C. I.1.c. Poland 1953-56

Volume One -> C. Popular Resistance in Communist Regimes -> C. I. The Soviet Bloc -> C. I.1. The Soviet Bloc 1950s-1970s: Major Resistance Movements -> C. I.1.c. Poland 1953-56

Poland had suffered severely in the Stalinist period 1948-53. After 1953 there were moves within the Party for change, but Party reformers did not link up with developing pressure from below until 1956; after the June rebellion in Poznan, students, intellectuals, workers and devout Catholics joined in the ferment. Gomulka (who became Party Secretary in early October 1956) managed to negotiate with Khrushchev to prevent Soviet troops suppressing the popular movement.

Machcewicz, Pawel; Latynski, Maya Rebellious Satellite: Poland 1956, Washington DC, Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2009 , pp. 280

Fejto, Francois A History of the People’s Democracies, [1969], Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1974 , pp. 565

Examines destalinization in Poland and why the Polish 1956 uprising avoided bloodshed, making comparisons with Hungary and its 1956 Revolution, see pp. 79-80 and 87-123. These events are set in the wider context of Soviet and bloc politics.
Karol, K. Visa for Poland, London, MacGibbon and Kee, 1959 , pp. 259

Account by a Polish journalist (who left in 1949) of the evolution of destalinization from above and demands for democratization from below in 1955-56, and the October 1956 revolution. Karol explains the background context of Poland’s wartime experiences and the Communist seizure of power and in Part Two assesses Poland a year after October 1956.
Hiscocks, Richard Poland: Bridge for the Abyss?, London, Oxford University Press, 1963 , pp. 359

Lewis, Flora A Case History of Hope: The Story of Poland’s Peaceful Revolutions, G Garden City NY, Doubleday, 1958 , pp. 281

Covers developments in 1956, especially the June and October public protests.
Syrop, Konrad Spring in October: The Story of the Polish Revolution 1956, London, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1957 , pp. 219

Websites recommended

A Case History of Hope: The Story of Poland’s Peaceful Revolutions G Garden City NY Doubleday, 1958

Covers developments in 1956, especially the June and October public protests.
A History of the People’s Democracies Harmondsworth Penguin, 1974

Examines destalinization in Poland and why the Polish 1956 uprising avoided bloodshed, making comparisons with Hungary and its 1956 Revolution, see pp. 79-80 and 87-123. These events are set in the wider context of Soviet and bloc politics.
Poland: Bridge for the Abyss? London Oxford University Press, 1963
Rebellious Satellite: Poland 1956 Washington DC Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2009
Spring in October: The Story of the Polish Revolution 1956 London Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1957
Visa for Poland London MacGibbon and Kee, 1959

Account by a Polish journalist (who left in 1949) of the evolution of destalinization from above and demands for democratization from below in 1955-56, and the October 1956 revolution. Karol explains the background context of Poland’s wartime experiences and the Communist seizure of power and in Part Two assesses Poland a year after October 1956.