Józef Światło

Józef Światło, born Izaak Fleischfarb (1 January 1915 – 2 September 1994), was a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Public Security of Poland (UB) who served as deputy director of the 10th Department run by Anatol Fejgin. Known for supervising the torture of political prisoners, he was nicknamed "the Butcher" by the detainees. |name=a into a Jewish family in Medyn village near Zbarazh in Galicia (now Ukraine). In the Second Polish Republic he was first a Zionist and later, a communist activist. He was arrested twice for his illegal activities. during the German invasion that year.

Capitalising on them, in what was known as "Operation Spotlight", RFE broadcast some 140 interviews by Światło, and 30 programs on him. None of the Polish Communists' intelligence, counterintelligence and public security agencies escaped unscathed and without some of their secrets being revealed. Światło's scandal contributed to the events of political liberalisation in Poland, known as the Polish October. Information on him was protected by the US witness protection program; there were rumours that he died in the late 1960s, 1975 or 1985. Documents relating to him are still classified in the United States and not available to researchers. Gold Cross of Merit Silver Cross of Merit