his own account, there were seven men in his cell, paedophiles, psychopaths and mentally deranged prisoners – "the worst types – people on the edge of society". He was allowed 112 Polish zloty (under one GBP) a week, one letter a month, two parcels a year. He took up watercolours, first painting with his prison toothbrush, and became so adept that he was later to exhibit his work widely. He also became unofficial lawyer to the other inmates, helping them with their letters to the authorities. One prisoner who was serving a life sentence for murder became Pawlowski's chess partner. He suffered from head pains, and one day Pawlowski laid his hands on the man's head. The migraines never returned. After his release in June 1985 Pawlowski practised his healing gifts at one of Warsaw's main hospitals. By then in his mid-fifties, he also took up fencing again. Soon after he was freed, he went to one of the main Warsaw clubs, challenged the young bloods and won nearly every fight. A few weeks later he entered a classification tournament and just missed the final. Next was the Polish national championships; but parents of young fencers complained that they did not want their sons shaking hands with a traitor. That was the last time he attempted to fence in competition. He was married three times, lastly to Iwonka, his wife for over 40 years. After her husband was taken into custody, she was told that her work as an obstetrician would be imperilled unless she filed for divorce. She refused, and soon after lost her job. Only after Pawlowski's release did she start working again. When Pawlowski first got out of prison, he tried to clear his name, planning to take on the minister who had been in charge of investigating him. For a while the government did nothing, but after Pawlowski started making speeches proclaiming his innocence his trial papers were released, and in 1991 a leading magazine, Prawo i Zycie ("Law and Life"), revealed that since August 1955 Pawlowski had been spying for the state against his own team mates – telling the security services which athletes were planning to defect, who supported Israel in the Middle East war, who might be open to approaches. His spying ceased abruptly in March 1962, when it was judged that he was using his position "for personal gain". These and similar