. Who was Jerzy Kalibabka? An amant with a captivating smile that he took with one to give to others? Or maybe ... an ordinary bandit who hates women?
One August evening in 1977, 21-year-old Jerzy, after another quarrel with his mother, left his fishing boat and, wearing rubber boots and overalls, went on. He probably didn't expect it to go down in history then ...
For the first few months, he was coping with difficulty. He tried his strength as a money changer and a pimp. Finally, he started a few years of wandering around Poland, during which - as he himself claimed - he slept with two thousand women.
Who was Jerzy Kalibabka really? Polish Don Juan, living for love, or ... a brutal criminal? (photo:Ja Fryta, license CC BY-SA 2.0).
Such a high number is certainly an exaggeration, but the fact is that about two hundred teenage girls were questioned in the later trial. His exploits, combined with daring escapes from the militia, were publicized in the press and on television. They made him famous all over Poland.
Kalibabka fired the imagination of Polish women to such an extent that even when he was arrested (April 15, 1982), there were many people willing to join the group of his gains. In the corridors of the district court in Nowy Targ, where the tapeworm trial was taking place, young, painted girls with parcels were stranded.
If Kalibabka had stayed in Dziwnów, his hometown, he would probably have been an unknown fisherman till the end of his life ... Even then, he would probably break many hearts (photo Lzur, license CC BY-SA 3.0).
Trapped Casanova also received love letters . Here is one of them, quoted in the book "Snatch. The greatest crooks of the Polish People's Republic and the Third Republic of Poland ":
Dear Jurek […]. I'm a girl of your type. I am 15 years old, nice blonde hair, blue eyes, beautiful figure, and most importantly:I am virtuous […]. I don't know why, but I love you very much for being there. My beloved Casanova, my prince charming! I already thought there were no men like you. I know why you stole. You stole with one to make others happy. […] I understand you. Only I can understand you and absolve you […]. I will write and flower only for you. My dear prince! Anka.
On March 8, 1984, the sentence was finally handed down. Kalibabka, Don Juan and the favorite of the ladies, was sentenced ... to 15 years' imprisonment. He was found guilty of cheating, extorting, beating and seducing minors . The justification of the judgment was read for 5 hours! The sentence was handed down on Women's Day.
Don Zenuan
The very decision of the court suggests a cautious approach to the romantic legend of Casanova from Dziwnów. Even the Citizens' Militia would not use such charges to convict an innocent person. Remnants of illusions are dispelled by the statements of the accused himself. He boasted about his achievements in conversations with journalists. Some stories can also be reconstructed on the basis of findings from the courtroom. There is no doubt that Kalibabka despised his victims, which he even called "cat-smacks". This is how he described one of them:
The girl invited me to her house, introduced me to my parents, and I spent one night with her there. All I remember is that she was 25 years old. And I remembered it because she had lost her virtue that night, and when I found out how old she was, I laughed so much at her that she had waited until then. Early in the morning I took her sheepskin coat and left .
However, the disrespectful treatment of women did not make Jerzy feel male solidarity. For some time, he traveled around the country in the company of his colleague, Mark. They robbed the girls they encountered and the owners of the quarters or houses in which they were staying. They took jewelry, sheepskin coats and electronic equipment.
During the Kalibabka trial, Nowy Targ experienced a real siege. Young girls, moved by the seemingly romantic history of the Polish don Juan, came from all over Poland to wander in the corridors of the local district court. Those who could not come - wrote letters (photo by Andrzej Otrębski, license CC BY-SA 4.0).
They quarreled because ... Kalibabka tried (not for the first time) to get Marek's girlfriend away . The partner, of course, did not want to let that happen. What did Casanova do? Let him tell himself:
So I went all the way and fucked his girlfriend in the hotel room. I did it out of anger to punish Mark for not asking me to his table .
Oh yes, of course.
Soon after, a scene happened that captures Kalibabka's mentality well. One day, while Jerzy and the newly met Ala were enjoying a romantic walk through Krakow's Old Town, a young girl walked by. She was wearing the jacket of another Jerzy's partner, "Black Mark". The man politely apologized to Ala and imperceptibly pulled the girl into the gate. He demanded the jacket be returned. When the girl refused, he started threatening her:
Casanova's story inspires creators all over the world. The most famous seducer in history was played, among others, by Donald Sutherland (left; photo by Frantogian, license CC BY-SA 3.0) and Alain Delon (right; photo by Georges Biard, license CC BY-SA 3.0). No wonder that the communist media also wanted to have "their" Casanova. The question is:did they really make a good choice?
I said that if she gives me here right now I will immediately forget everything and not say that she robbed a friend . She agreed. We went to the nearest open cellar. There I puffed her out, then took my jacket off of her anyway. Eighteen year old girl, terrible whore.
Then Jerzy, as if nothing had happened, returned to Ali waiting in the street. They took each other's hands and walked calmly on. He abandoned her on the train to Szczecin a few days later, taking advantage of the moment when she fell asleep.
Women's Boxer
For a long time of his criminal "career", Kalibabka was active in a three-person "harem". He was the master, and he was accompanied by "mistress" and "maid" (called by Jerzy "grzała"). In fact, it was a mini-gang of thieves in which the leader ruled his subordinates with an iron fist. The composition of the gang was fluid. The most important "lady" was 16-year-old Małgorzata Z. - "Niusia".
Jerzy and Niusia met in 1981 in Dąbrowa Górnicza. A athletic, slim and shapely girl was sitting alone on a bench. Jerzy introduced himself as Patryk Miller, a goldsmith from Italy, and almost immediately offered her a joint trip to the seaside. Niusia agreed without much hesitation and did not even inform her parents about it.
They left for Giżycko, where Kalibabka began to lock the "lady" in the room and go to discos. From there he brought a new maid. Of course, he had "tested" it properly before deciding on it. He had intercourse with the candidate in the stairwell, and then at the lake. She passed both "exams" positively. Her career, like all the others, did not last long ... Soon she was replaced with a newer model.
"Pani" and "Gała" helped to select girls aged 15-17, especially those who wore jewelry. One of the girls offered the victim some kind of profitable financial transaction, such as selling a fur coat, and then brokered her acquaintance with Kalibabka. Due to the fact that it had been searched all over Poland for a long time, such a strategy was safer.
Jerzy, with a charming smile, introduced himself as a jeweler, son of an ambassador or sportsman and swindled the desired goods. Sex - sometimes voluntary, sometimes forced - was then just an addition to common thefts. At the same time, the criminal trio also plundered the quarters in which they were staying.
Giżycko and the surrounding forests were for some time the area of operation of Kalibabka, his "lady" and "warmed" (photo:Ludwig Schneider / Wikimedia, license CC BY-SA 3.0).
Soon the technique was expanded. Jerzy found out that it is easier to pick up and rob a girl than to get rid of her afterwards ... So he began to blackmail his victims additionally so that they would remain silent. The new action plan was less complicated. Kalibabka took the fresh "prey" to the forest under any pretext, with the help of the "harem", and there he ordered her to undress. He was taking her valuables, money. When she resisted, he would beat her.
An undressed girl - whom, if he felt like it, Casanova raped even more - one of his associates took pictures. Kalibabka himself, dressed or not, usually stood there. Photography was a form of security. Especially juvenile victims were afraid to reveal that they had been robbed or raped. The gang threatened them that if they said anything, their nude photos would be sent to their parents, to school, or to the workplace.
Some of these photos have survived. The depressing impression is made by teenagers posing next to Jerzy, proud as a hunter after a successful hunt, trying to hide their shame and fear with forced smiles. Most of them were still students. The youngest was 14 years old.
At this stage, the Don Juan of Dziwnów did not even try to control his propensity to violence. He tortured physically and mentally even over Niusia and subsequent "heaters". When they wanted to leave, he also beat them and blackmailed them. His "mistress" more than once had a broken nose and head. She was tortured for just looking at a strange man. At least once, Jerzy deliberately burned her with boiling water. He also threatened to cut her face with a razor blade. "Grzałom" even got hit for burnt milk.
Amant, what he disliked women
Calibabka tried to conceal his obvious contempt for women during the trial. In the courtroom, in line with the adopted line of defense, he argued that he acted only out of love, he loved all the girls, he took from others to give to others. My whole life was one big love euphoria - he explained.
But it was just a mask he took off as soon as he left the court. Women are suitable for cheating, exploiting - he said in 1982 in a television interview. Sometimes I despise women, I treat them like things you can buy - He added openly with a secret smile. He clearly hoped that such a statement would impress or at least shock the journalist talking to him.
It fell most naturally during another interview. I loved them all, some more - he declared. Were they beaten for love? The journalist asked after a moment of silence. Was it beating… Calibabka hesitated, striving for philosophical reflection. They were mine! He added after a moment, as if explaining something obvious.
I loved all women - Kalibabka declared in an interview. When asked by journalists if he was also beating them out of love, he declared:They were mine! (source:a frame from the film "Jerzy Julian Kalibabka. Expert of Love", screenplay and production by S. Auguścik, Poltel 1982).
Undoubtedly, the lover from Dziwnów had an extraordinary talent for making casual acquaintances and inspiring trust. He made a very good impression. He was intelligent and personable, with a lot of fantasy. Contrary to the assurances from the courtroom, he did not use these advantages to seek love. He used them to satisfy his drive, his need for domination, and most of all ... for a mundane financial gain.
At least for a while, Calibabka was simply more of a thief than a seducer. The fact that he could play successfully on the feelings of naive teenagers only helped him to be successful in the criminal profession. So he did it brutally and ruthlessly.
Tomato!
Unfortunately, the story of the Polish Casanova is not, at least at first glance, a story with a moral. Jerzy was caught and tried, but he still became a communist celebrity and an inspiration for filmmakers who are steeped in the legend and blind to his true face. He himself got out of prison early, in 1993. After regaining his freedom, he initially continued, albeit on a smaller scale, his old way of life.
Love and robbery in youth, and baldness in old age, children and ... tomatoes. This is how the story of Casanova from Dziwnów ends (source:public domain).
His contemporary statements suggest that he has not changed his views on life. So there is no talk of rehabilitation, self-reflection, guilt and redemption. What the prison system and the rehabilitation process failed to do, however, ultimately… inexorable time. The ex-gigolo grew old, gained weight, lost his teeth - and with them his charm . He started a family and even had a group of children.
It proves some change in his attitude towards the world. At the same time, which can only be a bitter and low level of satisfaction, it has been struggling with serious financial problems for years. Let a summary of the ups and downs of Kalibabka be the title of a modern article from "Super Ekspress":"I had 2,000 women, and now I sell tomatoes."