Post-1945 Poland: Modernities, Transformations and Evolving Identities
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POS T-1945 POLAND: MODERNITIES, TRANSFOR- MATIONS AND EVOLVING IDENTITIES Working papers. Programme on Modern Poland / 2016 POS T-1945 POLAND: MODERNITIES, TRANSFOR- MATIONS AND EVOLVING IDENTITIES Working papers. Programme on Modern Poland / 2016 © The Authors [2015]. Published by POMP. All rights reserved. Proof-reading and editing: Dorian Singh, Marta Dziurosz Graphic Design: Type2.pl St Antony’s College CONTENTS Dr Dariusz Brzeziński Katarzyna Jeżowska Turning-points of 1956, 1968, 1980, 1989 Challenging the ideology: the construction of the narrative in the works of zygmunt bauman of the 1st Exhibition of the Polish Light Industry in Moscow in 1949 09–20 89–100 Hubert Czyżewski Kinga Koźmińska Evolution of Leszek Kołakowski’s religious thought — Language ideologies and gender in the modern post-conference working paper Polish community in the UK 21–34 101–112 Falk Flade Vasco Kretschmann Nuclear energy in poland and the Polish-Soviet relations The triple reinvention of Wrocław 35–46 in its twentieth century exhibitions 113–124 Przemysław Gasztold-Seń Between non-refundable aid and economic profits: Piotr J. Leśniak export of arms from the Polish People’s Republic’s Archive of the future: an architectural imaginary to the third world countries of reconstructed Warsaw 47–58 125–146 Anna Gromada Natasha Oxley What can the post-1989 fertility fall tell us Modernisations of Polish identities in contemporary about post-communist poland? Polish plays: the right to individuality 61–80 147–159 Anna Jagielska Jakub Szumski “The ideology of gender presents a threat worse The party, Solidarity or both? Than nazism and communism combined.” Transformation of political identities in 1980–1981 Poland. Polish catholic discourse on gender equality 160–172 In the face of social and cultural changes in Poland 79–88 Ilona Wysmułek Corruption during transformations of Polish society: Survey data analysis of perceived changes and their determinants 173–184 07 This working papers series presents a broad range of research in post- 1945 Polish studies gathered under the common title Post-1945 Poland: Modernities, Transformations and Evolving Identities. It contains edited versions of papers given at the two-day postgraduate conference that was organized by the Programme on Modern Poland (St Antony’s College, University of Oxford) in June 2015. The publication is exceptional for several reasons. The papers presented here introduce the work in progress of thirteen doctoral candidates and early career researchers from all over Europe. Several authors obtained their doctoral diplomas while working on these projects. Like the conference, the publication has a multidisciplinary character. The studies are grounded in history, social and political sciences, linguistics, and philosophy, offering a comprehensive perspective on various issues, events and processes that have left a strong imprint on modern Polish history and contemporary society. These new works have benefited from access to archival material, in many cases unavailable to older generations of researchers, and information gathered in long-term survey investigations. That gave the authors confidence and arguments to break with established narratives, challenge the experts, and propose new approaches towards existing areas of studies. We observe growing interest in research on Poland that is separate from the traditional domains of East European, Soviet and Russian studies and constitutes an emerging field. The young researchers who presented their works at the conference, are affiliated with universities and research institutes in Poland, United States, Italy, Germany and Great Britain. Oxford, where some of the most renowned works in Polish studies were created, holds a prominent place among these academic centres. Researchers and academics working on Poland now have more opportunities since the establishment of Programme on Modern Poland as part of the European Studies Centre at St Antony’s College in 2013. Through academic exchanges, seminar series, lectures, conferences and publications, the Programme nurtures the discussion on modern Poland in academia and beyond. Postgraduate conferences, which we plan to host annually, accompanied by working papers series are the most rewarding examples of POMP’s activity, both for us organisers, and, as we would like to hope, for participants who will find this a resourceful centre for their further research. — Dr Mikołaj Kunicki, Director of Programme on Modern Poland — Dr Agnieszka Gurbin, Programme on Modern Poland Administrator — Katarzyna Jeżowska and Hubert Czyżewski, DPhil Candidates 09 Dr Dariusz Brzeziński Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences [email protected] TurningPoints Of 1956, 1968, 1980, 1989 In The Works Of Zygmunt Bauman1 KEYWORDS: POST-WAR POLAND, SOCIALISM, ZYGMUNT BAUMAN, REVISIONISM, 1968 POLISH POLITICAL CRISIS, SOLIDARITY, FALL OF COMMUNISM Introduction In an interview published in “The Guardian” in 2007 Bauman commented on the situation in Poland after the Second World War: “Poland was a very back- ward country before the war, which was exacerbated by the occupation. In an impoverished country you expect deprivation, humiliation, human indignity and so on, a whole complex of social and cultural problems to be dealt with. If you looked at the political spectrum in Poland at that time, the Communist party promised the best solution.”2 Bauman actively supported the establish- ment of ‘the brave new world’ for a few years after the Second World War. He became a member of the Communist party, worked for The Internal Security Corps (1945-953) and cooperated with the Military Intelligence (1945-1948). Within this time his attitude towards communism had been fluctuating. It was not, however, a result of his doubts as far as the aims and values of this ideology were concerned, but a consequence of the way they had been realising. He witnessed the inefficiency, incompetence and increasing inertia of the bureaucratic apparatus of power. Moreover, Bauman watched the purges conducted by the communist rulers and was aware that he – as a merchant’s son and a student aspiring to the status of an intellectual – may be a potential victim of the next one. Finally, in 1953 he was dishonourably discharged on charges of alleged involvement in Zionist conspiracy. But even this fact had not changed his commitment to the correctness of the ruling ideology, nor took away his desire to contribute to its materialisation. From this time, however, he 1 This research was funded by the National Science Centre in Poland on the basis of the grant awarded after obtaining a doctoral degree, based on the decision No DEC-2014/12/S/ HS2/00391. 2 Bauman Zygmunt in: Edermann Aida, ‘Professor with the Past’, The Guardian, April 18, 2007, http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/apr/28/academicexperts. highereducation (accessed September 24, 2015) DR DARIUSZ BRZEZIŃSKI 10 TURNING-POINTS OF 1956, 1968, 1980, 1989... 11 changed the battlefront. He started promoting Marxist ideas as an engaged and providing party, able to lead the masses into the right direction.’5 In sociologist. At the beginning he did this as a devoted follower of the the quoted article Bauman repeatedly emphasised the positive value of the Communist Party, and then as a representative of revisionist thought. transformations that had taken place in post-war Poland. He commended In this paper I interpret Zygmunt Bauman’s papers written between 1953 the abolition of the landowning class, the nationalisation of the industry and and 1989. This analysis will be mainly – but not only – focused on his view the cultural revolution aimed at improving the social situation of the masses. of the four turning points in Polish history: 1956, 1968, 1981 and 1989. The The article seems characteristic for propaganda at that time, however, some first date refers to the Polish October, when Bauman – previously an active oblique advice and directions may be found there also. Namely, Bauman supporter of the Polish Party – became one of the leading Polish revisionists. underlined the necessity to keep the closest possible connection between the In 1968 he was expelled from the Warsaw University – together with five party and the masses and indicated the danger connected with the breaking other academics – on the basis of the Polish political crises. In 1980 Bauman of it. He emphasised as well that the working class will be able to achieve the analysed the Solidarity movement in the broader context of the changes in revolutionary goals only and exclusively with the aid of right, wise leadership. contemporary Europe and interpreted it as a step towards ‘the maturation of Bauman stressed the need to strictly fulfill the Marxist-Leninist ideology.6 socialism.’ Ten years later he wrote on the fall of communism as one of the This emphasis was significantly increased three years later in the time rare examples of systemic revolution. He had not, however, ceased extolling of “little stabilisation”, when the process of destalinisation took place the virtues of socialist values. in Poland.7 In this context I would like to quote his first published book: An analysis of Bauman’s papers focused on the aforementioned events Leninism and the Problem of Democratic Centralism.8 This piece is exemplary is of particular importance for several reasons. Firstly, such examination for contemporary revisionist thought, as far as both the criticism of Stalinism is indispensable for understanding