Polish prison experiment in Szczypiorno

Abstract

This paper describes an experiment in Poland during 1958–1959 whose purpose was to create a pattern of educational influence on young offenders in prison. The experiment was a unique event in Polish and European prison history. First, it was a bold and innovative attempt to define the tasks of the prison system vis-à-vis particularly depraved young prisoners. Second, it was held towards the end of the 1950s, 13 years after the end of the Second World War, from which Poland emerged ruined and, to all intents and purposes, defeated (by Soviet occupation). Third, it began several years after the end of the Stalinist era. During this period, criminal science did not exist in Poland because the communist authorities regarded it as a ‘bourgeois’ science. Finally, it was a joint initiative by the Ministry of Justice and a group of academics from two universities. The purpose of the experiment was to:

•	gather in one prison a large group of strongly depraved young offenders who posed serious behavioural problems in other prisons,
•	select appropriate staff,
•	create a new pedagogical situation in which intensive correctional action was possible,
•	investigate whether, and to what degree, a change in the behaviour of people subjected to the above influence is possible.

The experiment was supervised by academics from the Faculty of Education of Warsaw University and the Faculty of Criminal Law of the University of Wroclaw. They were the authors of the experiment, and determined the course of the educational process. They were also consulted about the choice of prisoners taking part in the experiment and of staff, including the prison governor.

Keywords:

• prison
• experiment
• prison warder selection