Służba Bezpieczeństwa The Służba Bezpieczeństwa " Ministerstwa Spraw Wewnętrznych " ( ) ( Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ) , or SB , was established in the People ' s Republic of Poland in 1954 . It was the main security organization in Poland after 1956 . History . After the 1954 escape of Józef Światło ( born Izaak Fleischfarb , who took orders from politicians including the order to arrest Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński ) , a high - ranking Ministry of Public Security officer , to the West it was decided to abolish the Ministry of Public Security . The MBP was responsible for security , intelligence and counterintelligence . It controlled over 41 , 000 soldiers of the Internal Security Corps , 57 , 500 members of the citizen militia , 32 , 000 border troops , 10 , 000 prison officer s and 125 , 000 members of the Volunteer Reserve Citizen Militia . The Communist Party divided the MBP into two parts . In December 1954 , the Committee for Public Security ( " Komitet do spraw Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego " , or Kds . BP ) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs ( MSW ) were created . The former was a secret police responsible for internal and external intelligence and counterintelligence to fight underground movements and the influence of the Catholic Church . The MSW was responsible for administrative duties , and eventually controlled the Internal Security Corps , militia , border troops , prison guards and the Volunteer Reserve Citizen Militia . 1956 reform . The year 1956 brought change to Polish politics . Recently released from prison , Władysław Gomułka became the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers ' Party . Reforms were made in the structure of state security . The Committee of Public Safety was abolished , and its duties were taken over by the MSW . After that , the MSW was the only security body in Poland . Officers working in the Security Service were nicknamed " SB - eks " ( Służba Bezpieczeństwa ) . Tasks and organizational structure . The tasks of the Security Service were identical to that of its predecessors ( MBP and Kds . BP ) : to protect the communist system in the country ( and beyond ) through control and penetration into all structures of social life in Poland and abroad . The centrally - based MSW was divided into departments , bureaus , sections and directorates . In 1956 , the central organization was : Associated units were : Activities . After it was renamed the SB in 1956 , it entered a period of relative inactivity during the era of reform instituted by Władysław Gomułka . However , after 1968 it was revived as a stronger body responsible for political repression ( most notably of the Solidarity movement , the leader of which , Lech Wałęsa , was under constant SB surveillance until its replacement by the " Urząd Ochrony Państwa " in 1990 after the fall of communism ) . Victims . An infamous case was the torture and execution by the SB of Catholic priest Jerzy Popiełuszko in 1984 . Since 1990 , several SB operatives have been tried for their crimes . The SB is also suspected of killing Stanisław Pyjas and Catholic priest Stefan Niedzielak . It is reported to have abused priest Roman Kotlarz , who died mysteriously after a beating .