Aleksei Lokhmatov the Topic of This Article, Unfortunately, Does Not Need

EUROPA ORIENTALIS 38 (2019) CONCEPTUALISING ‘ANTI-ZIONISM’: PIASECKI’S GROUP AS AN INTELLECTUAL RESOURCE FOR THE 1968 ANTISEMITIC CAMPAIGN IN PEOPLE’S POLAND* Aleksei Lokhmatov The topic of this article, unfortunately, does not need a justification of its rel- evance. Antisemitic idioms1 have been circulating within the Eastern Euro- pean political space until now. Moreover, one can find these not only in the pages of the right-wing press but also in the public discourse of politicians in some Eastern European countries. All of this has caused an increase in the in- terest, among historians and other scholars, in the deconstruction and histori- cisation of antisemitic idioms. The theme of this paper is also important histor- ically. It is not possible to speak of the intellectual atmosphere of 1968 if one ignores the ‘anti-Zionist’ campaign of this time, not only because it had a significant impact on the political rhetoric of the time, but also because it caused essential changes in the social structure of the Polish state. Considerable research exists on the student movement and the authorities’ struggle against it. There are several valuable publications on the political propa- ganda and institutional aggression of the security services against Polish people of Jewish descent. Additionally, historians have formulated many important concepts concerning both the sociological aspects of 1968 and the intellectual creativity of the student activists.2 In this article, I would like to examine _________________ * I thank Prof. Maciej Górny and Dr Jan Czarnecki for reading and commenting on the manuscript of this article. 1 As the historian Joanna Michlic defines it (See: J. B. Michlic, Poland’s Threatening Other: The Image of The Jew from 1880 to the Present, Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 2006, pp. 1-23.). 2 See, for example: J. Eisler, Marzec 1968: geneza, przebieg, konsekwencje, Warszawa, Pań- stwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1991; P. Madajczyk, Cień roku ’68, Warszawa, Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN, 2012; Dariusz Stola, Kampania antysyjonistyczna w Polsce 1967-1968, War- szawa, Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN, 2000; Społeczność żydowska w PRL przed kampanią antysemicką lat 1967–1968 i po niej, red. Grzegorz Berendt, Warszawa, IPN, 2009; M. Głowiński, Marcowe gadanie, Warszawa, Wyd. Pomost, 1991; Hans-Christian Dahlmann, Antisemitismus in Polen 1968: Interaktionen zwischen Partei und Gesellschaft, Osnabrück, Fibre, 2013. See also: Marzec 1968. W poszukiwaniu programu odnowy: satyra studencka, Warszawa, NZS PW, 1981. 104 Aleksei Lokhmatov another aspect of this issue. This paper covers the participation of a Catholic group headed by the charismatic figure Bolesław Piasecki in the ‘Anti-Zionist’ campaign of 1968. This will be analysed both within the socio-political con- text of 1968 and in retrospect, with a detailed examination of the intellectual genealogy of Piasecki’s group. This approach – contextualisation and histo- ricisation – aims to help to understand both the internal logic of the develop- ment of antisemitic idioms and its function in the public space. Thus, I will attempt to develop, to some extent, the current historiography of this topic, al- though significant progress has been made in this area in recent years. The question of antisemitism is probably one of the most sensitive issues for Polish historical memory.3 I would prefer not to engage in discussions on the social status of antisemitism in the inter-war period, but I should mention several of the most essential aspects of this problem to contextualise my sub- sequent narrative. It is clear that the Jewish question became a vital political issue at the turn of the 19th century. The idea of ‘the Jewish threat’ played an essential role in social mobilisation, especially in the discourse of the “National movement” (“Ruch narodowy”) and among the clergymen.4 The Jewish people were understood as an obstacle to maintaining the coherency of nation and religion. In their works, Jan T. Gross and Marcin Zaremba show that antisemitic idioms did not disappear from Polish everyday life following the Second World War,5 and Johanna Michlic demonstrates the presence of these in the discourse of both the clergymen and the party func- tionaries, despite the measures to combat antisemitism conducted by the new authorities.6 The post-war political and geographical landscape of Poland led to many nationalistic references when constructing the new political image of the Polish Republic.7 The concept of a mono-national state in the public _________________ 3 The public discussion on the Jan T. Gross’ books could exemplify this statement. See: J.T. Gross, Wokół “Sąsiadów”: Polemiki i wyjaśnienia, Warszawa, Pogranicze, 2003. 4 P. Brian, When Nationalism Began to Hate: Imagining Modern Politics in Nineteenth-Cen- tury Poland, New York and Oxford 2000, pp. 189-222; J. B. Michlic, Poland’s Threatening Other…, cit., pp. 24-68; J. Majchrowski, Silni Zwarci Gotowi. Myśl polityczna Obozu Zjednoczenia Narodowego, Warszawa, PWN, 1985. 5 M. Zaremba, Wielka Trwoga. Polska 1944-1947. Ludowa reakcja na kryzys, Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Znak, Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN, 2012; J.T. Gross, Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland, Princeton University Press, 2001. Clearly, the historiography on this topic is not limited by these publications. 6 J.B. Michlic, Poland’s Threatening Other…, cit., pp. 196-229. 7 See: M. Zaremba, Komunizm, legitymizacja, nacjonalizm. Nacjonalistyczna legitymizacja wladzy komunistycznej w Polsce, Warszawa, Trio, 2005. Conceptualising ‘anti-Zionism’: Piasecki’s group 105 speeches of Polish politicians8 also problematised the status of the Jewish question in Poland under the new political conditions. The Catholic presence in the public space of the post-war Polish state was also not homogeneous. Three most significant centres emerged that clai- med to be the ‘defenders of the Catholic interests’ in the public discussions after the war: The Krakow Catholic group of the weekly “Tygodnik Powsze- chny” which attracted mainly the young intellectuals of non-nationalistic attitude; the Warsaw group of “Tygodnik Warszawski” led by the famous priest Zygmunt Kaczyński;9 and Bolesław Piasecki with his following. During the so-called ‘Stalinization’, the Warsaw group was arrested and disbanded; sometime later, “Tygodnik Powszechny” was temporarily closed,10 and Pia- secki’s group experienced some splits.11 Nevertheless, during the whole ‘People’s’ period in Polish history, one could see active Catholic participation in the public life of the Polish state, and Piasecki played a unique role in this. This is why his activity should be examined particularly closely. It is necessary to pay attention to the biography of the main protagonist of this paper. Bolesław Bogdan Piasecki was born in 1915 in Łódź. From his youth, according to his friends’ accounts, he organised different school clubs and underground communities. The biographers of Piasecki A. Dudek and G. Pytel argue that his coevals remarked upon Piasecki’s belief in his special destination from childhood, and one of them called him a “philosophical ma- niac” (“filozofujący maniak”).12 During the early interwar period, Piasecki was an active member of the different national-democratic institutions headed by the nationalist Roman Dmowski. Nevertheless, he was not satisfied with playing second fiddle and soon became one of the leaders within the group “ONR-Falanga” (the most radical right-wing organisation). Piasecki experienced severe conflicts with other leaders of this movement but was 13 always able to maintain his position on the political scene. _________________ 8 See, for example: J.B. Michlic, Poland’s Threatening Other…, cit., pp. 196-229. 9 By the way, in the interwar period, Kaczyński was a church commissioner for the Free- masonry, see: M. Biełaszko, “Nie dam się złamać”, “Nasz Dziennik”, 110 (2823), May 12- 13, 2007 (http://mtrojnar.rzeszow.opoka.org.pl/ksieza_niezlomni/zygmunt_kaczynski/; acces- sed on: 14.1.16]). 10 More precisely, it was passed under the control of Piasecki’s group. 11 See, for instance: A. Friszke, Między wojną a więzieniem. 1945-1953. Młoda inteligen- cja katolicka, Warszawa, Instytut Studiów Politycznych PAN, 2015. 12 A. Dudek, G. Pytel, Bolesław Piasecki. Próba biografii politycznej, Londyn 1990, p. 12. 13 See, for instance, his struggle in the national-democratic camp of the interwar Poland (Ibidem, pp. 100-102). 106 Aleksei Lokhmatov During the war, Piasecki worked on justifying the collaboration with the Nazi authorities against the Soviet Union,14 but soon was arrested by the Ge- stapo. According to one version of events, he was released from prison after the personal intercession of Mussolini, because of Piasecki’s contact with Italian fascists.15 After that, Piasecki took part in the underground resistance and headed one of the partisan units. Nevertheless, he had come into conflict with the Home Army generals and created an independent guerrilla army of sympathisers.16 With the coming of Soviet troops, Piasecki was arrested by the NKVD but was able to get an opportunity to speak personally to the So- viet general Ivan A. Serov. Piasecki proposed a political project to the general which he had written during the imprisonment. He used unusual tactics: he blamed the Polish Committee of National Liberation17 for its wrong infor- mation policy and asserted that nobody explained the real aims of the Red Army to Polish society. According

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