Chapter 13 unrest in poland

The strong shock wave of Khrushchev's secret report first hit the socialist countries.Communist leaders in these countries read with astonishment Moscow's (albeit abridged) copy of Khrushchev's secret report and took a sharp turn of thought - because until then Stalin had been the great leader of the world communist movement. It has long enjoyed a high reputation. In the face of a powerful shock wave, the most vulnerable part is obviously the weakest link.In the socialist camp at that time, this link was Poland. On the night of February 24, 1956, when Khrushchev gave a secret report, Beirut, the general secretary of the Polish United Workers Party, was sitting in the auditorium.Beirut is a veteran Polish communist who joined the Communist Party of Poland as early as 1918.Beirut was an important figure when the Communist Party of Poland took over power after World War II.In 1945, he became the President of Poland.He had close ties with Stalin and resolutely carried out Stalin's instructions, which earned him the title of "Polish Stalin"①.Khrushchev's criticism of Stalin dealt a heavy blow to the "Polish Stalin".

After Khrushchev finished his report, he asked Beirut to make a statement.Beirut was in a complicated state of mind, and said a few words: "It is with sadness that we learn of Stalin's bad deeds. The Polish people are so grateful to Stalin for his wisdom and assistance." The severe mental stimulation caused Beirut to fall ill in Moscow.Half a month after Khrushchev's secret report-on March 12, 1956, Beirut died of illness in Moscow, and was replaced by the pro-Soviet Edward?Ohab succeeded. Not sooner or later, "Polish Stalin" died suddenly at this critical moment in history, and the Polish United Workers Party lost its helmsman and fell into chaos.

More than three months later—on June 28, 1956, riots broke out in Poznan, a medium-sized city in western Poland, known as the "Poznan Incident" in history. Poznan has a long history and was the capital of Poland in the early years.Since 1921, it has been the venue for the International Fair. On June 28, 1956, workers in Poznan held a general strike, and 50,000 workers took to the streets to demand "bread and freedom" and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Poland.The Municipal People's Council, the Municipal Party Committee, the Military Prosecutor's Office, the Public Security Bureau, and the radio station were attacked, and the prison was opened...

The commotion in Poznan shocked Warsaw.Polish Council of Ministers Sirenkiewicz and Defense Minister Rokossowski rushed to Poznan. The next day, Rokossovsky ordered the dispatch of troops to quell the commotion.As a result, fifty-three people died and more than two hundred were injured.The "Poznan incident" that attracted worldwide attention was ended. On June 29, Sirenkiewicz made a radio speech on Radio Poznan, warning: "We can tell plainly to every provocateur or insane person who dares to raise their hands against the people's power that they hand will be cut off." ①

Silenkiewicz believes: "The imperialist organizations have long been interested in Poznan. They want to turn Poznan, the city where the International Fair is held, into a place where riots occur during the fair. This kind of thing is not accidental. occurring." Although the Poznan incident calmed down on the surface, it shook Poland on a deeper level.How to view the Poznan incident has produced profound differences within the Polish United Workers' Party. The focus of the conflict is on Polish Defense Minister Rokossowski.He is a very special person: he is a Polish, but he joined the Soviet Red Army in 1919, made outstanding military exploits, became a hero of the Soviet Union, became a marshal of the Soviet Army, joined the Soviet Union nationality, and became a citizen of the Soviet Union.After World War II, in order to ensure the leadership of the Polish army, Stalin wanted to find a figure who was absolutely loyal to the Soviet Union to be the Minister of Defense of Poland, and Rokossowski became the best candidate.Stalin summoned the marshal.When Rokossovsky learned of his new appointment, he did not dare to disobey, but he put forward conditions: "Retain Soviet nationality and retain the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union." Stalin agreed.

In this way, a very strange phenomenon occurred: a Soviet Marshal and a Soviet citizen became the Minister of Defense of the Polish government, the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army, the Deputy Prime Minister of the government, and a member of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party. From Stalin's point of view, he can certainly rest assured that such a Soviet marshal will control the Polish military.However, the Poles complained about this, but they dared not speak out. After Stalin's death, after Khrushchev's secret report, the Polish people became increasingly dissatisfied with the presence of Soviet troops in Warsaw (according to the Potsdam Agreement, the Soviet Union had troops in Poland, Hungary, Romania, and the GDR at that time. But not in Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia garrison).The Poznan incident broke out, and Rokossovsky used the army to suppress it according to Moscow's instructions, making Rokossovsky, who had a strange identity, a target of public criticism.

At this moment, Gomulka stepped out of his prison in Poland and gained the support of the people day by day. Gomulka is also a senior leader of the Communist Party of Poland, and his status in the party was no less than that of "Polish Stalin" Beirut. Gomulka joined the Communist Party of Poland in 1926.He has been arrested many times, but still insists on fighting.In 1942, he became member of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers' Party and secretary of the Warsaw district.After the Soviet army invaded Poland in July 1944, he joined the provisional government led by the Communist Party as Deputy Prime Minister.Soon, he served as the party's general secretary and member of the Politburo.

However, he was soon persecuted by Stalin because he opposed the establishment of the Communist and Workers' Party Intelligence Bureau in September 1947 and lost his post as General Secretary the following year.The persecution escalated gradually: at the end of 1949, he was expelled from the party.In July 1951, he was even arrested and imprisoned.He was released from prison at the end of 1954 until Stalin's death. Khrushchev's secret report was tantamount to rehabilitating Gomulka. In this way, he resumed his party membership in August 1956 and made a political comeback.However, Khrushchev was not at ease with Gomulka, feeling that he had a strong anti-Soviet sentiment because of Stalin's persecution; if Poland fell into Gomulka's hands, he would not be so "obedient"!

October 20, 1956, was a critical moment in Polish history.The Polish United Workers Party held the Eighth Plenary Session of the Central Committee. Gomulka's voice was very loud. It seemed that he would completely defeat Beirut's heir Ohab, and measures should be taken to remove Rokossovsky's military power. Gomulka made a long speech at the meeting, calling for economic reforms and abandoning the Stalinist economic model.He also reassessed the Poznan incident. Gomulka emphasized: "When the Poznan workers took up strike arms and marched in the streets on that Black Thursday in June this year, they raised a powerful cry: Enough! This cannot go on! From the wrong Come back on the way!

"When the workers of Poznań take to the streets of this city, they are not protesting against the Polish people, not about socialism. They are protesting against the pervasive and painfully felt ills of our social system, What was protested was a distortion of the fundamental principles of socialism, which was their ideal. "The working class is our stage, our indomitable force. The working class is ourselves. To lose it is to lose the trust of the working class, each of us representing virtually nothing but the individual. Put the poignant Potts It is a clumsy attempt to attribute the southern tragedy to imperialist spies and provocateurs, which is politically naive..."①

Upon hearing the news, Khrushchev immediately called Warsaw and said that he would lead a delegation there immediately.However, he hit a soft nail: Gomulka advised him to come back later! Furious, Khrushchev formed a powerful delegation, including Mikoyan, Molotov, Kaganovich, and Marshal Konev, commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact Armed Forces, and flew to Warsaw.Immediately after getting off the plane, the delegation drove straight to the Belfantry Palace in Warsaw and asked for a meeting with the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party. Khrushchev did not conceal the reason for his haste: "Our only concern is that Gomulka's promotion to First Secretary is partly the result of political instigation by certain anti-Soviet forces." The Communist Party of the Soviet Union interfered with the Communist Party of Poland with the arrogance of "the old son's party", which aroused great resentment from the Communist Party of Poland.Khrushchev even ordered Marshal Konev to urgently transfer the Soviet troops stationed in Silesia near the German border to advance towards Warsaw in the name of "exercise". Knowing this important information, Gomulka asked Khrushchev to order the Soviet army to stop advancing, and at the same time shot the Warsaw workers to form a workers' self-defense force. The two sides are at war.A large-scale bloody conflict is imminent. As a last resort, Khrushchev ordered the Soviet army to stop advancing and "agreed" Gomulka to be the first secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party.Although the word "agreed" came out of helplessness, it fully exposed the face of the "Laozi Party"-it should be noted that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Polish United Workers' Party are independent political parties. How could the first secretary of the other party pass through this party? Agree" to take up the post? The relationship between Poland and Soviet Union is extremely tense...