Postwar period as a series of crises (Adam Bromke: ‘The Protracted Crisis’), whereby each regime is toppled by usually economic problems which escalate into social protests

Special nature of Poland within Soviet Bloc:
(a) Western ally during WWII
(b) practically monoethnic/-religious after WWII settlements
(c) agriculture primarily in private hands
(d) massive authority of Catholic Church

1. reintegration of country: ‘Regained Territories’ (return to borders of ‘Piast Poland’, i.e. historical justice for Eastern nations – Ukrainians, Lithuanians, etc.)
2. rebuilding of country after German Occupation
3. return of Poles in exile
4. suppression of opposition/paving Communists road to power: 1946 Referendum, Jan 1947 Elections, Unification of Socialists (PPS) and Communists (PPR) in Dec 1948 to form Polish United Workers Party
5. Communism in its Stalinist variant (the one-party state) wins out: inner-party dissent stifled (Gomułka sidelined)

2. 1949-1955: Stalinization ‘Totalitarian’ [Bolesław Bierut]

1. ‘war psychosis’ (war in Korea, 1950-1953)
2. domination of Soviet model in all spheres
3. suppression of Church
4. limited collectivization

1. deviation from Soviet model in cultural sphere, no more Socialist Realism after 1956
2. limited democratisation of political life (Catholic mps in parliament)
3. provision of consumer goods (Poznań riots, June 1956)

1. The ‘Polish October’ – cultural freedom, release of political prisoners, normalisation of relations with Church (Cardinal Wyszyński released from confinement)
2. Gradual tightening of restrictions after 1959 produces numerous protests by intellectuals (March 1964 Letter of the 34; Jan-March 1968 student protests at closure of Adam Mickiewicz’s ‘Forefathers’ Eve’)
3. Rise of anti-semitic elements within the Party and Polish public life, esp. after 1967 Six Day War between Israel and Egypt, produces Jewish exodus.
4. Announcement of price rises Dec 1970 generates workers’ protests and tragedy of Baltic Coast (winter 1970-1971). Gomułka ousted.

1. Allegedly ‘consensual’ style of government with Party as arbiter between competing social interests, in reality consolidation of party support through ‘nomenklatura’ system
2. Massive investment in schemes designed to modernize Polish industrial output through enormous loans from West, leads to astronomical debts by end of decade
3. Subtle reinforcement of Soviet model as concession to ideological orthodoxy
4. Rise and coordination of opposition around Constitution 1975, price rises June 1976 and August 1980 leads to setting up of KOR (Workers’ Defence Committee) and ‘Drugi obieg’ (Second Circulation of Independent Publishers)
5. Confirmation of Church’s authority with election of Polish Pope (John Paul II, 1978) and his first visit to Poland (June 1979)

1. PUWP on backfoot throughout: pressure from Soviet leadership
2. Solidarity Union as massive protest movement/pressure group: 21 Demands of Gdańsk restrict censorship, establish free trades unions, etc.
3. Rise of Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski to post of pm and First Secretary PUWP sees regrouping of Party around military
4. 13 December 1981 imposition of Martial Law

1. PUWP unable to solve Poland’s economic problems; country blackballed by USA
2. ‘exhaustion’ as society’s response to situation
3. Party leadership and government create ‘façade’ organizations to cooperate with the regime which have no support in society at large
4. Pope’s visits in 1983 and 1987 sanction Solidarity’s resistance
5. By end of 1988, Party leadership seek to co-opt the Solidarity leadership and organise Round Table talks (April 1989) with representation from all sides
6. First semi-free elections arranged for May-June 1989: one-third of parliamentary seats and all 100 seats in new upper chamber up for grabs. Solidarity win all parliamentary seats and 99 Senate seats.
7. The resulting constitutional crisis means that Solidarity is invited by Jaruzelski to create the first postwar non-communist government [Tadeusz Mazowiecki as pm]