Poles have flooded websites to view a list of names taken from communist-era files made public for the first time since the fall of Communism, searching for mentions of family members.
Amid warnings that the record of a certain name on the files may not mean the person was an informer or a spy, the list -- first distributed by a journalist to colleagues at the weekend -- became the most searched item on the Web.
"I tell you it's powerful stuff. I found my uncle and my girlfriend's grandfather on the list," said 'Lustrator' in an Internet chat room.
"With my grandmother we just finished vetting our family and friends -- there were surprises but perhaps the people were only potential collaborators."
Now safely within the European Union and NATO, Poland is one of several Eastern European states to begin re-examining its past.
The floodgates were opened when a conservative journalist, Bronislaw Wildstein, copied and distributed a list of 240,000 names from the communist-era files at the weekend.
By Wednesday, Polish Internet portals said Wildstein's name had become the most searched item on the Web in Poland.
The list covers operatives, potential collaborators and victims, with other names simply being mentioned. It is unknown who leaked the directory of names onto the Internet.
For politicians, the leaked documents were a mixed blessing. Some said the publication would clear the air of allegations about communist-era spies, while others said it could harm thousands of innocent people.
"We have to remember that we are talking about documents prepared by bandits and pertaining to normal people," said right-wing senator Krszytow Piesiewicz. "Vetting should be done in line with procedures."
For years Poland has struggled with communist-era files, with accusations over suspected collaboration hitting both the political descendents of the 1980s pro-democracy Solidarity movement and former communists turned social democrats.
The National Remembrance Institute (IPN), owner of the archives, said it regretted that the files became public and warned against calling them a list of agents.
"We are against using them for political battles ... and call for a simplification of vetting procedures," IPN said.
According to Polish law, only historians, journalists and those who can prove they were wronged by the communist authorities have access to IPN archives.
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