Keesing's World News Archives http://www.keesings.com/print/search?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=pr... Keesing's Record of World Events (formerly Keesing's Contemporary Archives), Volume X, October, 1956 Poland, Page 15161 © 1931-2006 Keesing's Worldwide, LLC - All Rights Reserved. New Liberalized Policy adopted by United Workers' Party. - M. Gomulka appointed First Secretary. - “Pro-Moscow” Elements dropped from Politburo. - M. Gomulka's Denunciation of Past Errors of Regime. - Emphasis on Independent Development of Polish Socialism. - Soviet Leaders' Sudden Visit to Warsaw. - Polish Resistance to Reported Soviet Demands. - “Pravda” Attack on Polish Press. - Easing of Soviet-Polish Tension.-Release of Cardinal Wyszynski. - The Poznan Trials. The Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' (Communist) Party, at a three-day session on Oct. 19-21, took a number of important decisions which included the election of a new Politburo from which all former “Stalinist” elements were dropped, including Marshal Rokossovsky, the Minister of Defence. The new Politburo included M. Wladyslaw Gomulka, who had recently been readmitted to party membership after five years in prison on charges of “Titoism” and “nationalist deviationism,” and who was unanimously elected First Secretary of the United Workers' Party in place of M.-Edward Ochab. During the first day's session (Oct. 19) a dramatic intervention was made by M. Khrushchev and other leaders of the Soviet Communist Party, who flew suddenly to Warsaw and conferred for many hours with the Polish leaders. From speeches by M. Gomulka (see below) and other political leaders, it was made clear that the Polish Government and the U. W. P. were determined to carry forward and intensify the trend towards further democratization of the country's political and economic life, and to rectify the past mistakes of the regime. In particular, it was emphasized that Poland, while continuing the policy of friendship and alliance with the U.S.S.R., was determined to pursue her own road to Socialism and to resist any Soviet or other domination in her internal affairs. These and other developments in the Polish political situation are summarized below under cross- headings. The official statement issued by the Central Committee of the U. W. P. said that discussions “on current political and economic problems and on personnel and organizational matters” had resulted in the following decisions: (1) M. Gomulka, General Marjan Spychaiski, M. Ignacy Loga-Sowinski, and M. Zenon Kliszko had been co-opted as members of the Central Committee. (2) A new Politburo had been appointed consisting of M. Jozef Cyrankiewicz (the Prime Minister), M. Gomulka, M. Stefan Jedrichowski, M. Loga-Sowinski, M. Jerzy Morawski, M. Edward Ochab, M. Adam Rapacki (the Foreign Minister), M. Roman Zambrowski, and M. Alexander Zawadski. (3) M. Gomulka had been unanimously elected First Secretary of the United Workers' Party. (4) A new Secretariat of the Politburo had been appointed consisting of M. Gomulka, M. Ochab, M. Jerzy Albrecht, M. Edward Gierek, M. Witold Jarosinski, M. Wladyslaw Matwin, 1 of 10 11/9/10 11:15 AM Keesing's World News Archives http://www.keesings.com/print/search?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=pr... and M. Zambrowski. (5) A special commission had been set up “to call to responsibility before the party those persons who in recent years controlled the activities of the security organizations.” (6) Resolutions had been adopted “on the current political and economic tasks of the party.” M. Wladyslaw Gomulka (51) was born in Polish Gallcia, of a working-class family. Starting working life as a plumber, he played an active part in trade union organization and revolutionary activities, and served many terms of imprisonment during the inter-war years for illegal political agitation. During the German occupation of Poland he became General Secretary of the underground Polish Communist Party, and distinguished himself as a Resistance leader and anti-Nazi fighter. In the immediate post-war years he was one of the leading members of the Politburo and the Central Committee of the U. W. P., but from 1948 onwards was subjected to increasing attacks by M. Bierut and other political leaders for ideological “deviationism.” He was expelled from the party in 1949, after the break between Yugoslavia and the Cominform, deprived of Parliamentary immunity in October 1951, and arrested on charges of “Titoism.” Held in prison without trial for nearly five years, he was released in April 1956 (see page 14819) and readmitted to party membership in August (see page 15034). Of the 11 members of the Politburo appointed in 1954, only M, Cyrankiewicz, M. Ochab, M. Zambrowski, and M. Zawadski remained; M. Boleslaw Bierut had died in March 1956 (see 14767 A), General Radkiewicz and M. Berman had been dismissed (see 14881 A, 14817 A), and M. Hilary Minc had resigned a week before the latest changes (see below). Of the new members (apart from M. Gomulka), both General Spychalski (a former Minister of Defence) and M. Kliszko (a former State Secretary) had been recently released and rehabilitated after several years' imprisonment for “Titoism” (see page 15084). Marshal Rokossovsky, as stated above, was removed from the Politburo but remained Minister of Defence. A Pole by birth, he had lived most of his life in the Soviet Union, distinguished himself as one of Russia's leading soldiers during the Second World War, and after the war officially re-adopted Polish nationality and became Minister of Defence and a member of the Polish Government. The other outgoing members were M. Zenon Nowak, M. Mazur, M. Dworakowski, and M. Jozwiak- Witold all of whom, like Marshal Rokossovsky himself, were members of the “pro- Moscow” group in the Politburo, as opposed to the “liberal” group led by M. Cyrankiewicz. Simultaneously with taking the above-mentioned decisions, the Central Committee of U. W. P. also appointed General Spychalski as Deputy Minister of Defence and concurrently head of the Central Political Bureau of the Polish Army, in place of General Kazimierz Witaszewski. On Oct. 29 Warsaw Radio announced that Marshal Rokossovsky had “gone on leave” and that General Bordzilowski, the Chief of Staff, had been appointed acting Minister of Defence. On Oct. 30 General Spychalski dismissed the Russian-born commander of the Polish Air Force, General Ivan Turkiel, and appointed Major-General Frey-Bielecki (the deputy commander) as acting commander. It had been announced on Oct. 10 that M. Hilary Minc, a Vice-Premier and a member of the Politburo, had resigned from both positions on grounds of ill-health H.M. Minc, an orthodox “Stalnist” in the economic field, had been Poland's chief economic planner during Stallin's lifetime and was responsible for the policy of intensive industrialization and for the attempts to collectivize agriculture. The dismissal of two Deputy Ministers—M. Roman Fidolski (Engineering Industry) and M. Edward Demidowski (Foreign Trade)—had been announced on Sept. 20. no reason being given nor any successors announced. M. Fidelski had taken part in the negotiations with the Poznan workers' 2 of 10 11/9/10 11:15 AM Keesing's World News Archives http://www.keesings.com/print/search?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=pr... delegation, whose complaints about low wages and illegal taxes led to the riots of June 28. The text of a speech by M. Gomulka to the Central Committee of the U. W. P., made on Oct. 20, was broadcast by Warsaw Radio. In this speech M. Gomulka strongly denouneed the past errors of the party leadership, and emphasized that the pattern of Socialism was not necessarily confined to the Soviet model but could also take other forms, as the case of Yugoslavia had shown. M. Gomulka began his speech with a denunciation of the industrial and agricultural policy pursued during the past seven years. In the coalmining industry, for example, man-output per day had fallen by 12.4 per cent since 1949 and by 35 per cent since 1938, while in the agricultural sector it had been clearly proved that farm production by independent cultivators was far greater than on State and collective farms, e.g. in 1955 independent farmers had delivered 83.9 per cent of total production compared with only 8.4 per cent by State farms and 7.9 per cent by collectives. It was essential to stop granting credits to weak and unproductive collective farms, and to realize that the construction of Socialism in the countryside was a long-term process depending on the “voluntary accession” of the individual farmer. Many individual farmers had been ruined as a result of the “imbecility of agricultural policy in the past,” and no pride could be taken in the “ultimate capitulation of a kulak” in the face of past policy. Moreover, the housing situation in the countryside was “catastrophic” and was growing worse year by year. The main obstacles to Poland's economic development, M. Gomulka went on, were the impatience of the workers as a result of their poor living standards, the lack of consumer goods, and insufficient supplies of raw materials. The Poznan uprising was not due to “imperialist agents” but was a result of many years of deep discontent among the working classes. “The workers wanted to know the truth,” he said, “but the party leadership was afraid of admitting its serious mistakes and errors… The riots were due to lies such as the juggling of pay statistics alleging that there had been a 27 per cent increase in the past six years. At Poznan the working class gave the party a painful lesson by going into the streets and shouting: ‘Enough of this: it cannot go on in this way any longerl’… There would have been no riots if the party leadership had not concealed the truth,” M.