Czesław Kiszczak quasi-government administering Poland during the martial law (1981–83). In 1982 he became a deputy member of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party and a full member in 1986. From December 1981 until June 1989 Kiszczak was the second most important person in Poland, after General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the nation's top leader. Together they orchestrated the crackdown aimed at crushing the "Solidarity", the Eastern Bloc’s first non-communist labor union movement. Martial law included the mass roundup and internment of "Solidarity" activists, curfews and other harsh measures. Generals Kiszczak and Jaruzelski later insisted that they were imposing martial law to
Wojciech Jaruzelski mostly concerned with the illegal imprisonment of people. A second charge involved inciting state ministers to commit acts beyond their competence. Jaruzelski evaded most court appearances citing poor health. In December 2010, Jaruzelski suffered from severe pneumonia, and in March 2011, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Jaruzelski died on 25 May 2014, in a Warsaw hospital after suffering a stroke earlier that month. Prior to his death, he reportedly requested last rites by a Catholic priest. President Bronisław Komorowski and former Presidents Lech Wałęsa and Aleksander Kwaśniewski as well as hundreds of other Poles attended his funeral mass at the