Michel Foucault – inwigilacja

In November 1958, Michel Foucault arrived in Poland and became the first director of the French Cultural Centre at the University of Warsaw. He spent less than a year in Warsaw. Beside his work at the Centre and interactions with the world of culture and science, Foucault was also meeting boys. With some he was just friends, with others he was involved emotionally and erotically. Foucault had a particular relationship with Jurek. After all, Jurek collaborated with the secret service, and led to the situation in which the police entered the hotel room and caught the lovers. Homosexuality was not illegal in Poland, nevertheless Foucault was forced to leave the country. The author of the article Michel Foucault. Surveillance (who has recently published a reportage book Foucault in Warsaw) uncovered the identity of Jurek and reconstructed the daily life of Michel Foucault in Warsaw. He also discovered the secret service files containing information about the homosexual groups in communist Poland which include records concerning Foucault. They reveal, among others, Foucault’s private address, his favourite cafés and night clubs, as well as details covering whom he met with and how did he spent his free time. The author also tracked down the living witnesses of Foucault's stay in Warsaw and interviewed them. These reminiscences reveal the personality of young Foucault. Remigiusz Ryziński’s text  brings up these biographical reveries, commenting on Foucault’s perception of Poland as well as the many other of his liasons with the country.