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139-401: (Redirected from United Workers Party ) The United Workers' Party may refer to: Polish United Workers' Party United Workers' Party (Dominica) United Workers Party (Guyana) United Workers Party (Israel) , commonly known as Mapam United Workers Party (Saint Lucia) United Workers Party (United States) Topics referred to by

278-451: A one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parties together as the Front of National Unity and later Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth . Ideologically, it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism , with a strong emphasis on left-wing nationalism . The Polish United Workers' Party had total control over public institutions in

417-516: A "Polish way to socialism", and beginning an era known as Gomułka's thaw , he came under Soviet pressure. Gomułka participated in the Warsaw Pact intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting students as well as toughening censorship of the media. In 1968, he incited an anti-Zionist propaganda campaign , part of a wider Communist bloc opposition to

556-523: A bitter anti-Semitic campaign during the 1968 Polish political crisis , which forced the remainder of Poland's Jews to emigrate. Amidst the ongoing political and economic crises, the Solidarity movement emerged as a major anti-bureaucratic social movement that pursued social change. With communist rule being relaxed in neighbouring countries, the PZPR systematically lost support and was forced to negotiate with

695-649: A democratic process and initiated the Prague Spring , leading to the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union. Under pressure from the Kremlin , all reforms were repealed, party leadership became taken over by its more authoritarian wing, and a massive non-bloody purge of party members was conducted. In 1989, however, the party leadership bowed to popular pressure during the Velvet Revolution and agreed to call

834-544: A general department). In most instances the party departments paralleled agencies and ministries of the government and supervised their activities to ensure conformity with KSČ norms and programmes. Also under CC supervision were two party training centres: the Advanced School of Politics and the Institute of Marxism–Leninism (see below). Down on republic level party structure deviated from the government organisation in that

973-432: A leading secretary, a number of secretaries and a regional Supervisory and Auditing Commission. Regional units were broken down into a total of 114 district-level (Czech: okresní ) organisations. District conferences were held simultaneously every two to three years, at which time each conference selected a district committee that subsequently selected a secretariat to be headed by a district secretary. At local level, KSČ

1112-417: A membership of "almost 1,200,000" was claimed in the spring of 1971 for a country with an estimated population of approx. 14.5 million — still one of the highest Communist party membership rates in the world on a percentage basis at that time. Owing to this membership decline, accelerated recruitment efforts were targeted at youth and factory workers for the rest of the 1970s. The party's membership efforts in

1251-595: A moderate or pragmatic, he was pressed by hardliners, most notably Vasil Biľak . An important Slovak Communist Party functionary from 1943 to 1950, Husák was arrested in 1951 and sentenced to three years, later increased to life imprisonment, for "bourgeois nationalism" during the Stalinist purges of the era. Released in 1960 and rehabilitated in 1963, Husák refused any political position in Antonín Novotný 's régime but after Novotný's fall he became deputy prime minister during

1390-513: A particular salience. KSČ was often reticent with precise details about its members, and the question of how many in the party actually belonged to the revolutionary proletariat proper became a delicate one. Official statements appeared to overstate the percentage of workers within the party's ranks. Nonetheless, a number of trends were clear. The proportion of workers in KSČ was at its highest (approximately 60% of total membership) after World War II but before

1529-512: A party named Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was registered as a political party in the Czech Republic and on the 22 April 1995 Miroslav Štěpán was elected its General Secretary. The party claimed to be the heir to KSČ and rejected the claims of KSČM on the basis of their revisionist positions. The majority of remaining communists rejected their claim to represent the old party and continued their political career as members of KSČM. In 1999

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1668-668: A post he held until 1954. He remained party leader until his death in 1956. Bierut oversaw the trials of many Polish wartime military leaders, such as General Stanisław Tatar and Brig. General Emil August Fieldorf , as well as 40 members of the Wolność i Niezawisłość (Freedom and Independence) organisation, various Church officials and many other opponents of the new regime including Witold Pilecki , condemned to death during secret trials . Bierut signed many of those death sentences. Bierut's mysterious death in Moscow in 1956 (shortly after attending

1807-463: A program to modernize industry and increase the availability of consumer goods, doing so mostly through foreign loans. His good relations with Western politicians, especially France's Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's Helmut Schmidt , were a catalyst for his receiving western aid and loans. On December 6-11, 1971, the 6th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party was held (for

1946-607: A separate communist party unit existed in the Slovak Socialist Republic (see Communist Party of Slovakia ) but not in the Czech Socialist Republic. KSS emerged from World War II as a party distinct from KSČ, but the two were united after the communist takeover in 1948. The reformer movement of the 1960s advocated a return to a system of autonomous parties for the two republics. Bureau for the Conduct of Party Work in

2085-457: A stroke). A dynamic younger man, Edward Gierek , took over the Party leadership and tensions eased. In the late 1960s, Edward Gierek had created a personal power base and become the recognized leader of the young technocrat faction of the party. When rioting over economic conditions broke out in late 1970, Gierek replaced Gomułka as party first secretary. Gierek promised economic reform and instituted

2224-570: A tractor factory in the opening days of the Soviet occupation, this congress denounced the invasion, and was later declared illegal, its proceedings stricken from party records, and a second, "legal" 14th Party Congress held in May 1971. Subsequent numbered congresses were held in April 1976, April 1981 and March 1986. Party congress theoretically was responsible for making basic policy decisions; in practice, however, it

2363-519: Is considered to be the symbolic end of the process of liberalization of the system in the Gomułka era. During the session, the First Secretary delivered one of the most important speeches in his career. He devoted the report "On the current problems of the ideological work of the party" to policy towards culture, considering that the most important threat on the "cultural front" is revisionism. He condemned

2502-461: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Polish United Workers%27 Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( Polish : Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza , pronounced [ˈpɔlska zjɛdnɔˈt͡ʂɔna ˈpartja rɔbɔtˈɲit͡ʂa] ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR , was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as

2641-697: Is with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , the place of the People's Republic of Poland - with the Soviet Union". It began with securing the interests of the party apparatus. In the autumn of 1972, the State Council issued decrees that privileged people holding the highest positions in the state and their families in terms of remuneration. At that time, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of

2780-632: The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ) gave rise to much speculation about poisoning or a suicide, and symbolically marked the end of Stalinism era in Poland. On November 11-13, 1949, a plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, which was devoted to the tasks of the party in the fight for revolutionary vigilance. The plenum was dedicated to two leading topics: increasing indoctrination and continuing

2919-552: The Kremlin , was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party. On July 18-28, 1956, during the 7th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, the Natolinians and the Puławy faction clashed again. The former saw the 1956 Poznań protests as an agent-like and counter-revolutionary action. The Pulawians saw it as a mass protest of an economic nature. The balance of power between

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3058-587: The Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth . In 1985, Jaruzelski resigned as prime minister and defence minister and became chairman of the Polish Council of State , a post equivalent to that of president, with his power centered on and firmly entrenched in his coterie of " LWP " generals and lower rank officers of the Polish People's Army. On December 20-21, 1988, the first part of the 10th Plenum of

3197-446: The Prague Spring . After Dubček's resignation Husák was named KSČ First Secretary in April 1969 and president of the republic in July 1975. Above all, Husák was a survivor who learned to accommodate the powerful political forces surrounding him and he denounced Dubček after 1969. Other prominent moderates/pragmatics who were still in power by 1987 included: These leaders generally supported

3336-505: The Six-Day War . On 20-22 January 1960, during the 4th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, many personnel changes were made in the highest positions in the party. Jerzy Morawski 's place in the Central Committee secretariat was taken by Ryszard Strzelecki , associated with the Natolinians . Together with him, another experienced Edward Ochab was co-opted to

3475-451: The Velvet Revolution in 1989. In November, Jakeš and the entire Presidium resigned. Jakeš was succeeded by Karel Urbanek , who only held power for about a month before the party formally abandoned power in December. Later that month, Husák, who retained the presidency after standing down as general secretary, was forced to swear in the country's first non-Communist government in 41 years. At

3614-407: The Velvet Revolution . The false story that a student named Martin Šmíd was killed by the state police was likely aided by the demonstrators confusing memories of him with a dead body of a student, because he was accidentally struck by his colleagues and blacked out. After Štěpán died in 2014 and was replaced as General Secretary by Jiří Vábr, the party had another split. Vojtěch Mišičák accused

3753-569: The Warsaw University of Technology from 15 to 21 December 1948. The unification was possible because the PPS had effectively been taken over by pro-Communist fellow travelers , and the activists who opposed unification had been forced out of the party. Similarly, the members of the PPR who were accused of "rightist–nationalist deviation" ( Polish : odchylenie prawicowo-nacjonalistyczne ) were expelled. Thus,

3892-547: The 12th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, devoted to assessing the events of the past. As a sign of protest against the anti-Semitic campaign, Edward Ochab resigned from his mandate as a member of the Political Bureau and the Central Committee. On November 11-16 of that year, the 5th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party was held with the participation of Leonid Brezhnev , Walter Ulbricht and Todor Zhivkov . Brezhnev presented

4031-466: The 18th party congress held November 3–4, 1990, the party was rebaptized as KSČS and became a federation of two parties: the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) and the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS). Pavol Kanis served as the chairman of the Federal Council of KSČS. However, the two constituent organizations of the federal party were moving in different directions politically and there

4170-587: The 1980s focused on recruiting politically and professionally qualified people willing to exercise greater activism in implementing the party's program. Party leaders at the 17th Party Congress (1986) urged recruitment of more workers, young people, and women. In 1981 it had 1,538,179 members (10% of the population) KSČ membership was contingent upon completion of a one-year period as a candidate member. Candidate members could not vote or be elected to party committees. In addition to candidates for party membership, there were also candidates for party leadership groups from

4309-409: The 1st National Conference of the Polish United Workers' Party, a "great and universal action of working people undertaken for the purpose of educating the 30th anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland" was initiated. Reports of increased production and coal mining began to arrive from all over the country. However, the quality of life did not improve. On February 15 of that year, the 13th Plenum of

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4448-423: The 5th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party met under the slogan "For consistent implementation of the socio-economic program of the 7th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party, for higher efficiency of management". Stefan Olszowski and Alojzy Karkoszka were appointed as secretaries. On 9-10 January 1978, the 2nd National Conference of the Polish United Workers' Party met under

4587-471: The Central Committee secretariat, already as a full member. The idea of strengthening the power of the party apparatus was returned to by establishing two new departments in the Central Committee - the Department of Science and Education, headed by Andrzej Werblan , and the Department of Culture headed by Wincenty Kraska . The personnel carousel also included several first secretaries of the Central Committee of

4726-412: The Central Committee was held, devoted to the topic of "Ideological and educational tasks of the party in the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland". During the meeting, Wincenty Kraska and Andrzej Werblan were elected secretaries of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, while Kazimierz Barcikowski, recommended for the position of Minister of Agriculture,

4865-491: The Central Committee was the highest body. Because the Central Committee met twice a year, most day-to-day duties and responsibilities were vested in the Politburo. The party leader was the head of government and held the office of either General Secretary, Premier or head of state, or some of the three offices concurrently, but never all three at the same time. In 1968, party leader Alexander Dubček proposed reforms that included

5004-600: The Central Supervisory and Auditing Commission, as well as discussion and approval of their reports. Between congresses, KSČ's Central Committee (CC) was responsible for directing party activities and implementing general policy decisions. Party statutes also provided that CC functioned as the primary arm of KSČ control over the organs of federal government and the republics, National Front, and all cultural and professional organizations. Party members holding leading positions in these bodies were responsible directly to CC for

5143-719: The Czech Lands was created as a counterpart to KSS, but it was suppressed after the 1968 invasion and by 1971 had been stricken from party records. KSČ had ten regional subdivisions (seven in the Czech lands, three in Slovakia) identical to kraje , the ten major governmental administrative divisions. In addition, however, the Prague and Bratislava municipal party organs, because of their size, were given regional status within KSČ. Regional conferences selected regional committees, which in turn selected

5282-630: The Democratic Left ( Federácie KSČM a SDĽ ). KSČM unsuccessfully appealed to two Slovak communist splinter parties, the Communist Party of Slovakia – 91 (KSS '91) and the Union of Communists of Slovakia (ZKS), to join the Federation. At the first SDL congress in December 1991, SDL formally withdrew from the Federation with the KSČM. The Federation was formally declared dissolved in April 1992. On 10 March 1995

5421-440: The Federation of Socialist Unions of Polish Youth was established, an organization operating under the leadership of PZPR, whose goal was to indoctrinate youth in the spirit of Marxist ideology. In 1974, the Institute of Basic Problems of Marxism-Leninism was established at the Central Committee of PZPR in order to educate party apparatchiks. Unification and centralization also included economic and cooperative structures, including

5560-547: The IX Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party convened, under an attack by the "concrete", demanding a change of leadership to a more decisive one. Under the influence of the Soviet letter, Kania also hardened his position. On 14-20 July, the IX Extraordinary Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party was held (over 350 thousand members left the party during the year), at which Stanisław Kania

5699-596: The KSČ. A dispute broke out between Gottwald and the second most-powerful man in the country, party General Secretary Rudolf Slánský , over the extent to which Czechoslovakia should conform with the Soviet model. In 1951, Slánský and several other senior Communists were arrested and charged with participating in a " Trotskyite – Titoite – Zionist conspiracy". They were subjected to a show trial in 1952 (the Prague Trials ) and Slánský and 10 other defendants were executed. In

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5838-559: The PZPR Central Committee took place, but then the sessions were interrupted until mid-January. Jaruzelski, preparing an operation to win over some of the opposition as jointly responsible for the terrible state of the country, removed six activists from the fifteen-member Political Bureau of the Central Committee, considered to be "hardliners", i.e. those opposed to the planned talks at the Round Table. Janusz Reykowski, among others,

5977-438: The PZPR for lack of activity and violations of party ethics, 33,000 of whom were for various offenses. On May 16-17, 1967, the 8th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, devoted to "current tasks in the political work of the party". Zenon Kliszko appealed to artists to promote heroes fighting for the victory of socialism and the topics of the "socialist approach to work". On July 8-9, 1968,

6116-514: The PZPR leadership split into two factions, dubbed Natolinians and Puławians . The Natolin faction – named after the place where its meetings took place, in a government villa in Natolin – were against the post-Stalinist liberalization programs ( Gomułka thaw ). The most well known members included Franciszek Jóźwiak , Wiktor Kłosiewicz , Zenon Nowak , Aleksander Zawadzki , Władysław Dworakowski , Hilary Chełchowski . The Puławian faction –

6255-487: The PZPR were to appear before special commissions to determine their ideological stance. As a result of the verification action, which turned out to be the largest purge in the history of the PZPR, by May 1958, 207,000 members (15.5%) of all members and candidates had been excluded from the party. In the 1960s Gomułka supported persecution of the Roman Catholic Church and intellectuals (notably Leszek Kołakowski who

6394-479: The Polish People's Republic. On March 20, 1956, shortly after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the VI Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, during which the memory of Bolesław Bierut was honored. Jerzy Albrecht and Edward Gierek were co-opted as secretaries of the Central Committee. In the fight for the election of Bierut's successor,

6533-428: The Polish United Workers' Party issued "guidelines" regarding the nomenclature of management staff, which by the end of the decade included half a million people. Its existence and functioning proved the party's total monopoly, and at the same time exposed the superficiality of the state, administrative and scientific structures operating in the Polish People's Republic . Detailed lists included positions whose appointment

6672-416: The Polish United Workers' Party. The 7th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party took place on December 8-12, 1975. Among the guests was Leonid Brezhnev , for who arrived to the newly opened Warszawa Centralna railway station . Gierek delivered the programmatic report of the Political Bureau "for further dynamic development of socialist construction - for higher quality of work and living conditions of

6811-475: The Polish United Workers' Party. Additionally, in May that year, Jerzy Albrecht resigned from the position of the Central Committee secretary. This confirmed the direction of staff exchange in key positions by purging the apparatus of active participants in the October changes . On July 4-6, 1963, the 13th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, devoted to ideological matters. It

6950-423: The Political Bureau - Czyrek and Barcikowski. In this situation, opponents of the Round Table, who had neither a ready plan of action nor a significant leader, gave up further resistance. The regime used this incident to its own ends and two days later Ciosek, in a conversation with Mazowiecki and Father Orszulik, presented the dispute at the Central Committee session as a dangerous attempt at a coup aimed at restoring

7089-516: The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party and secretary of the Central Committee, which was interpreted as an affront. He had already taken these positions in July in exchange for the position of head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs , which Gomułka filled with his associate, Kazimierz Świtała . On June 18, 1969, during a meeting of the Central Committee of Party Control, its chairman Zenon Nowak informed that 1968

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7228-563: The Silesian Voivodeship Committee PZPR, Edward Gierek, was the most praised. Two "technocrats" became new members of the Political Bureau: Eugeniusz Szyr and Franciszek Waniolka . At the end of 1964, the PZPR had over 1.6 million members. Over the five years, between the 3rd and 4th Congresses, over 800,000 members and candidates were accepted into the party. At the same time, 150,000 were expelled from

7367-471: The Soviet Union, where they prepared to broaden the party's power base once the war ended. In the early postwar period the Soviet-supported Czechoslovak communists launched a sustained drive that culminated in their seizure of power in 1948. Once in control, KSČ developed an organizational structure and mode of rule patterned closely after those of CPSU . The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

7506-496: The Soviet justification for the invasion would become known as the Brezhnev Doctrine . In April 1969, Dubček was removed as party General Secretary (replaced by Gustáv Husák ) and expelled in 1970. During the period of normalization that followed, the party was dominated by two factions: moderates and hardliners. Moderates and pragmatists were represented by Gustáv Husák who led the neo-stalinist wing of KSČ leadership. As

7645-564: The Soviet model - held high positions in the state apparatus at the same time. "Rightist-nationalist deviation" was a political propaganda term used by the Polish Stalinists against prominent activists, such as Władysław Gomułka and Marian Spychalski who opposed Soviet involvement in the Polish internal affairs, as well as internationalism displayed by the creation of the Cominform and

7784-496: The authorities - Jaruzelski, who had been prime minister since February 1981, gained support; many representatives of the army, which was gaining more and more influence, were also elected. Gierek, Babiuch , Lukaszewicz , Pyka , Szydlak and Żandarowski were ousted from the PZPR. Kania admitted that the party had made many economic mistakes, and advocated working with Catholic and trade unionist opposition groups. He met with Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa , and other critics of

7923-456: The cliques meant that an absurd formula was finally adopted, in which two trends were distinguished in the Poznań protests: a broad, peaceful, mainly workers', which organized a strike and protest march, and a narrower, rebellious, which took up armed struggle. At the same time, mass rallies were ordered, during which party activists were to condemn the Poznań protests. The meetings – against the will of

8062-459: The communist world (11 percent of the entire population). The membership roll was often alleged by party ideologues to contain a large component of inactive, opportunistic, and "counterrevolutionary" elements. These charges were used on two occasions, between 1948 and 1950 and again from 1969 to 1971, as a pretext to conduct massive purges of the membership. In the first case, during the great Stalinist purges, nearly one million members were removed; in

8201-664: The country as well as the Polish People's Army , the UB and SB security agencies, the Citizens' Militia (MO) police force and the media . The falsified 1947 Polish legislative election granted the Communist Polish Workers' Party (PPR) complete political authority in post- war Poland. The PZPR was founded forthwith in December 1948 through the unification of the PPR and the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). From 1952 onward,

8340-422: The decade of the seventies being sometimes called "Stalinism without terror". Gierek strengthened his position by filling the Political Bureau with his supporters. Besides himself, Edward Babiuch, Henryk Jablonski, Mieczyslaw Jagielski, Jaroszewicz, Jaruzelski, Wladyslaw Kruczek, Stefan Olszowski, Franciszek Szlachic, Jan Szydlak and Jozef Tejchma became members of the Political Bureau. This short-term development

8479-650: The democratic framework of the First Czechoslovak Republic , but it was never in government. In 1925 parliamentary election the party gained 934,223 votes (13.2%, 2nd place) and 41 seats. The party was the Czechoslovak section of the Communist International . As of 1928 the party was the second-largest section of the International, with an estimated membership of around 138,000, more than twice

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8618-453: The destructive fascination with the West, which was evident among young writers, and criticized the work of radio and television for their tendency towards sterile negation and mindless criticism. Gomułka also presented his vision of conducting historical policy, in which the development of the history of the workers' movement was to occupy a prominent place. He emphasized that the ideological front of

8757-441: The early 1960s, Czechoslovakia underwent an economic downturn, and in 1968, the KSČ was taken over by reformers led by Alexander Dubček . He started a period of liberalization known as the Prague Spring in which he attempted to implement " socialism with a human face ". The Soviet Union believed the process of liberalization would end state socialism in the country and on 21 August 1968, Warsaw Pact forces invaded . Subsequently,

8896-452: The end of the 1950s. During the plenum, the "Natolinians" candidate for the position of First Secretary was Zenon Nowak, who gained Khrushchev's favor. In turn, the Puławians put forward Roman Zambrowski. Ultimately, because none of the cliques was strong enough to take over full power, an amicable resolution of the dispute was reached. The centrist Edward Ochab , who enjoyed the full trust of

9035-699: The establishment of the RSW " Prasa-Książka-Ruch " concern, a powerful machine financing the activities of PZPR. Already in the early 1970s, the PZPR leadership had been considering changes to the constitution. They were approved by the Sejm of the Polish People's Republic in February 1976. The main program, "Dziennik Telewizyjny", almost every edition of which began with the words "First Secretary of PZPR...", broadcasts from party conferences or information about exceeded plans or completed construction or party activities. February 4, 1974 At

9174-409: The fight against right-wing nationalist deviation. In relation to the first topic, an offensive of propaganda activities and intensification of the ideologization of public life were assumed. Yet, in connection with the strengthening of the sole rule of Bolesław Bierut, the deliberations were largely dominated by aggressive criticism of Władysław Gomułka and people from his circle. The latter, weakened by

9313-537: The first contested election since 1946, leading to the victory of the centre-based Civic Forum in the 1990 election and the KSČ stepping down. That November, the party became a federation of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and the Communist Party of Slovakia . It was then declared to be a criminal organisation in the Czech Republic by the 1993 Act on Illegality of the Communist Regime and on Resistance Against It . The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

9452-619: The first round and 10 154 in the second. KSČ organization was based on the Leninist concept of democratic centralism , which provided for the election of party leaders at all levels but required that each level be fully subject to the control of the next higher unit. Accordingly, party programs and policies were directed from the top, and resolutions of higher organs were unconditionally binding on all lower organs and individual party members. In theory, policy matters were freely and openly discussed at congresses, conferences, membership meetings, and in

9591-461: The first time the television broadcast of its proceedings took place using color broadcasting), attended by 1,804 delegates representing a million members of communist parties. Delegations from 70 such parties arrived. During the congress the program of "dynamic development" and "building socialism in Poland" was adopted. At the same time, a generational change took place in the authorities of the Polish United Workers' Party. The old generation, active in

9730-470: The highest authorities of the Polish United Workers' Party and the administration has been growing. Before initiating the plan of suppressing Solidarity, he presented it to Soviet Premier , Nikolai Tikhonov . On 13 December 1981, Jaruzelski imposed martial law in Poland. In 1982, Jaruzelski revitalized the Front of National Unity , the organization the Communists used to manage their satellite parties, as

9869-501: The implementation of KSČ policies. In addition, CC screened nominations for all important government and party positions and selected the editor-in-chief of Rudé právo , the principal party newspaper. CC generally met in full session at least twice a year. In 1976, CC had 115 members and 45 candidates; in 1986, these figures were 135 and 62, respectively. In terms of composition, CC normally included leading party and government officials, military officials, and some celebrities. CC, like

10008-411: The leadership of the Polish United Workers' Party, representing different possibilities of overcoming the political and economic crisis that plagued the Polish People's Republic. The criticism of the Ministry of Public Security made during the session indicated that the leadership of the ministry would become a "scapegoat" on which the PZPR leaders would blame the responsibility for the terror reigning in

10147-592: The local levels to the Presidium. These candidates, already party members, were considered interns training for the future assumption of particular leadership responsibilities. Indoctrination and training of party members was one of the basic responsibilities of regional and district organizations, and party training was mostly conducted on these levels. Regional and district units worked with local party organizations in setting up training programs and determining which members would be enrolled in particular courses of study. On

10286-662: The membership of the French Communist Party and nearly five times the membership of the Chinese Communist Party at the time. In 1929 Klement Gottwald became party Secretary-General after the purging from it of various oppositional elements some of whom allied themselves to Trotsky and the International Left Opposition. In 1929 parliamentary election the party gained 753,220 votes (10.2%, 4th place) and 30 seats. In 1935 parliamentary election

10425-663: The merger was actually an absorption of the PPS by the PPR, resulting in what was a renamed and enlarged PPR for all intents and purposes. The new party included about 1 million members of the PPR and about 0.5 million members of the PPS. The highest positions in the party were taken by members of the PPR. The Political Bureau established during the Unification Congress included: Bierut, Jakub Berman , Józef Cyrankiewicz , Hilary Minc , Stanisław Radkiewicz , Adam Rapacki , Marian Spychalski , Henryk Świątkowski , Zambrowski and Aleksander Zawadzki . All of them - in accordance with

10564-428: The military, the secret police , and the economy. Its main goal was to create a Communist society and help to propagate Communism all over the world. On paper, the party was organised on the basis of democratic centralism , which assumed a democratic appointment of authorities, making decisions, and managing its activity. These authorities decided about the policy and composition of the main organs; although, according to

10703-406: The monthly membership meeting, attendance at which was a basic duty of every member. Each group selected its own leadership, consisting of a chairman and one or more secretaries. It also named delegates to the conference of the next higher unit, be it at municipal (like in case of larger cities) or district level. Since assuming power in 1948, KSČ had one of the largest per capita membership rolls in

10842-531: The name comes from the Puławska Street in Warsaw, on which many of the members lived – sought great liberalization of socialism in Poland. After the events of Poznań June , they successfully backed the candidature of Władysław Gomułka for First Secretary of party, thus imposing a major setback upon Natolinians. Among the most prominent members were Roman Zambrowski and Leon Kasman . Both factions disappeared towards

10981-588: The nation". After the congress, Gierek remained at the head of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party; a ceremonial concert for the leaders of the Polish United Workers' Party and delegates took place in the Grand Theatre. Among others, the Central Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Army performed, presenting a ballet version of "Capriccio" by Krzysztof Penderecki . On 1-2 December 1976,

11120-521: The national income was to increase by 30%. Gomułka , who was formally re-elected to the position of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, sharply criticized the leaders of the Chinese communists for their splitting activities. During the congress, the smell of incense wafted continuously over the conference hall. First secretaries of provincial committees, in particular, blew incense to Gomułka and themselves. The secretary of

11259-582: The opposition and adhere to the Polish Round Table Agreement , which permitted free democratic elections. The elections on 4 June 1989 proved victorious for Solidarity, thus bringing 40-year communist rule in Poland to an end. The Polish United Workers' Party was dissolved in January 1990. Until 1989, the PZPR held dictatorial powers (the amendment to the constitution of 1976 mentioned "a leading national force") and controlled an unwieldy bureaucracy,

11398-497: The overall proportion of workers did not decrease. Average age of party members showed a comparable trend. In the late 1960s, fewer than 30% of party members were under 35 years of age, nearly 20% were over 60, and roughly half were 45 or older. The quip in 1971, a half-century after the party's founding in Czechoslovakia, was "After fifty years, a party of fifty-year-olds." There was a determined effort to attract younger members to

11537-472: The party also had 18 departments (agitation and propaganda; agriculture, food industry, forestry and water management; Comecon cooperation; culture; economic administration; economics; education and science; elected state organs; external economic relations; fuels and energy; industry; transport and communications; international affairs; mass media; political organisation; science and technology; social organisations and national committees; state administration; and

11676-573: The party and government apparatus. Under Husák, composition of the Secretariat, like that of the Presidium, remained rather constant. Many secretaries were also members of the Presidium. The Central Supervisory and Auditing Commission played a dual role, overseeing party discipline and supervising party finances, but it did not control anything. As an organ for enforcement of party standards, Central Supervisory and Auditing Commission frequently wielded its power to suspend or expel "deviant" party members. It

11815-476: The party changed its name to The Party of Czech Communists (SČK) . Their official page is http://www.ksc.cz/ and still uses the old acronym. In 2001 the party underwent its first split, when a part of it split off to form the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia – Czechoslovak Labour Party (KSČ-ČSSP) led by Ludvík Zifčák, a former member of the National Police , who infiltrated the student protesters during

11954-488: The party congress, rarely acted as more than a rubber stamp of policy decisions made by KSČ's Presidium, except when factional infighting developed within the Presidium in 1968 and CC assumed crucial importance in resolving the dispute to oust First Secretary Novotný in favour of Dubček. Generally, decisions on which CC voted were reached beforehand so that votes taken at the sessions were unanimous. The Presidium, which conducted party work between full committee sessions, formally

12093-757: The party held its 30 seats with 849,495 votes (10.32%, 4th place). The party was banned on 20 October 1938 during the Second Republic , but continued to exist as an underground organisation. Following the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , anti-German protests broke out in Prague in October 1939. In response, the Comintern ordered the party to oppose the protests, which they blamed on "chauvinist elements". During World War II many KSČ leaders sought refuge in

12232-473: The party in the middle to late 1970s; one strategy was to recruit children of parents who were KSČ members. The party sent letters to the youngsters' schools and their parents' employers, encouraging the children to join. By early 1980 approximately one-third of KSČ members were 35 years of age or younger. In 1983, average age of the "leading cadre" was still estimated at 50. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, government media denounced party members' lack of devotion to

12371-430: The party leaders – became a forum for discussions on the terrible material situation, shortages of basic food products and other topics. On October 24-26, 1957, the 10th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held. Gomułka indicated revisionism and liquidation as the main source of the party's weakness. In order to heal the party, a resolution was passed to verify its members. All members of

12510-579: The party of passivity and broke off a new group called the Czech Communist Party 21 (KSČ21), whose current general secretary is Zdeněk Klímek. None of these parties ever had any electoral successes on the rare occasion they even ran candidates. Štěpán was a candidate in the 1996 and 1998 Czech Senate election for Bruntál . In 1996 he came fifth with 627 votes and the KSČM candidate Rostislav Harazin came 3rd with 5 294 votes. In 1998 he came seventh with 716 votes and Harazin won with 7 852 votes in

12649-461: The party press. In practice, however, these discussions merely reflected decisions made by a small contingent of top party officials. The supreme KSČ organ was the party congress, which normally convened every five years for a session lasting less than one week. An exception was made with respect to the 14th Party Congress, which was held in August 1968 under Dubček 's leadership. Held in semi-secrecy in

12788-453: The party took power in 1948. After that time, percentage of workers fell steadily to a low of an estimated one-quarter of the membership in 1970. In the early 1970s, government media decried the "grave imbalance", noting that "[the] present class and social structure of party membership is not in conformity with the party's role as a vanguard for the working class." In highly industrialized central Bohemia, for example, only 1 in every 35 workers

12927-403: The party was insufficiently offensive in the fight against opponents. On June 15-20, 1964, the 4th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party took place, which strengthened the so-called small stabilization. Gomułka outlined economic plans for the following years, assuming a 50% increase in industrial production. In the five-year period of 1966-1970, 1.5 million new jobs were to be created, and

13066-473: The party. Though Kania agreed with his predecessors that the Communist Party must maintain control of Poland, he never assured the Soviets that Poland would not pursue actions independent of the Soviet Union. On 18 October 1981, the Central Committee of the Party withdrew confidence in him, and Kania was replaced by Prime Minister (and Minister of Defence) Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski . On 11 February 1981, Jaruzelski

13205-601: The period of the Second Polish Republic in the Communist Party of Poland and later in the Polish Workers' Party, passed away. The positions were taken by "youth" who began their careers in the Stalinist Union of Polish Youth . Unable to refer to the condemned times of Gomułka, they reached for the tradition of the fifties, glorifying people from that period such as Bierut and Rokosowski, a situation which led to

13344-572: The planned price increases were suspended. High foreign debts, food shortages, and an outmoded industrial base compelled a new round of economic reforms in 1980. Once again, price increases set off protests across the country, especially in the Gdańsk Shipyard and Szczecin Shipyard . Gierek was forced to grant legal status to Solidarity and to concede the right to strike. ( Gdańsk Agreement ). On 9-10 June 1981, amidst much social and economic unrest,

13483-673: The position of "First Secretary" of the Polish United Workers' Party was de facto equivalent to Poland's head of state . Throughout its existence, the PZPR maintained close ties with ideologically-similar parties of the Eastern Bloc , most notably the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . Between 1948 and 1954, nearly 1.5 million individuals registered as Polish United Workers' Party members, and membership rose to 3 million by 1980. The party's primary objective

13622-422: The principles of Soviet foreign policy , assuming the Brezhnev Doctrine . The 5th Congress brought many changes in the highest positions in the party, introducing a group of young generation activists to the ruling elite. 25 new members joined the Central Committee. The expected assault on the positions of Mieczysław Moczar 's "partisans" did not take place. He himself only retained the position of deputy member of

13761-428: The pursuit of KSČ policies and goals. Complaints ranged from members' refusal to display flags from their apartment windows on festive occasions to their failure to show up for party work brigades, attend meetings, or pay dues; a significant minority of members tended to underreport their incomes (the basis for assessing dues). In 1970, after a purge of approximately one-third of the membership, an average of less than half

13900-440: The reforms instituted under Dubček during the late 1960s but successfully made the transition to orthodox party rule following the invasion and Dubček's decline from power. Subsequently, they adopted a more flexible stance regarding economic reform and dissident activity. Key members of this faction included: These hardliners opposed economic and political reforms and took a harsh stand on dissent. The party's hegemony ended with

14039-478: The remaining members attended meetings. Perhaps one-third of members were consistently recalcitrant in participating in KSČ activities. In 1983, one primary party branch in the Prague-West district was so unmoved by admonishments that it had to be disbanded and its members dispersed among other organizations. In part, this was a measure of disaffection with Czechoslovakia's thoroughgoing subservience to Soviet hegemony,

14178-421: The removal from state functions, was also deprived of party functions during the plenum, by removing him from the Central Committee. At the same time, his co-authors, Marian Spychalski and Zenon Kliszko , were excluded from the party authorities. On November 24-25, 1953, a secret session of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held. Cliques began to emerge within

14317-500: The rule of an iron fist. In this way, the PZPR leadership suggested to the opposition not to set too high demands, because Jaruzelski's "reformist" team could be replaced by party dogmatists. The attempt to impose a naked military dictatorship notwithstanding, the policies of Mikhail Gorbachev stimulated political reform in Poland. By the close of the tenth plenary session in December 1988, the Polish United Workers Party

14456-570: The same day, the Central Committee Commission for Clergy was established in the Central Committee Secretariat, consisting of Zenon Kliszko, Antoni Alster, Władysław Bieńkowski , Tadeusz Galiński , Artur Starewicz , Walenty Titkow , Andrzej Werblan and Stanisław Zawadzki . The post-October liberalization of religious policy turned out to be merely a tactical move. Initially very popular for his reforms and seeking

14595-489: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title United Workers' Party . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_Workers%27_Party&oldid=1051754067 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Political party disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

14734-535: The slogan "For consistent implementation of the program of improving the quality of work and living conditions, for further strengthening of the leading party's power and deepening the moral and political unity of the nation". The standard of living improved in Poland in the early 1970s, the economy , however, began to falter during the 1973 oil crisis , and by 1976 price hikes became necessary. New protests broke out in June 1976 , and although they were forcibly suppressed,

14873-505: The so-called "party's hardcore", formed by people who were recommended to manage the main state institutions, social organizations, and trade unions . The crowning time of the PZPR development (the end of the 1970s) consisted of over 3.5 million members. The Political Office of the Central Committee, Secretariat and regional committees appointed the key posts within the party and in all organizations having ‘state’ in its name – from central offices to even small state and cooperative companies. It

15012-448: The state of history teaching at universities. Bolesław Bierut, an NKVD agent and a hardline Stalinist , served as first Secretary General of the ruling PZPR from 1948 to 1956, playing a leading role in imposing communism and the installation of its repressive regime. He had served as president since 1944 (though on a provisional basis until 1947). After a new constitution abolished the presidency, Bierut took over as prime minister ,

15151-505: The statute, it was a responsibility of the members of the congress, which was held every five or six years. Between sessions, the regional, county, district and work committees held party conferences. The smallest organizational unit of the PZPR was the Fundamental Party Organization (FPO), which functioned in workplaces, schools, cultural institutions, etc. The main part in the PZPR was played by professional politicians, or

15290-419: The subsequent merger that created the PZPR. It is believed that it was Joseph Stalin who put pressure on Bolesław Bierut and Jakub Berman to remove Gomułka and Spychalski as well as their followers from power in 1948. It is estimated that over 25% of socialists were removed from power or expelled from political life. On April 20-21, 1949 a plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party

15429-561: The wake of the Prague Spring and subsequent invasion, about half that number either resigned or were purged from KSČ. Purges following the 1968 invasion hit especially the Czechs, the youth and the blue-collar workers, as well as the intelligentsia within the party membership. By the end of 1970, KSČ had lost approx. 27.8% of its members compared to January 1968 figures as a result of forced removal or voluntary resignation. Despite this attrition,

15568-551: The whole, the system of party schooling changed little since it was established in 1949. A district or city organization provided weekly classes in the fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism , history of communism, socialist economics, and current party position on domestic and international affairs. Members training for positions as party functionaries attended seminars at schools for Marxism–Leninism set up in local areas or at more advanced institutes for Marxism–Leninism found in Prague, Brno and Bratislava. The highest level of party training

15707-494: Was a record year in terms of the number of new candidates to the Polish United Workers' Party. 213 thousand people were accepted, and this result was only improved after 10 years. As of 31 December 1968, the PZPR had 2.1 million members and candidates, and since 1956 its numbers had increased by 700,000. In December 1970, a bloody clash with shipyard workers in which several dozen workers were fatally shot forced his resignation (officially for health reasons; he had in fact suffered

15846-532: Was accompanied by a careful policy of indoctrination and total ordering of the society of the PZPR, whose institutional and ideological monopoly was expanded throughout the decade. The ranks of the PZPR grew rapidly: in 1970 it had 2.3 million members, the party was the price paid for promotions, careers, and its activists gained the title of "owners of the PRL". Many of the changes that were made had Soviet patterns, which Gierek did not hide, proclaiming that "our party's place

15985-494: Was also declared a legal organization. During the following Polish elections the Communists won 65 percent of the seats in the Sejm , though the seats won were guaranteed and the Communists were unable to gain a majority, while 99 out of the 100 seats in the Senate — all freely contested — were won by Solidarity-backed candidates. Jaruzelski won the presidential ballot by one vote. Jaruzelski

16124-551: Was called the nomenklatura system of state and economy management. In certain areas of the economy, e.g., in agriculture, the nomenklatura system was controlled with the approval of the PZPR and by its allied parties, the United People's Party (agriculture and food production), and the Democratic Party (trade community, small enterprise, some cooperatives). After martial law began, the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth

16263-521: Was committed to the pursuit of communism , and after Joseph Stalin 's rise to power Marxism–Leninism became formalized as the party's guiding ideology and would remain so throughout the rest of its existence. Consequently, party organisation was based on Bolshevik -like democratic centralism ; its highest body was the Party Congress, which convened every five years. When the Congress was not in session,

16402-408: Was dependent on the "recommendation" of a given party body - from the Political Bureau to the city and district committees. PZPR (including directors of factories, schools, presidents of cooperatives, agricultural circles, social organizations). The unification of the youth movement and changes in the education system were elements of subordinating society to communist ideology. In the spring of 1973,

16541-529: Was dismissed from this position. The following day, it was announced that Józef Tejchma had been appointed Minister of Culture and Art, while retaining his position as Vice-President of the Council of Ministers. A few days later, Józef Pinkowski was dismissed from the position of Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission at the Council of Ministers, taking up the position of secretary of the Central Committee of

16680-486: Was elected Prime Minister of Poland . On October 16-18, 1981 At the IV Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, the First Secretary, Stanislaw Kania, resigned, and the Central Committee, by a vote of 180:4, elected Wojciech Jaruzelski as his successor, as Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence , and now the First Secretary has all the power in his hands. The number of military personnel in

16819-484: Was elected by the CC; in reality, top party leaders determined its composition. In 1986, there were 11 full members and 6 candidate members. CC's Secretariat acted as the party's highest administrative authority and as the nerve centre of the party's extensive control mechanism. The Secretariat supervised implementation of decisions made in the Presidium, controlled any movement up and down the party ladder, and directed work within

16958-476: Was forced into exile). On July 4th, 1958, during the meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, a decision was made to send a letter to the executives of the provincial, district and city committees regarding the policy towards the Church. This meant the beginning of a new stage of confrontation with the Church. The July letter warned of an offensive by militant clericalism. On

17097-462: Was forced, after strikes , to approach leaders of Solidarity for talks. From 6 February to 15 April 1989, negotiations were held between 13 working groups during 94 sessions of the roundtable talks . These negotiations resulted in an agreement that stated that a great degree of political power would be given to a newly created bicameral legislature . It also created a new post of president to act as head of state and chief executive. Solidarity

17236-553: Was formally held by the National Front , a coalition in which the KSČ held two-thirds of the seats while the remaining one-third were shared among five other political parties. However, KSČ held a de facto absolute monopoly on political power, and the other parties within the National Front were little more than auxiliaries. Even the governmental structure of Czechoslovakia existed primarily to implement policy decisions made within

17375-618: Was founded at the congress of the Czechoslovak Social-Democratic Party (Left), held in Prague May 14–16, 1921. Rudé právo , previously the organ of the Left Social-Democrats, became the main organ of the new party. As a first chairman was elected Václav Šturc, first vice-chairman was Bohumír Šmeral and second vice-chairman was Vaclav Bolen. The party was one of some twenty political parties that competed within

17514-408: Was founded to organize these and other parties. On December 14, 1948 The 2nd Congress of the PPR and the 28th Congress of the PPS were held simultaneously, at which the decision was made to unite both parties. The Polish United Workers' Party was established at the unification congress of the Communist Polish Workers' Party and the Polish Socialist Party during meetings held at the main building of

17653-501: Was great tension between them. KSS, the Slovak constituent party of KSČS, was renamed as Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) on January 26, 1991. Whilst no longer a communist party per se, SDL formally remained as the Slovak constituent party of KSČS. In August 1991, upon the request of SDL, the party mutated into the Federation of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and the Party of

17792-508: Was held, devoted to matters of culture and science. Party apparatchiks demanded a bold "ideological offensive", i.e. the introduction of socialist realism to culture. In this way, the direction of action already imposed on the writers during the January congress in Szczecin was continued. Alongside Jerzy Albrecht and Jerzy Putrament - the main speakers pointing to the need to popularize socialist realism - Henryk Jabłoński appeared, criticizing

17931-531: Was in a coalition government from 1945 to 1948. After the war the party grew rapidly, reaching one million members by the time of the 1946 elections : at these elections it became the largest party in Parliament, and party chairman Klement Gottwald became prime minister in a free election. Following the Communist coup d'état of 1948 , when free elections and other political freedoms were effectively abolished, power

18070-507: Was offered at the Advanced School of Politics in Prague. Designed to train the top echelon of party leadership, the three-year curriculum had the official status of a university program and was said to be one of the best programs in political science in Eastern Europe. These institutions were under the direction of KSČ Central Committee. Because of KSČ's mandate to be a workers' party, questions about social background of party members took on

18209-444: Was party member, while 1 in every 5 administrators was. In 1976, after intensive efforts to recruit workers, number of workers rose to one-third of the KSČ membership, i.e., approx. its 1962 level. In the 1980s, driven by a need for "intensive" economic development, the party relaxed its rigid rule about young workers' priority in admissions and allowed district and regional committees to be flexible in their recruitment policy, as long as

18348-456: Was promoted to the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. On January 16-18, 1989, the second part of the 10th Plenum of the PZPR Central Committee took place. In the face of the statements criticizing the plan of agreement with the opposition, among which Miodowicz's statements were among the harshest, Jaruzelski threatened his own resignation, as well as the resignation of Prime Minister Rakowski, Ministers Kiszczak and Siwicki, and members of

18487-402: Was re-elected First Secretary (for the first time in the history of the Polish People's Republic in a democratic manner). He received 1,311 votes against 568 cast for Kazimierz Barcikowski . Only 4 of its previous members (Jaruzelski, Barcikowski, Olszowski, Kania) joined the new politburo. The congress was a defeat for both the reformers and the "concrete". Many new supporters found themselves in

18626-405: Was structured according to what it called "territorial and production principle"; basic party units were organised in work sites and residences where there are at least five KSČ members. In enterprises or communities where party membership was more numerous, smaller units functioned under larger city-, village- or factory-wide committees. Highest authority of the local organisation was, theoretically,

18765-399: Was the Presidium of the Central Committee that held the decision-making and policy-making responsibilities. The congress merely endorsed the reports and directives of the top party leadership. The statutory duties assigned the party congress included determination of the party's domestic and foreign policies; approval of the party program and statutes; and election of the Central Committee and

18904-562: Was this commission that directed the massive purges in party membership during the early and late 1970s. Members were elected at each party congress (45 members in 1986). These members then elected from among themselves a chairman, deputy chairmen, and a small presidium. Sub-units of the commission existed at the republic, regional and district levels of the party structure. Other KSČ commissions in 1987 included People's Supervisory Commission, Agriculture and Food Commission, Economic Commission, Ideological Commission, and Youth Commission. In 1987

19043-540: Was to impose socialist agenda unto Polish society. The communist government sought to nationalize all institutions. Some concepts imported from abroad, such as large-scale collective farming and secularization , failed in their early stages. The PZPR was considered more liberal and pro- Western than its counterparts in East Germany or the Soviet Union , and was more averse to radical politics . Although propaganda

19182-522: Was unsuccessful in convincing Wałęsa to include Solidarity in a "grand coalition" with the Communists and resigned his position of general secretary of the Polish United Workers Party. The PZPR' two allied parties broke their long-standing alliance, forcing Jaruzelski to appoint Solidarity's Tadeusz Mazowiecki as the country's first non-communist prime minister since 1948. Jaruzelski resigned as Poland's President in 1990, being succeeded by Wałęsa in December. Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The KSČ

19321-598: Was utilized in major media outlets like Trybuna Ludu ( lit.   ' People's Tribune ' ) and televised Dziennik ('Journal'), censorship became ineffective by the mid-1980s and was gradually abolished. On the other hand, the Polish United Worker's Party was responsible for the brutal pacification of civil resistance and protesters in the Poznań protests of 1956 , the 1970 Polish protests and throughout martial law between 1981 and 1983. The PZPR also initiated

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