!"# !"#$" Human on %re as a gesture of self-o&ering in Polish documentary %lms

()*+(,- ./* !e Institute of Cultural Studies Jesuit University Ignatianum, Krakow

A!"#$%&#. Tes Urszula, Human on %re as a gesture of self-o&ering in Polish documentary %lms “Images” vol. XXV, no. . Poznań . Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Pp. –. ISSN -X. DOI ./i.... One of strongest acts of personal protest in the communist era was self-immolation, which was the subject of two Polish documentaries. Maciej Drygas in Hear My Cry invoked the +gure of Ryszard Siwiec, who immolated himself on September ,  as a sign of protest against the Soviet army invasion of Czechoslovakia. In his documentary, Drygas shows a fragment of the +lm with the burning man, juxtaposing it with the testimony of witnesses to the tragedy and the account of the family. .is documentary restores the memory of the whole society, who due solely to the +lm, learned about the radical gesture of a common man. Holy Fire by Jarosław Mańka and Maciej Grabysa in turn invokes the heroic but forgotten Walenty Badylak, who immolated himself in March of  in Cracow as an expression of his objection to distortion of the truth about Katyń. Both acts of self-immolation had for many years been perceived as totally futile acts, while the directors show that the self-immolation of these now has a deep and symbolic meaning. In my analysis, I shall invoke historic and cultural contexts, conduct a multifaceted interpretation of self-immolation act and discuss the complex imagery included in the +lms.

K'()*$+": self-immolation, documentary +lm, history of Poland

In my article, I am going to outline the issue the act of self-immolation; subsequently, I shall of self-immolation as an extreme form of po- portray Ryszard Siwiec and refer to the "lm litical protest by embedding it in a broader his- Hear My Cry (Usłyszcie mój krzyk, &''&). Fi- torical and cultural context. Two stories shall nally, I shall evoke Walenty Badylak’s story and exemplify the problem: those of Ryszard Siwec a barely known documentary devoted to his and Walenty Badylak, who became heroes of act. Reminding the world of the remarkable documentary "lms. #e issue of self-immo- sacri"ce of these two men is the major objec- lation was thoroughly studied by American, tive of my article. #rough analysis of the "lms, and recently by Polish, researchers. A few I intend to show the power of documentaries signi"cant publications appeared about one as such. "lm (Hear My Cry), which shall be the subject Self-immolation, as an act of political pro- of my deep analysis; however, none of them test, is a speci"c kind of suicide, which can raise the topic against the historical and cul- be perceived in terms of the sacri"ce of an tural background. Holy Fire (Święty ogień, $%&&), individual in the name of higher values and a reportage, has not been written about so far, social ideals. It is altruistic suicide resulting and the "gure of Walenty Badylak still remains from an extremely strong relationship of an unknown, despite a strongly-developed histor- individual with the society, as Émile Durkheim ical policy in Poland. In the introduction, I am describes in his sociological study.[$] Rarely going to present general remarks concerning has self-immolation been treated as an act of self-destruction, but rather an honorable and [1] E. Durkheim, Samobójstwo, trans. K. Wakar, admirable act. However, it should be pointed Warszawa $%&&. out that suicide itself is burdened with lots of !"#$" !"% negative connotations which have undergone Army. His attitude towards communism, an transformations in the course of time and the attitude which began to prevail in Poland in development of culture. Nowadays, diverse &'78, was very critical. Siwiec did not accept the factors leading to suicide are taken into ac- post of a history teacher because he knew that count. As written by Polish researcher Robert it would involve indoctrination. Until his death, Kulmiński, self-immolation is a drama – the he remained an accountant. He had a wife most spectacular of all ways of taking one’s own and "ve children. According to his family and life. #e intention of protesters who chose this friends, he was profoundly moved by the politi- dire form of de"ance was to seek the biggest cal situation in Poland and the world and spent possible audience. In consequence, society was whole days listening to the Free Europe Ra- to become a community of viewers focused dio. #e events of March &'19, when students’ on one common object, namely the human protests were suppressed and an anti-Semitic on "re. Multiple acts of self-immolation were campaign initiated, he took as a personal defeat. carefully planned and even directed. #ose As a form of disagreement, he chose to edit an- committing suicide precisely selected the lo- ti-system lea:ets, signed “John Pole”, which he cation and stage where their drama would be distributed with his daughter’s help. However, held.[&] Michael Biggs, an American sociol- the most painful experience for him was the ogist, estimated that in the years &'12–$%%$, invasion of Warsaw Pact Army in Czechoslo- there occurred three thousand self-immola- vakia in August of &'19, which eventually led tions all over the world (including the ones to the dramatic decision of self-immolation. not ending in death).['] Unfortunately, among Despite Communist propaganda, Polish soci- the most spectacular acts of self-immolation, ety considered the participation of the Polish he did not mention two committed by Poles – army in the Czechoslovakian events a disgrace. Ryszard Siwiec and Walenty Badylak. In my Nonetheless, public acts against the invasion article, I shall invoke these two men, making were avoided for fear of repressions. Ryszard references to their biographies, Polish history Siwiec, in complete loneliness, chose an ex- and documentary "lms. I shall pay particu- treme form of opposition against totalitarian- lar attention to Ryszard Siwiec, who was the ism, communist crimes, aggression and human "rst person in the post-war history of Eastern rights violations in Poland and the neighboring Europe to commit the act of self-immolation Czechoslovakia. in the name of politically-motivated reason. Self-immolation is alien to European tra- #is act, relatively unknown in Poland and dition, which is why numerous researchers be- Europe, was saved from oblivion by a Polish lieve that Siwiec might have been inspired by documentary "lmmaker, Maciej Drygas, who Buddhist monks opposing the religious policy in &''& made a "lm called Hear My Cry. Before of Southern Vietnam. In &'12, #ich Quang discussing this documentary "lm, I would like Duc set himself on "re on a busy crossing in to present the protagonist’s pro"le. Saigon and soon the photograph documenting this event was seen by the entire world. Inter- Story of Ryszard Siwiec’s life estingly, the monk did not refer to his act as Ryszard Siwiec was born in &'%' in Dębica; suicide, but substitute sacri"ce, which should he spent his childhood in Lviv, where he grad- move hearts and lead to changes, which for uated from secondary school and got a degree in philosophy. In &'21, he moved to Przemyśl, [2] R. Kulmiński, Tu pali się ktoś, Kraków $%&;, where he worked in a tax o5ce; however, a6er p. 28. [3] M. Biggs, Dying Without Killing. Self-Immo- the outbreak of WWII, he resigned from his lations )*+,–-..-, [accessed: January &%, cupiers. During the war, he served in the Home $%&']. !"( !"#$" Ryszard Siwiec could have been an important communist times, their ranks grew to a mas- argument.[)] What this modest man did was sive spectacle, in which folk groups sang and an act of overcoming human limitations – fear danced. It was an opportunity to present eco- of death, severe pain and "nally, the con- nomic success. One of the authors of the book demnation of church and society – which for Ryszard Siwiec. Pro Memoria wrote: “Death a practicing Catholic believer was undoubtedly of a lonely, full of determination man during a substantial dilemma. Ryszard Siwiec carefully a socialist celebration of harvest festival, death prepared all the details for many months ahead among falsi"ed symbols of Proto-Slavonic har- of his self-immolation; he wrote his last will, vest festivities became a real and tragic harvest and a few days before the incident, made ar- of the totalitarian state”.[*] rangements to enter the &%th Anniversary Sta- We shall never know why Siwiec did not dium in Warsaw. He also recorded his message begin his protest during the First Secretary’s and prepared anticommunist :yers. Moreover, speech, but only later, when a group of young he had his photograph taken, and on the way people in folk costumes appeared on the main to Warsaw, wrote a goodbye letter to his wife pitch and initiated the Polonez dance. When (it was intercepted by the security service, and he was on "re, he started shouting: “Long live his wife received it $% years later). Siwiec had free Poland” and “#is is the scream of a dying a precise scenario of his death; he even changed free man”; he did not allow anyone to put out the allocated sector at the stadium to be bet- the "re, and he wanted someone to open his ter visible from the main tribune, where party briefcase with the :yers. #e protest of Ryszard leadership, together with Władysław Gomułka, Siwiec was seen by hundreds of people, yet First Secretary of the Central Committee of the none of them undertook to uncover the truth Polish United Workers’ Party, and Józef Cyrank- or could understand the sense of this desper- iewicz, the Prime Minister were sitting. Siwiec ate act. Undercover security service members chose an exceptionally spectacular moment; and the militia very quickly led him out of the the celebrations of the Central Harvest Festival stadium to a car and took him to the hospital. were attended by over one hundred thousand Nobody, except for his wife and cousin, was people, including representatives of authorities, allowed to visit the seriously burnt man. #e foreign guests and the media – press, radio, TV. room, where Siwiec was lying in solitary con- #e Central Harvest Festival was a very signi"- "nement, was bugged, and thanks to this fact, cant propaganda event in the period of the PRL we know his last words: “I’m dying for the truth because the party leader played the role of head to win, for humanity to win and for love to of state, who addressed the nation, and at the win. I don’t feel pain and I felt it at no time.”[+] same time was paid tribute by representatives #is moving message indicates Siwiec’s con- of rural communities, which were considered stant consciousness, but also his special state the second most important social class beside of mind, which reduced the dreadful pain of workers. Harvest celebrations were originally extensive burns. Doctors and nurses could not held as folklore festivities, consisting of partic- believe that a person in such a severe condi- ipation in di=erent traditional customs, but in tion was still alive, and what was more, able to answer questions. His agony lasted four days – [4] P. Blažek, Polska żywa pochodnia, [in:] unnaturally long. A6er Ryszard Siwec’s death, Ryszard Siwiec. Pro memoria, ed. R. Brzostowski, the investigation of his case was quickly closed. M. Zemło, Tarnów, Dębica $%&8, s. 79. For a couple of days, a story about a man who [5] R. Zych, Tragiczna śmierć Ryszarda Siw- ca – kres czy początek?”, [in:] Ryszard Siwiec. Pro immolated himself during the harvest festival memoria, ed. R. Brzostowski, M. Zemło, Tarnów, was circulating in Warsaw, but nobody knew Dębica $%&8, p. 9%. the circumstances of this incident. In Przemyśl, [6] P. Blažek, op.cit., p. 8$. where Siwiec lived, the security service spread !"#$" !", rumours about his alleged alcoholism or men- #e extensive documentary material required tal illness, which were supposed to discredit "nding a dramaturgic key, which could e=ectively him. Due to this, many acquaintances turned build up higher levels of meaning. It was not my away from the mourning family. #e Polish intention to make a journalistic or educational "lm […]. I felt a great moral responsibility. I knew that press did not report this dramatic event. Se- my vision will a=ect further perception of Siwiec’s curity services con"scated "lms with images act, its historical and above all emotional reception. of a man on "re. Secret police o5cers dissem- Self-immolation was not part of Polish heroic tradi- inated among the witnesses of the self-immo- tion. I could not count on historians’ help, because lation information that the man was drunk the whole documentation was in my hands.[-] and that the "re started because he spilled al- #e black and white "lm begins with a pro- cohol on himself. #is false rumor appeared logue, in which from a distance we can see plausible for many, since nobody understood militiamen carrying out archives, which are the meaning of self-immolation as a politi- later burnt. #e image of burning paper is jux- cal protest. Free Europe Radio broadcasted taposed with a shot of a monotonously swaying the information about Siwiec’s shocking act crowd, followed by a portrait of Ryszard Siwiec much later, in &'1', a few months a6er a Czech in some home interior. #is is a visual metaphor student, Jan Palach, immolated himself. #e of erasing an unbroken hero from the collec- information about Siwiec’s self-immolation tive memory. #e motif of "re comes back at received by the management of the radio was the end of the "lm, bonding the whole with unconvincing. #e memory of the hero, who a symbolic brace, while the motif of society in sacri"ced his life in the name of higher values, lethargy disappears, when handwritten words almost entirely faded. #e only trace le6 was “Hear My Cry” can be seen on the screen. It is a brochure commemorating the tragically de- a signi"cant maneuver from the director – in ceased man, published in &'9& by his family at this way, he implements a personal perspec- their own expense. Even a6er the fall of com- tive. In subsequent scenes, the author alternate- munism, the sacri"ce of Ryszard Siwiec was ly shows scenes recorded in &'19 during the not remembered, and it was only in &''&, that Central Harvest Festival at the &%th Anniver- the documentary "lm Hear My Cry by Maciej sary Stadium and those recorded nowadays in Drygas depicted this outstanding "gure and various archives: the O5ce of Internal A=airs, his distinctive act. the hospital of the Trans"guration of the Lord, the Military Public Prosecution and church – Hear My Cry – recovering memory we learn that the archives will not reveal the of Siwiec’s act truth, since the "les of Ryszard Siwiec’s case #e director learned about the self-immola- were either destroyed or falsi"ed reality. Af- tion of Ryszard Siwiec in &'9' from a newspaper terwards, the director focuses his attention on and instantly became interested in the topic: he people who knew the hero. #e emerging pic- began his search for witnesses, he approached ture shows Siwiec as a man passionate about the family and found archival materials, in- history, a bibliophile, who deeply experienced cluding an invaluable seven-seconds-long "lm his loathing for the totalitarian system to which depicting the burning Siwiec. #e latter was the society succumbed. Inner tension and de- discovered in the archives of the Documen- "ance steadily grew in Siwiec. #e clash of im- tary Films Studio among rejected materials. #e director felt a great responsibility for the [7] M. Drygas, Analiza warsztatowa %lmu doku- topic, because he knew that thanks to his "lm, mentalnego ‘Usłyszcie mój krzyk’, “Images. #e Siwiec’s heroic act would reach the collective International Journal of European Film, Preform- consciousness. #e "lmmaker himself talked ingArts and Audiovisual Communication” $%&8, about it as follows: vol. XVI no. $8, p. &8&. !". !"#$" ages depicting young people in folk costumes talks with the witnesses of the self-immolation dancing rhythmically and statements revealing of Ryszard Siwiec in the scenery of an empty the hero’s state of mind create a deliberate dis- Stadium. A radio journalist, militiaman, dance sonance – lucidity versus lonely consciousness. instructor, operator of Polish Newsreel, photo- #e scenes from his home in Przemyśl are like journalist, doctor, nurse, "re"ghter, all witness- entering Siwiec’s private space. While hearing es to the act speak in front of the camera. Dry- the text of his will read o=-screen, we succes- gas characterizes these people not only through sively meet his wife Maria Siwiec and his "ve, words and gestures, but also clothes and at- now grown-up, children, some of whom live tributes indicating their professions (camera, in Canada. Each of them re:ects on their fa- microphone, etc.). #is is a crucial part of the ther’s and husband’s act – understanding and "lm; from what the people are saying arises admiration intertwined with the feeling of great the image of a collective captive mind, which loss and grief. One of the sons calls his father could not allow thoughts of a "ght for freedom. the authority. Ryszard Siwiec wrote in his last Each witness tries to justify their passivity and will that he wanted to protest “against the total indi=erence to the tragic event; the radio jour- tyranny of evil and lies which conquered the nalist says that it was unimaginable to stop the world” and ended with words addressed to his broadcast of the performance accompanied by children: “And you my dear children, never let cheerful music and inform listeners about an someone take away your faith in God and be- unsettling incident. Dance instructor did not lief in human in pursuit of freedom and truth – want the dancing youths to be distracted by that’s what I recommend and order.”[/] the image of a man on "re; the camera operator #e "rst part of the "lm is crowned with the believed that he could not have any emotional utterance of Józef Tischner, a priest and phi- attitude to the sight of a burning man, which losopher, who did not know Ryszard Siwiec he saw from a distance through the lens of his and did not witness his self-immolation. He camera. Of note is what a doctor said in his invokes the examples of Buddhist monks, who account of the medical sta= ‘s attitude towards by self-immolation wished to express some- Ryszard Siwiec: thing signi"cant, for which this act contained When my colleague gave the reason why the man a creative element. #e priest appears in the "lm had burns, some said – madman, psychopath and twice, marking two important turning points so on. Another colleague hearing that said angrily: in the structure and, according to the intention the Polish nation was brought up in this way and of the director, plays a role similar to a Greek we were all so indoctrinated that when Buddhist chorus. monks immolate themselves, we consider them In the second part of the "lm, the director saints, but when somebody sets himself on "re here travels from Przemyśl to Warsaw by train and for certain reasons, let us say political ones, then we say he is crazy.[0] covers the same route as Ryszard Siwiec did to the Stadium. During the journey, we can #ese utterances reveal witnesses’ beliefs hear words of the letter he wrote to his wife and principles, shaped to a large extent by com- on the train, read by a Security Service o5cer munist propaganda. Human compassion was o=-screen. #e elevated tone of the letter con- replaced by loyalty to the rules, prohibitions fronted with unemotional voice create a disso- and orders of the authorities. #e director lets nance. Finally, the "lmmaker holds a series of us feel strongly about why nobody heard the voice of this protester; the self-immolation of [8] Quotations from Maciej Drygas’s "lm Hear a man was an uncomfortable gesture, which My Cry. awoke the society from its sleep. #e best de- [9] Quotation from Maciej Drygas’s "lm Hear My fence against understanding this act was to Cry. erase it from consciousness and let it fade into !"#$" !"" oblivion. #e witnesses’ utterances are again the role of catharsis. #e self-immolation of illustrated with archival photos, but this time Siwiec was metaphorically commented on by shown di=erently, and they play another role. the priest Tischner, who said that it was free- While in the "rst part of the "lm we saw realistic dom that burnt at the Stadium, not in the sense images of cheerful dances, now the image is of destruction, but of light: “Some enormous distorted – "gures are elongated, and the pace light of freedom appeared. As a matter of fact, of movement is slowed down. Dancers freeze, it was a man free from earthy constraints and awaiting something; instead of joy, they have this freedom was a blow to totalitarianism.”[$$] a look of anxiety on their faces. #e intention of Maciej Drygas, both in his "lm Hear My Cry the director was to make the pageant resemble and the radio documentary Testament, which a funeral procession. #e images of the dance were distributed all over the world from the bring to mind a literary motif of the straw ef- USA to Australia, raised from obscurity the he- "gies’ dance, which present in Polish culture, roic act of Ryszard Siwiec. His name ultimately and also in Polish cinema (eg. Wedding [Wesele], has found a place in Polish school-books. More- &';2) originally from Stanisław Wyspiański’s over, his protest raised awareness of Czechs and drama of the same title. #e protagonists, par- Slovaks, which is evidenced by publications ticipating in this dance, become a symbol of about and highest state distinctions awarded malaise, opportunism or the indi=erence of to Siwiec posthumously. society. In the "nal part, we can see ; seconds of Holy Fire – a forgotten story archival "lm divided into phases. Initially, we Twelve years a6er Siwiec’s self-immolation, observe a close-up of spectators’ reactions; on March $&, &'9%, Walenty Badylak set him- they stand up from their seats, looking at one self on "re in the Market Square in Cracow. In speci"c point. Somebody covers his mouth; this way, the ;1-year old man protested against another person clutches his head in disbelief. the falsi"ed information about the murders in #en, there are people running in panic. We Katyń, committed by the Soviets in &'7%, of are to be witnesses to the drama that is hap- ten thousand Polish army and police o5cers, pening o=-screen. #e tension is gradated and who were considered enemies of communism. the climactic moment is extended inde"nite- Badylak, born in &'%7, fought in the Home ly by the director. #ese slowed down images Army during WWII, like Siwiec, and all his are interwoven with shots of speakers – family life cultivated patriotic traditions. As a baker, members, acquaintances, witnesses, a priest - he could not accept the communists’ destruc- and in the end, we can hear o=-screen the voice tion of private businesses. His personal tragedy of Ryszard Siwiec himself, who, two days be- was an ideological con:ict with his son, who, fore his self-immolation, recorded an appeal prompted by his Silesian mother declaring to the nation, ending with the words: “People, German citizenship during the war, joined the who may still have a spark of humanity, human Hitlerjugend. A6er the war, Badylak’s son was feelings, come to your senses! Hear my cry, the recruited by communist counterintelligence. scream of a common, ordinary man, a son of His father considered this decision immoral the nation, who above all loved freedom, more and broke o= contact with him. than his own life, come to your senses! It is In Holy Fire, a documentary "lm from not too late yet!”[$1] Only at the very end does $%&& directed by Jarosław Mańka and Maciej the director show the "gure of the burning Si- wiec, who is waving his hands and screaming, [10] Quotation from Maciej Drygas’s "lm Hear but it is a silent scream. #e freeze frame is My Cry. on the face, which is full of triumph and pas- [11] J. Tischner, Myśmy tej śmierci nie przemyśleli, sion. #is is the culminating moment, playing “Kwartalnik Filmowy” &''2, no. &, p. 72. !"2 !"#$" Grabysa, Badylak, a character almost complete- "ctionalized pictures showing an actor dressing ly unknown to Poles, was presented. #e "lm up, browsing books on the bookshelf, and "nal- includes not only the remembrances of people ly lighting a match. #e only existing reminders who knew him or were witnesses to the act, but of Badylak are photographs taken by Stanisław we can also hear o=-screen a former o5cer of Markowski of the crowd grouped around the the secret service, who explains how in commu- self-immolation place and the plaque on the nist times, historical truth was falsi"ed. Besides, well, which bears the name Badylak’s Well. he provides some insight into the di5cult rela- Both Maciej Drygas and the creators of Holy tionship between father and son. Fire brought a sense of realism and drama to Archival photographs from the site of the the presented events by using various dramat- event play a crucial role in the "lm. We can see ic devices. #e director of Hear, through "lm deeply shocked, extremely focused or anxious editing and scenography, gradually unveiled people. #e photographer who took the pic- Siwiec’s secret until the "nal, climactic image of tures had a sense of mission to document this a burning "gure. By contrast, Mańka and Graby- traumatic act, although some wanted to grab his sa utilized a more conventional formula typical camera and beat him. His statement is quite re- of sensational "lms; namely, in the soundtrack, markable: “I believe that in this gesture (self-im- we can hear sounds building tension, and in molation – UT), he was both a hero and proph- certain "lm frames, there appear inscriptions et, and in the subsequent couple of days, he from a typewriter, together with its character- was a spiritual leader of the nation.”[$&] Graphic istic rattle, meant to simulate an interrogation close- ups of his burnt body come back several scene. #e creators of these two "lms use the times in the "lm, as does the image of a match same leitmotiv, "re: Drygas in the opening and being lit. Communist authorities tried to un- "nal sequences, while in Holy Fire, we repeatedly dermine Badylak’s sanity and in a short note in watch shots of the lighting of a match and in a newspaper, he was described as mentally ill. the penultimate shot, :ames. Signi"cantly, both Despite this fact, Cracow citizens would come creators of the "lm from $%&& evoke the image of to the well by which Badylak set himself on "re Siwiec on "re. #is combination of two dramatic and lay :owers and light candles. Photographs events creates an analogy, not only due to the of Cracow’s contemporary Market Square with type of death Siwiec and Badylak chose as a form a focus on the well play a signi"cant role in of protest. #ey both set themselves on "re as this documentary "lm. A lot of passers-by are a sign of political disagreement about the lies fed unaware of the dramatic event which took place to the society by communists. #eir sacri"ce was here, in spite of an information board. Holy Fire unspoken and consistently erased from history. is a television documentary; it lacks the re"ned Drygas and the makers of Holy Fire did not form of the "lm by Drygas, yet it remains an show their characters’ lives against the back- important study of memory. ground of “great history”. We only learn about #e "lm Holy Fire does not include a single it from their relatives, acquaintances, and wit- image of Walenty Badylak. Interestingly, we nesses to the events. Subjective coverage builds cannot even "nd one in internet resources. We an interesting sociological narrative – we get to become familiarised with the story of a man know the attitudes of opponents and the cre- who committed an act of desperation in the ators of the political system, as well as the so- name of his values and principles, but we can- called “common men”. #e state of awareness of not give him individual features. #e creators of people in the late 1%s (Hear my Cry) and early the "lm attempted to "ll this empty space with 9%s (Holy Fire) is reproduced from a long dis- tance of time. It implies a more critical overview [12] Quotation from Jarosław Manka’s and Ma- of events, but also a selective memory. In Dry- ciej Grabysa’s Holy Fire. gas’s "lm, the memory of Siwiec is invoked not !"#$" !"3 only in oral stories, but also in personal objects, and in the process of shaking human conscience, photographs, letters, and recordings, while the which tends to be more and more indi=erent "lmmakers of Holy Fire did not possess their to su=ering. #e cry of Ryszard Siwiec (the 8%th subject’s memorabilia, which makes the mes- anniversary of his self-immolation was cele- sage less intense and does not build closeness brated in $%&9) and of Walenty Badylak should with the subject. be heard all over the world. Only then will their Archival photographs play a signi"cant sacri"ce make sense. role in both documentaries; in Dygas’s "lm, images of harvest festivities from &'19 act as a chronicle, but on the other hand, they are ?@?,@AB)-CDE also a carrier medium of an important meta- Biggs M., Dying Without Killing. Self-Immolations phor. In Holy Fire, chronicles from the Cracow 1963–2002”, [accessed: January 10, 2019] Blažek P., Polska żywa pochodnia, [in:] Ryszard Siwiec. just invoke the context of those times. Placing Pro memoria, ed. R. Brzostowski, M. Zemło, Tar- archival images of the reality of martial law in nów, Dębica 2015 the "nal scene is a very interesting manoeuvre Drygas M., Analiza warsztatowa %lmu dokumentalne- of the makers – in this way, they pointed to go ‘Usłyszcie mój krzyk’, „Images. #e International the climax, in which the oppressiveness of the Journal of European Film, Preforming Arts and system Walenty Badylak protested against so Audiovisual Communication” 2015, vol. XVI, no. 25 dramatically is disclosed. Durkheim E., Samobójstwo, trans. K. Wakar, Warszawa Self-immolation is not only compelling, but 2011 Kulmiński R., Tu pali się ktoś, Kraków 2017 is also the most daring human act. As presented Tischner J., Myśmy tej śmierci nie przemyśleli, „Kwar- herein, these heroes were saved from oblivion talnik Filmowy” 1993, no. 1 thanks to documentary "lms, and they found Zych R., Tragiczna śmierć Ryszarda Siwca – kres czy their rightful place in Polish history. Documen- początek?, [in:] Ryszard Siwiec. Pro memoria, ed. taries play a tremendous role in saving memory R. Brzostowski, M. Zemło, Tarnów, Dębica 2015