Death in an Orwellian year 1984

On the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, when the political and social context of those events had become blurred, their metaphysical dimension became more visible – the clash of evangelical Good and Evil. If George Orwell had known about the drama that was to take place on the night of 19th October 1984, he could have added a new chapter to his dystopian “1984.”Orwellian parallels to the events of that terrible night (when, between 21:30 and midnight, Fr. Jerzy was martyred) were highlighted by President Andrzej Duda in a letter to the participants of the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the martyrdom of Fr. Popiełuszko in Suchowola. “Blessed Father Jerzy died in 1984,” wrote the President of the Republic of Poland. “Perhaps there is a sign of Providence in this, because 1984 is the title of George Orwell’s famous novel, a book presenting a terrible vision of a totalitarian state. What is particularly shocking is the concept of a non-person that appears there – in reference to the Soviet terror. So someone who has been exposed to a ruthless, power-ridden political environment, and whom this environment begins to treat not as a person, but as an object. It is impossible to forget about this when you learn about the history of the persecution and martyrdom of Father Jerzy.”