Piotr Bartoszcze – faithful to values and to the Polish countryside
He took part in the events of the Bydgoszcz March 1981, co-founded the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union of Individual Farmers NSZZ Solidarność Rolników Indywidualnych, printed and distributed underground press, and was interned and surveilled by the communist political police. On Saturday (February 7), ceremonies marking the 42nd anniversary of the tragic death of Piotr Bartoszcze will be held in Radłówek and Inowrocław.
“For his fight to preserve an identity rooted in fidelity to values, and for his longing for freedom, he paid the highest price. The figure of Piotr Bartoszcze is a signpost and an inspiration – especially today, when the world brings so many threats and anxieties,” emphasizes Marshal Piotr Całbecki.
The anniversary ceremonies will begin in Radłówek (Inowrocław County) and continue in Inowrocław. Program of the ceremonies.
Piotr Bartoszcze was born on April 14, 1950, in Jaroszewice (Lublin County). In 1964, his family settled in Sławęcin near Inowrocław. After the signing of the August Agreements in 1980, Piotr Bartoszcze, his father Michał, and his brother Roman became involved in the Solidarity movement. They joined the activities of farmers’ trade unions and took part in the farmers’ strike in Bydgoszcz in March 1981. Bartoszcze printed and distributed the underground farmers’ Solidarity magazine “Żywią i Bronią” (“They Feed and Defend”).
He was murdered during the night of February 7-8, 1984.
The investigation conducted at the time was discontinued, concluding that Bartoszcze had died as a result of an accident. These findings raised objections from the very beginning among his family and democratic opposition activists. Only during a third investigation, carried out by the investigative division of the Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, was it established that Piotr Bartoszcze most likely died at the hands of officers of the communist political police.
He was posthumously awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Cross of Freedom and Solidarity.
In November 2025, the Regional Parliament adopted a resolution establishing the year 2026 as the Year of the NSZZ Individual Farmers’ Solidarity and of Bydgoszcz March ’81 in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region.
Press Office of the Marshal’s Office
February 5, 2026