Seeing Through the Eyes of the Polish Revolution: Solidarity and the Struggle Against Communism in Poland

Seeing Through the Eyes of the Polish Revolution Historical Materialism Book Series Editorial Board Sébastien Budgen, Paris – Steve Edwards, London Marcel van der Linden, Amsterdam – Peter Thomas, London VOLUME 50 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/hm Seeing Through the Eyes of the Polish Revolution Solidarity and the Struggle Against Communism in Poland By Jack M. Bloom LEIDEn • BOSTON 2013 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bloom, Jack M. Seeing through the eyes of the Polish Revolution : Solidarity and the struggle against communism in Poland / by Jack M. Bloom. pages cm. — (Historical materialism, ISSN 1570-1522 ; volume 50) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-23180-1 (hardback : acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-25276-9 (e-book) 1. NSZZ “Solidarnosc” (Labor organization)—History. 2. NSZZ “Solidarnosc” (Labor organization)—Biography. 3. Political activists—Poland—Interviews. 4. Interviews—Poland. 5. Anti-communist movements— Poland—History—20th century. 6. Revolutions—Poland—History—20th century. 7. Opposition (Political science)—Poland—History—20th century. 8. Social conflict-—Poland—History—20th century. 9. Poland—Politics and government—1980–1989. 10. Poland—Social conditions—1980–1989. I. Title. HD8537.N783B58 2013 943.805’6—dc23 2013012457 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 1570-1522 ISBN 978-90-04-23180-1 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-25276-9 (e-book) Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. To Joanna – A Treasure I Was Not Supposed to Find and To Anna – The Treasure She Gave Me Contents Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... ix Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1. Patronage and Corruption in Communist Poland .................................... 17 Part One: The Emergence of Opposition 2. The First Systemic Crisis ................................................................................... 45 3. ‘Living Parallel to the System’: The Solidarity Generation ..................... 67 4. A Line of Blood .................................................................................................... 81 5. An Opposition Emerges ..................................................................................... 99 6. Independent Organisations and Opposition ............................................... 125 Part Two: The Solidarity Revolution 7. The Solidarity Explosion ................................................................................... 145 8. Social Solidarity and the Victory of Solidarność ........................................ 165 9. The Solidarity Revolution ................................................................................. 183 10. The Solidarity Offensive .................................................................................... 199 11. Bydgoszcz: the Turning Point .......................................................................... 219 12. The Party at War with Itself ............................................................................. 237 13. Approaching Open Conflict ............................................................................. 261 Part Three: A Resurgent Opposition and the End of Communism in Poland 14. Counter-Revolution! ........................................................................................... 287 15. The Resistance ...................................................................................................... 307 16. Rebuilding the Movement ................................................................................ 323 17. ‘To Kill a Priest’ ..................................................................................................... 345 18. Negotiating the End ............................................................................................ 363 viii • Contents Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 375 Researching the Polish Revolution ........................................................................ 387 Glossary of Interviewees ........................................................................................... 399 References ..................................................................................................................... 409 Index ............................................................................................................................... 421 Acknowledgments Anyone who writes a book usually has a big debt to many people who helped in many ways. In my case, for this book, the debt is more far-reaching than usual, and I will attempt to clarify it here. To begin, I want to thank Indiana University and the Polish Studies Center at IU Bloomington, and the Russian and East European Institute, also at IU Bloomington, for the support they have given me in this project. The Polish Studies Center chose to send me three times on the exchange-programme with Warsaw University. The first, in 1986, was a get-acquainted trip, which made my decision to begin the programme of research that resulted in this book. Jack Bielasiak, who was director of the PSC at the time, was supportive of my efforts to reach beyond my own field of study and to become acquainted with one that was entirely different. This book would not exist but for the aid given me by these institutions, and I am grateful for it. When I first got the news that I had been chosen for the exchange-programme, I decided that I needed to get some contacts who could help me meet people in Poland. David Finkel vouched for me and put me in contact with Jane Dobija, a Polish-American woman who had gone to Poland because of Solidarity and who had made extensive contacts there. (Jane later became the NPR correspondent for Poland, for a time.) Jane kindly gave me letters of introduction to Wojciech Adamiecki in Warsaw and to Krzysztof Kasprzyk in Kraków, both independent journalists. They, in turn, introduced me to several people – such that by the time I left after five weeks there, I realised that I had good enough contacts to be able to speak with anyone in the opposition whom I chose. It seemed an opportunity from which I could not walk away. In subsequent visits, both Adamiecki and Kasprzyk helped me continue to make connections. Kasprzyk introduced me to Maciek Szumowski, who took a liking to me; he, in turn, passed me on to Tadeusz Pikulicki, who knew everyone in the opposition in Kraków, and who went out of his way to connect me to these people and to persuade them to talk to me, and who became a good friend of mine. Through this nexus, I not only met the opposition in that city, but also leaders of the reform-movement within the Communist Party, which included Szumowski, Kasprzyk and several others. Kasprzyk later came to the US and stayed with me for a while as he was reconstructing his life. We became good friends. x • Acknowledgments Adamiecki made connections for me in Wroclaw with Barbara Labuda, who was not in Wrocław when I visited, but who made the crucial connections for me there. Later, I contacted Jan Lityński, who helped me a great deal, and who gave me a crucial connection in Gdańsk to Joanna Wojciechowicz, who connected me with virtually everyone I spoke with there. Adamiecki also gave me a connection with Jarosław Szczepański, who arranged for me to stay in Jastrzębie with Joanna Latoch and her family. She arranged for a translator and set up my interviews. That was a particularly important connection for me as Joanna later became my wife (and translator). Adamiecki furthermore gave me contacts in the US and Canada with key oppositionists who were then in exile. He also helped sustain me when I was in Warsaw. In Warsaw, Witold Morawski provided me with an academic connection to the sociology department at Warsaw University. He also befriended me, encouraged me in my work and read an early version of this manuscript. Similarly, Jadwiga Koralewicz and Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński took an interest in my work and provided me with encouragement and advice. Beyond those people who were essential to this project were my friends and colleagues who encouraged me. Bert Useem supported the idea of my taking on this entirely new project; his friendship and our debates concerning the world have helped sustain me during a lengthy period. R. Stephen Warner, who I first got to know when we were graduate

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