[1] The committee was formed in the aftermath of the murder of Stanisław Pyjas, a student activist, probably killed by members of the communist Secret Services.
[3] In the autumn of 1977 similar committees formed in other cities; Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań and Wrocław, as well in Szczecin in 1978.
[1] The student organizations were generally associated with the Komitet Obrony Robotnikóws (KOR) and carried out their activities mostly, but not exclusively, in academic settings.
[4] Another purpose of the committees was to report on the kind of abuses by the communist Secret Services that had led to Pyjas' murder.
[3] Many activists of the committees later, after fall of communism in Poland, became well known public figures, among others; Bronisław Wildstein,[3] Bogusław Sonik,[3] Liliana Batko-Sonik,[3] Lesław Maleszka,[3] Róża Thun, Ludwik Dorn, Magdalena Modzelewska, Elżbieta Majewska,[3] and Jacek Rakowiecki[6]