DZIWEX1981 · a record
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Documents & media

The original materials of the case, the Antena article, the television report, the case files, are not online, and press scans are under copyright. Below is what can be shown legally: period documents and marks under free licences, our own reconstructions, clearly labelled, and every external item we could find.

From the period

Cover of a 1974 PRL service passport
PRL service passport, 1974. The document ZPR issued to the dancers. It was the pass to the West and the first thing taken from them on arrival.[1][3] Passport Office of the Interior Ministry; Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
The 1972 Pewex logo
Pewex logo, 1972. The Internal Export Enterprise sold Western goods for dollars. Its "-ex" suffix became the second half of the word "Dziwex".[5] Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
A Pewex shop in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz in 1990
Pewex in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz, 1990. What the dollar looked like in everyday life in communist Poland. Photo MOs810, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hotel Europejski in Warsaw
Hotel Europejski, Warsaw. From 1957 to 2005 the hotel belonged to Orbis, the state tourism monopoly. The "auditions" with Italian impresarios took place here, Cassaglia and Massieri stayed here, "well known to the staff", and they were arrested here. In 1973 its bellhops and doormen were tried for extorting bribes from sex workers. Since 2018 it has operated as the Raffles Europejski; the present owners have no connection with the case.[2][3][17][45] Photo Robdav69, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
A period interior at the Museum of Life in the PRL, Warsaw
A period interior. Museum of Life in the PRL, Warsaw. The world people wanted to leave. Photo Qkiel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Reconstructions

Warszawa Rzeszów Milan Alessandria Florence
The route: auditions in Warsaw, a ZPR contract, clubs around Milan and Florence; money routed through the consulate in Milan. Schematic map.

Verdict, 1984

Trafficking in human beingscharge dropped
Profiting from prostitutioncharge dropped
Currency offences2 years suspended, fine
People who went to prison0
Sources: Wikipedia, Kowalik.[1][2]

Recordings and broadcasts

Articles

Scholarship

Today: reports and institutions

Image archives

Something missing? A scan of the April 1981 Antena issues (13 April, p. 31, and 21–26 April, pp. 8–9), a recording of "Atrakcja z tłem", photographs of the troupes, clippings from the 1984 trial: if you have legal access to any of these, write to info@dziwex.com. They will be added with attribution.