A Semblance of A Revolution

Project concept:
Zbigniew Gluza

Editing and research:

Maria Krawczyk
and
Łukasz Bertram
Dominika Świtkowska
Krzysztof Wittels

Translation into English and proof-reading:

Barbara Herchenreder
Project partners:
Graphic design, pre-press:
Ewa Brejnakowska-Jończyk Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů
Institute for Research into Totalitarian Regimes
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Central European University
Picture research:
Karolina Andrzejewska-Batko Open Society Archives

Foreign research and consultation: Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur

Matěj Bílý (Czechoslovakia) Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship
András Lénárt (Hungary)
Boris Stamenić (Germany) The Project has been carried out thanks to funding by the European Commission,
within the framework of the EU’s “Europe for Citizens” programme.

The publication is only an expression of its author’s opinion and the European Commission takes
no responsibility for the material it contains.
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 AKOS ENGELMAYER COLLECTION
A Semblance of a Revolution

A breakthrough took place between February and November 1956

in the very centre of Soviet-dominated Central Europe. This break-
through is commonly referred to as the thaw. This term, however,
does not reflect the process to which the subjugated countries of
this region were subjected. Although the impetus came from out-
side, in the final measure, its effectiveness was ruled by subservi-
ence to the Kremlin. Thus, the aptness of this metaphor, based on
the seasons of the year, is limited – spring most certainly did not
follow on from the preceding cold of winter. Indeed, what purpose
did the short thaw serve, given that the winter which followed was
a long one, albeit not quite as cold?
In 1956, the four Communist states in the region – Poland, Hun-
gary, Czechoslovakia and East Germany – provided a setting for an
extraordinary experiment. During the course of ten months, these
societies underwent a test of revolutionary readiness – following the
East Berlin riots of 1953, an anti-Soviet upheaval could have erupted
in any of these four states. First, the 20th Congress of the Soviet Com-
munist Party branded Stalin a criminal, recognising the “cult of the
individual” as a perversion of the system, Party officials then tested
the ground, watching for the reaction of the leaders and the societies
of vassal states and, where necessary, eliminating any threats. timonials to the stance taken by local state authorities, as well as Budapest,
Could a universal revolution have broken out throughout these that of the more active representatives of society, as a reaction to October 1956.
Tanks – most
four countries? Judging by the preventive actions taken by the Sovi- the activities of the Soviets, or their followers. The resultant picture probably outside
ets, this was quite probable. The events of Poznań in June 1956 and aims to answer the basic question: what did happen here during a the parliament
Budapest in the autumn of 1956, or of Prague a decade later, demon- year which passed into history as a breakthrough but the finale of building.

strate that rebellion could have flared up in any area of the western which in no way resembled a universal political thaw?
part of the Soviet bloc. The Kremlin authorities counteracted rebel- Revolutionary unrest was present throughout but an interna-
lion, defusing each ignition point separately. Three years after Sta- tional revolution – the only measure which could actually bring
lin’s death, any revolution could easily slip out of control; denuncia- about a geopolitical breakthrough – never broke out. The rebel-
tion of Stalin for all aspects of “Stalinist evil” relieved the imperialist lion in Poznań was immediately quelled. The Hungarian Uprising
Party of any blame and, at the same time, enabled the pre-empting was not supported – even by the previously rebellious Poland. The
of any potential massed action by the subjugated peoples. determination of the Soviets and their protégés (both in People’s
We now present the most crucial events which took place in this Poland and in Hungary) was so strong that it eclipsed any public
part of Europe in 1956 and substantiate them with selected source protests. More than three decades would pass before we united in
material relating to each of the four countries. An international solidarity and demanded our freedom.
team of researchers has concentrated on selection of typical tes- Zbigniew Gluza

3
KEYSTONE-FRANCE / GAMMA-KEYSTONE VIA GETTY IMAGES

Moscow,
14 February 1956.
Nikita Khrush-
chev speaks
during the 20th
Congress of the
Communist Party
of the Soviet
Union.

4
/
25 February of the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party or should we
maintain a stony silence, i.e. make no mention of the crimes commit-
USSR. During a closed sitting on the final day of the 20th Congress ted by Beria and Stalin. Of course, a high price had to be paid for such
of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia and without the presence of revelations in the Soviet Union, and possibly an even greater one in
foreign guests, Nikita Khrushchev – the First Secretary of the Central Poland. This gave rise to the question – does our leadership have the Berlin, 1956.
Committee – presents a paper entitled On the Cult of the Individual right to maintain silence, or should it breach the muddy waters as Border control
and its Consequences. The paper charges Joseph Stalin with specific quickly as possible, tell the bitter truth and not lose hope of reaching point. Notice
reads: “Halt! You
crimes, although the list is limited mainly to those crimes committed clear waters. are entering
against Communists and leaders of the Red Army during the Great Warsaw the American
Terror (1937–38). As such, it is also an attempt to contrast the ‘good’ Teresa Torańska, Oni [They], Warsaw 2004. Sector”.

system with the ‘bad’ dictator and the negative aspects of his char-
acter.

Nikita Khrushchev:
We must consider the matter with all seriousness and analyse it care-
fully, to eradicate any possibility of any form of repetition of what hap-
pened during Stalin’s lifetime, [...] when he resorted to brute force not
just against everything which opposed him but which, given his capri-
cious and despotic nature, was at variance with his ideas. [...] It was
Stalin who introduced the concept of “an enemy of the people”. That
description alone was an excuse to forego the necessity of proving the
ideological mistakes of the person, or persons who were party to the
debate and, against all norms of revolutionary rule of law, it enabled
the use of the cruellest repressions against anyone who disagreed with
Stalin [...].
From a Marxist-Leninist point of view, it will take a great deal of
hard work to carry out a critical assessment and to correct the widely
held mistaken attitudes towards the cult of the individual in the fields
of history, philosophy, economics and other sciences, as well as litera-
ture and art.
Moscow, 25 February
The cult of the individual and its consequences: paper given by Comrade Nikita S.
Khrushchev at the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, Paris 1956.
WŁADYSŁAW SŁAWNY / FORUM

Edward Ochab, member of the Central Committee of the Polish

United Workers’ Party:
It was like a hammer blow. Of course, we were already aware of vari-
ous transgressions and crimes but not of their extent and not that they
were so heinous. Khrushchev’s speech came as a blow which required
an immediate decision: do we support the direction of the resolutions

5
 Czechoslova-
Extract from STASI [GDR State Security] reports: kia, 1956. Man
reading “Pravda”
The following discussions are typical of the views voiced by a consider-
– the official
able number of officials at local and central levels: newspaper of
– Officials of the General Post Office in Jena discussed the topic: “Is the Central
it right to destroy books and portraits of Stalin?” [...] Committee of
the Communist
– Students declare: “Germans must consider the consequences of Party of the
the speech given by Comrade [Anastas] Mikoyan [member of the Po- Soviet Union
litburo of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party], be- (CPSU).

cause Walter Ulbricht [Secretary General of the SED – German Socialist

Unity Party] was Stalin’s best friend.”
– Opinions voiced in the Industrial Construction Design Office in Ber-
lin that “Stalin was murdered at the 20th Congress” are typical of the
attitude of the intelligentsia.
Berlin, 28 February
Die DDR im Blick der Stasi 1956. Die geheimen Berichte an die DDR Führung [The German
Democratic Republic in the eyes of the Stasi 1956. Secret reports for the GDR authorities],
ed. Henrik Bispinck, Göttingen 2016.

Mátyás Rákosi, First Secretary of the Hungarian Working Peo-

ples’ Party (MDP) in conversation with Yuri Andropov, USSR Am-
bassador to Hungary:
You cannot carry on like this. [...] You should not have been in such a
hurry. What happened at your Congress was a catastrophe. I dread
to think what the consequences may be – either in your country or in
mine.
Moscow
John P.C. Matthews, Explosion. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, New York 2007.

Milan Ferko, Czechoslovak writer and lawyer:

We were all convinced that we were building a new and better world

ERICH LESSING / MAGNUM PHOTOS / PHOTO POWER

for all peoples. Therefore, the text of Khrushchev’s secret speech at the
20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party came as a shock to us
– news of Stalin’s repressions, the gulag labour camps and the crimi-
nal activities which – based on the same model – were also used in
our country and in other countries of the “socialist bloc”. At that time,
however, we still had no experience and our reactions lacked direc-
tion, the future was still our aim.
Bratislava
Milan Ferko, Ten búrlivý rok [That stormy year], in: Pyžamová revolúcia [A pyjama
revolution], ed. Anton Blaha et al, Bratislava 2007.

6
/ 3 March Extract from: Wnioski z narady centralnego aktywu partyjnego
[Outcomes of talks among central party activists]:
Poland. Bolesław Bierut, 1st Secretary of the Polish United Workers’ The main cause of our ideological and cultural problems lies in the
Party is ill and continues his stay in Moscow. During his absence from Party’s delay in applying a deep and fundamental criticism of the dog-
Warsaw, a meeting of Party activists takes place under the chairman- matism and other negative factors of the bygone era. Silence on our
ship of Aleksander Zawadzki, member of the Central Committee Po- part speeds the growth of simultaneous criticism, albeit not always fair,
litburo and Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Many of the activ- by people in all walks of life – frequently not even associated with the
ists demand that those in the State Security services responsible for Party. [...] As a result, we fail to satisfy intellectual needs and we lose our
“breaking the law” be punished and that the “Gomułka question” (the authority; furthermore, we are faced with the danger that the preroga-
circumstances surrounding the removal of Gomułka from office and tive for levelling criticism [...] may be seized by someone else.
the arrest of the former Secretary General of the Party) be clarified. Warsaw, 4 March
Dokumenty centralnych władz Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej marzec–listopad
’56 [Documents of the central authorities of the Polish United Workers’ Party, March –
Stefan Wierbłowski, member of the Central Committee of the
November 1956], selection and editing: Marek Jabłonowski et al, Warsaw 2009.
Polish United Workers Party, during talks:
I have the feeling, and am probably not alone in this, that a violent storm
has ripped out a window together with its frame, letting fresh air into a Jerzy Zawieyski, writer:
room which has not been aired for many years. [...]. I think and truly believe Today marks the third anniversary of Stalin’s death. Yet there is no men-
that the 20th Congress will be a sharp shove towards a return to, and ap- tion in any newspaper. And what happened three years ago! Floods of
plication of, Leninist standards in the life of the Party and the economy, a tributes, eulogies, hymns of praise. [...] And today? The slaves, the Party
shove in the direction of the democratisation of the whole of public life. [...]. minions are silent.
Warsaw, 3 March Warsaw, 5 March
Dokumenty centralnych władz Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej marzec–listopad Jerzy Zawieyski, Dzienniki [Diaries], vol. 1, Warsaw 2011.
’56 [Documents of the central authorities of the Polish United Workers’ Party, March –
November 1956], selection and editing: Marek Jabłonowski et al, Warsaw 2009.

/ 10 March
Propaganda
poster: “Onto
Poland. An article with the same title as Nikita Khrushchev’s paper
new victories
appears in the “Trybuna Ludu” newspaper.
MUZEUM WOJSKA POLSKIEGO [POLISH ARMY MUSEUM] / EAST NEWS

under the
leadership of the
Polish United
Extract from an editorial: O kulcie jednostki i jego następstwach
Workers’ Party
[The cult of the individual and its consequences]: (PZPR)”.
Our Party is undergoing an enormous process of re-education. This pro-
cess is difficult for all of us. We must start re-education with ourselves,
with a deep analysis of our own habits, our own methods of work, our
own ways of thinking.
Warsaw, 10 March
“Trybuna Ludu” Issue 69, 10 March 1956.

7
 Mieczysław Jastrun, poet, translator:
The 20th Congress is top news. [...] Today, for the first time, the press
expresses a negative assessment of Stalin’s latter activities. For the
first time, I write his surname with no feeling of dread.
Obory, 10 March
Mieczysław Jastrun, Dziennik 1955–1981 [Diary 1955–1981], Kraków 2002.

/ 11 March

Poland. An article writen by Jerzy Ambroziewicz, Jan Olszewski and

Walery Namiotkiewicz appears in the weekly journal “Po Prostu”. It is
entitled “Reaching out to the people of the AK Underground Resistance
Army”. In the article, the authors demand justice for the soldiers of Warsaw, 1956.
Anna Brat-
the AK Resistance Army. The text of the article meets with enormous
kowska, Deputy
public response and gives rise to the opinion that the weekly is the Editor-in-Chief,
main mouthpiece of the young intellectual supporters of democrati- with Ryszard
Turski in the
sation of the system.
editorial office
of the weekly

PAP
Extract from an article entitled Na spotkanie ludziom z AK [Reach- “Po Prostu”.
ing out to former members of the AK Underground Resistance Army]:
At the end of the German occupation, the soldiers of the AK resistance
army were not greeted with [...] a triumphal march. [...] They were met causes, rumours abound in Poland that he had been poisoned by
with placards bearing the words: “The AK – the malignant dwarf of the Soviets.
reactionism”, while later the condescending smile of a half-hearted
idealist moron would imply: “Although you belonged to the AK, we will Jan Józef Szczepański, writer:
let you live and work and give you a chance to redeem yourselves.” [...] A typical reaction on the part of the public: some dismissive half-smiles
What effect did this have? Some of those undoubtedly praiseworthy but, on the whole, total indifference. He was too distant a figure to
young people took up a completely negative stance towards our new even generate hate. [...] This event, more than any other, clearly shows
reality. [...] Others, realising the futility of such an attitude, [...] tried to that there were no emotional ties here. That it had nothing to do with
overcome opposition and prejudice and to take an active part in life in us. The death of a functionary. Frugal bows, black mourning ribbons
the new order. Our chosen path proved difficult and full of obstacles on flagpoles, some profound quotes like “The great son of nations” and
for them and they rarely met with a helping hand. [...] It is time to give the histrionic broken voices of radio presenters. Poor man. Such is the
those heroes the position they rightfully deserve. measure of revolutionary grandeur.
Warsaw, 11 March Kraków, 13 March
“Po Prostu” Issue 11, 1956. Jan Józef Szczepański, Dziennik 1945–1956 [Diary, 1945–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 2009.

/ 12 March / 16 March

USSR. Bolesław Bierut, to the end of his days a firm supporter of Sta- Poland. The funeral of Bolesław Bierut takes place in Warsaw and is
lin’s hard line, dies in Moscow. Although his death was due to natural attended, among others, by Nikita Khrushchev.

8
WIESŁAW PRAŻUCH / MNW / PAP

Warsaw,
13 March 1956.
Obituary of
Bolesław Bierut
in a bookshop
window.

9
 too. [...] I believe we will receive the support of the workers, and of Warsaw,
both office workers and intellectuals. Our enemies are quietly rejoicing 16 March 1956.
Bolesław Bierut’s
now but I think they will soon be very disappointed. Comrades, in view funeral cortège.
of this paper, I am entirely convinced of this. Indeed, I will go so far as
to say that it will bring incredible unification in the ranks of our Party,
and a unification of the nation with the Party.

WIESŁAW PRAŻUCH / MNW / PAP

Warsaw, 20 March
Dokumenty centralnych władz Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej marzec–listopad
‘56, wyb. i oprac. Marek Jabłonowski i inni. [Documents of the central authorities of
the Polish United Workers’ Party, March – November 1956], selection and editing:
Marek Jabłonowski et al, Warsaw 2009.

Jan Józef Szczepański:

Everyone is greatly excited by “Khrushchev’s secret report” [...]. Why is
it now, at this moment, that Stalin’s actions turn out to be crimes, and
Andrzej Kijowski, literary critic and essayist: why is it that it is Khrushchev who is exposing them? [...]? Candour as
The streets of Warsaw honoured Bierut as a national hero. The masses a card played in a political game cannot have much in common with
need a hero. They hailed Bierut a hero because he died in Moscow, in truth. And what are the odds in this game, given that it is worth the
defiance of the cult of Stalin, in defiance of the overthrow of Stalin, risk of undermining prestige? We have never seen psychological ploys
despite the reserve with which the ceremonies commenced – indeed, on such a scale. In any case, this about-turn must surely be followed by
in defiance of the generally expected reserve. The funeral took place an attempt at a completely new direction. Towards prosperity? Or the
with full military pomp. The masses were elated. unification of Germany? [...] Or perhaps just shuffling faces around?
Warsaw, 20 March Kraków, 20 March
Andrzej Kijowski, Dziennik 1955–1969 [Diary 1955–1969], Kraków 1998. Jan Józef Szczepański, Dziennik 1945–1956 [Diary 1945–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 2009.

/ 20 March

Poland. 6th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United

Workers’ Party. Edward Ochab becomes the new 1st Secretary. A
conflict ensues between two factions – the ‘Puławy’ faction – con-
sidered to be in favour of liberalisation and the dogmatic ‘Natolin’
faction.

Extract from Nikita Khrushchev’s speech at the 6th Plenum of

the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party:
Having presented this paper [at the 20th Congress], we now reveal it to

TASS / GETTY IMAGES

USSR, the 1950s.
party members and then we propose to present it to young Komsomol News being
read to peasant
members. That means 18 million young people [...]; we planned to pre-
workers in an
sent the paper at workers’ meetings – not just to members of the Party agricultural
but to non-Party members, so that they would feel that we trust them, cooperative.

10
/ 21 March

Poland. The leadership of the Polish United Workers’ Party decides

to translate Khrushchev’s speech into Polish and to distribute it to
Party organisations throughout the country. Over the next weeks,
the paper is read out at meetings, arousing considerable emotion,
unusually heated discussion and numerous questions. The text of
the speech is also released to the public.

Stefan Staszewski, First Secretary of the Warsaw Committee of

the Polish United Workers’ Party:
A few days after the plenum, the Soviet Union sent us the full text of
Khrushchev’s paper [...]. Khrushchev’s speech was laid out for reading
in one of the upstairs chambers of the Central Committee. [...] A few
days later there came a call for a translation because many people
– members of the Central Committee – did not know Russian. Ochab
gave his permission.
After some wavering, I agreed with a couple of members of the Exec­
utive that the paper was an important document of which everyone
should be aware. We made an official declaration that we would pub-
lish it in a run of 3,000 numbered copies; unofficially, we ordered the
printers to produce a run of 15,000 copies with repeated numbering;

FORTEPAN
the printers took it on themselves to make further copies and thus the
seal of silence surrounding Khrushchev’s speech was broken. I, person-
ally, presented copies which were hot off the press to Philippe Ben
– Warsaw correspondent of ‘Le Monde’, to Gruson of the ‘Herald Trib-
une’ and Flora Lewis of ‘The New York Times’ – three friendly foreign György Litván, member of the MDP, the Hungarian Communist Budapest, 1956.
Marketplace in
correspondents – and they immediately telexed them to the West. Party, at a meeting of party activists in the 13th District:
the XIII District.
Warsaw I took a step forward. I was a bit nervous at first but then everything
Teresa Torańska, Oni [They], Warsaw 2004. around me disappeared and I could see nothing – concentrated as I
was on my task. [...] Then came the moment for the statement I had
previously prepared [...]: “Fully conscious of my responsibilities as a
/ End of March Communist, I declare that neither the Hungarian people, nor the ma-
jority of Party members, place any trust in the current leadership of
Hungary. Release of information concerning Khrushchev’s speech the Party and, above all, they do not trust Comrade Mátyás Rákosi.
gives rise to voices of criticism in Hungary. The First Secretary of the Only changes in personnel – and a stricter self-criticism than to date –
Hungarian Communist Party, Mátyás Rákosi, tries to negate the So- can bring a solution to the situation.”
viet change of political direction. In Budapest, the Petőfi Club is set I launched this statement directly at him, from a distance of just two
up and organises regular discussion meetings for the anti-Stalinist steps. This was, indeed, a bloodless coup, a political knife-thrust, eve-
intelligentsia. ryone present saw it as such. The roar of several hundred voices broke

11
 Berlin, 24 March
1956. Walter
Ulbricht speaks
at a conference
of the Socialist
Unity Party [SED]
of [East] Ger-
many.

BUNDESARCHIV
out suddenly, as though a thousand bottles of champagne had been I was prepared for the worst but nothing happened. [...] I returned home
opened simultaneously. [...] One third of those present began to clap, and spent half the night waiting for ‘them’ but they never came.
to my way of thinking another one-third sympathised with me, and the Budapest, 23 March
remaining one-third stared at me with hatred and would gladly have Interview with Györgi Litván conducted by Tóth Pál Péter, 1956th Institute OHA,
No. 700, 1983, 1984.
strangled me on the spot. I returned to my seat and then, one after
another, my adversaries began to speak.
[...] Rákosi was the last to speak. [...] He said: “I do not know you
Comrade, I have never seen you, it is quite likely that you are decent
man and mean well but as to what you are saying... [...], those are
/ 24 March

American promptings repeated like a parrot. Such whispers should be German Democratic Republic (GDR). Opening of the German SED
silenced, isolated, rejected...” – and all those present knew what this – Socialist Unity Party – Conference. Some delegates call for an ap-
meant in his terminology. praisal of the mistakes of the Stalinist era but they are derided by the
It was then that the air around me suddenly became frosty and I felt majority of the participants, led by Walter Ulbricht, Secretary General
the people sitting near me edging away. He concluded with those words. of the Party.

12
 Wolfgang Harich, East German philosopher and journalist: subject and to limit the possible influence of the paper on the situa-
It is absolutely essential that certain fundamental personnel changes tion in Czechoslovakia.
be made in the leadership of the SED and in the government of the
German Democratic Republic. In the first place, the First Secretary of Marie Švermová, imprisoned Communist activist:
the Central Committee of the SED, Walter Ulbricht, should be removed Information about the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party
from office, as well as Hilde Benjamin – the Minister of Justice, and reached me in the Pankrác prison. I paced the cell and thought to my-
also the East German Prosecutor General, Dr. [Ernst] Melsheimer. Only self: now I can surely count on a complete pardon, all the basic charg-
such steps can ensure that the SED leadership and the government of es against me have been invalidated. I was in the right! The female
the GDR will win the confidence of their citizens. prison warders were absolutely horrified by what they had learned
Berlin, 27 March about the 20th Congress. During the night, they opened the small win-
Der Prozeß gegen Walter Janka und andere [Proceedings against Walter Janka dow on my cell door and asked me what they should make of it all
and others], ed. Ingke Brodersen, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1990, quotation from:
and what would happen to our country now. They were frightened; the
Kornélia Papp, In Zwängen verstrickt. Auswege kommunistischer Schriftsteller aus der
atmosphere outside the prison must have changed.
Machtideologie in den 1950er und 1960er Jahren in Ungarn und in der DDR [Entangled
Prague
in coercion. How Communist writers extricated themselves from the ideology of the
Marie Švermová, Vzpomínky [Reminiscences], Prague 2008.
government in the 1950s and 1960s in Hungary and in the GDR], Herbolzheim 2014.

Pilsen, Czecho-
Extract from STASI reports:

ERIC LESSING / MAGNUM PHOTOS / PHOTO POWER

slovakia, 1956.
In recent days, negative opinions of Comrade Walter Ulbricht have The Škoda man-
again emerged. ufacturing plant.
Sign under the
– Agricultural worker from State, [district of] Schwerin: “That Con- star reads: “Let
gress shows that we are nearing the end. Ulbricht will soon breathe his us fight for the
last.” [...] victory of peace
and Socialism!”
– In the district of Magdeburg, a restaurant owner from Glinden-
berg, in the Wolmirstedt area, also made negative comments. He was
surprised that Comrade Ulbricht had spoken at the III Congress of the
Party, because he thought that Walter Ulbricht was in prison as a rep-
resentative of the “Stalin line”. He said: “I would dearly love to know
how long this charade will continue.”
Berlin, 30 March
Die DDR im Blick der Stasi 1956. Die geheimen Berichte an die DDR Führung [The GDR in
the eyes of the Stasi, 1956. Secret reports to the GDR authorities], ed. Henrik Bispinck,
Göttingen 2016.

/ 30 March

Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovak Communist Party Plenum comes to

an end. Discussions centre on whether Khrushchev’s paper opens
the way for a rehabilitation of Rudolf Slánský, former Secretary Gen-
eral of the Party, liquidated following false charges towards the end
of 1952. The leadership of the Party endeavours to put an end to the

13
/ Spring Zbigniew Kubas, co-founder of the first Polish Young Intelligent-
sia Club in Brzozów, in the Podkarpacie region:
Poland. Discussion clubs are set up by the intelligentsia and flourish; We met without any organisational formalities. [...] We would start a
they are a natural continuation of the Warsaw Crooked Circle Club, debate on the health service, judges would talk about the law, teachers
active since 1955. Supporters, who include both Party and non-Par- about education and schooling ... [...]
ty members, look to the discussions to provide means for political, This intellectual venture sparked [...] a community spirit in Brzozów,
social, economic and cultural changes. This leads to an increase in an aim towards something more than was available. [...] We soon built
contacts – in the private and community sectors and among cultural a swimming pool in Brzozów, then two schools, not to mention this hos-
institutions both in Poland and in the Polish diaspora abroad. pital to some degree. [...] That group taught us to believe in ourselves,
to believe we could achieve something... and that feeling has remained
with us...
Satirical sketch
Brzozów entitled “The
Zbigniew Kubas, U nas, tak daleko, w Brzozowie. Rozmowa ze Stefanem Bratkowskim Young Intel-
[Here in Brzozów, so far away. Discussion with Stefan Bratkowski], in: Październik 1956. ligentsia Club”.
Pierwszy wyłom w systemie [October 1956, the first breakthrough in the system], ed. Bottom: “Such
Stefan Bratkowski, Warsaw 1996. are the remains
of our illustrious
past...”.

Jan Lechoń, poet:

In Poland, people grovel repentantly, Stalin is vilified [...]. They have not
lost their fears, it’s just that they are now beset by an even greater fear,
a fear of the unknown – who will come to the fore now, what will they
really want now, will what is now public news become a heresy and
a crime in the future? This “thaw” is the sombre cavorting of slaves –
proof that most of them will now never escape enslavement. I am al-
most more afraid of this ‘revolt’ than of that previous obedience – which
seemed to us to be nothing more than a mask. It is terrifying to see what
these people are going through.
New York, 17 April
ANNA GOSŁAWSKA-LIPIŃSKA (HA-GA) / “SZPILKI” 1957, ISSUE 27

Jan Lechoń, Dziennik. 1 stycznia – 30 May 1956 [Diary. 1st January – 30th May 1956],
Warsaw 1993.

/ April

Poland. Speaking in Łódź, Gen. Kazimierz Witaszewski, Head of the Pol-

ish Army Central Political Board and a prominent member of the ‘Na-
tolin’ faction, makes a strong attack on the press and the intelligentsia
for undermining the current order. He names the cosh (or gas pipe) as
a suitable tool in defence of this current order and thus establishes the
cosh as a symbol of the Party “hardliners”. The Office of the Central Com-
mittee distances itself from Witaszewski’s declaration, rejecting moves
which would discriminate between the intelligentsia and the workers.

14
 Western press and even the press of the rest of the People’s Demo­
cratic bloc. Some important statements made by leading representa-
tives of the international workers’ movement did not even receive a
mention. Paradoxically, it is bourgeois sources which are frequently
faster in providing us with information concerning Party matters.
Prague, 26 April
Majáles 1956. Nevydařená revolta československých studentů [Student Festival 1956.
The unsuccessful revolt of Czechoslovak students], ed. John Matthews, Brno 2000.

/ 27 April

Poland. Announcement of amnesty – relating not just to minor crimi-

nal acts but also to political cases. Among the latter, convictions of
ZDZISŁAW ŁOŻYŃSKI / OŚRODEK KARTA

up to 5 years are quashed, more severe punishments reduced, and

the death sentence reduced to 15 years imprisonment. More than
London, 22 April
30,000 people, including 4,500 political prisoners, are released from
1956. Anti-Soviet
prison during the following month. demonstration
by émigrés from
Central and

/ 29 April
Eastern Europe
Polish émigré
protest.
Poland. An article entitled Z własnego prawa bierz nadania [Strike
while the iron is hot], written by Krzysztof Teodor Toeplitz, appears in
/ 26 April the journal “Nowa Kultura” [New Culture]. The article causes fierce
attacks on the author.
Czechoslovakia. During a student meeting at the Charles University
in Prague, criticism is levelled at compulsory classes in Marxism and Extract from an article entitled Z własnego prawa bierz nadania
Leninism, and also at the jamming of Western radio-stations and [Strike while the iron is hot]:
automatic acceptance of Soviet models. Students announce their The recent political events following the 20th Congress are referred to
resolutions and also demand punishment for those responsible for by various names. They are labelled with such tags as “breakthrough”,
abuse by the State Security apparatus and call for a control over it. “revision of judgement”, or “earthquake”. However, it seems that the
The Resolution is then circulated to party and state institutions. political language of Marxism has more precise terms to describe such
events. After all, that language uses the word ‘revolution’.
Extract from a Resolution adopted by the Czechoslovak Youth What is happening now is, indeed, revolution. It is the revolt of the
Union of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles Uni- working masses against the fossilization of Socialism, the calcification
versity: of the ever thicker and harder shell of the bureaucratic system with its
We demand that the press, radio and filmed material provide the pub- entire political, moral and traditional structure.
lic with information more speedily and accurately and in a more inde- Warsaw, 29 April
pendent manner than to date. Material relating to the 20th Congress “Nowa Kultura” Issue no. 18, 29 April 1956.

of the Soviet Communist Party took longer to reach us than did the

15
LESZEK WDOWIŃSKI / PAP

Warsaw, 1 May
1956. Editorial
team of the pro-
reform weekly
“Po Prostu” take
part in a May
Day parade.
 / 7 May Czechoslovakia,
1 May 1956.
Poland. A nationwide student theatre review commences in May Day
celeb­rations.
Wrocław. Warsaw’s STS (Student Satirical Theatre) and Gdańsk’s ‘Bim-
Bom’ receive awards. Such theatres, of which there were dozens in
Poland at the time, were yet another platform enabling criticism of
the current situation and calls for change...

FRANK SCHERSCHEL / THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION / GETTY IMAGES

Andrzej Drawicz, co-founder of STS, literary critic:
At that time, we were young Marxists. [...] We were afraid that the
thaw would mean a washout of our ideals, that it would drown them in
muddy bourgeois waters. [...] We observed the attitudes of profession-
al opportunists who used the thaw to make a career for themselves.
And it was these people who now became our favourite anti-heroes.
And then, too, [...] there was a fear that the authorities might use a
thaw as a trinket to dangle before the eyes of the people and thus to
enforce their position which had become unstable in 1956.
Warsaw
Andrzej Drawicz, Wczasy pod lufą [A holiday under fire], Warsaw 1997.

Wrocław, Po-
land, 7–10 May

/
1956. Actors of
the Gdańsk Bim-
1 May Bom Student
Theatre in a
Czechoslovakia. During a May Day parade, a group of students sketch entitled
stops before the Party VIP podium and shouts out demands for open Circus (a satire
on Soviet films).
discussion. Emotions run high in student circles for the next few days
and give rise to fresh demands.

Anton Blaha, lawyer, participant in Slovak protests:

In the student circles to which I belonged, nobody organised us, no-
body forced us or encouraged us to strike or rebel. These were our
own feelings, we believed that they were true to [...] our beliefs and our
lives. [...] Hardline politicians began to accuse us of coordinating pro-
ZBIGNIEW KOSYCARZ / KFP

tests between Prague and Bratislava, of being in league with reaction-

aries and that there had apparently even been attempts to overthrow
the Socialist system.
Bratislava
Anton Blaha, Maskám je všetko dovolené [Masks can do anything], in: Pyžamová
revolúcia [The Pyjama Revolution], ed. Anton Blaha et al, Bratislava 2007.

17
/ 9 May question or protest. And that is why I saw this possible change almost
as a personal threat to myself. [...] This feeling grew and sometimes
Poland. Talks commence between representatives of the leadership drowned out any words.
of the Polish United Workers’ Party and Władysław Gomułka. They Warsaw
Jerzy Putrament, Pół wieku. Poślizg, Pisma [Half a century. A Delay, Writings], vol. 12,
concern the conditions of his possible return to political life. The for-
Warsaw 1987.
mer First Secretary is visited by members of both factions, each of
whom tries to persuade him to join them, thus taking advantage of
his positive image as a social victim of Stalinism.
/ 12 May

Jerzy Putrament, writer, Deputy-Chairman of the Association of Czechoslovakia. In Bratislava, during the traditional Majáles student
Polish Writers and deputy member of the Central Committee of festival, banned during the Stalinist era, humorous banners ap-
the Polish United Workers’ Party: peared criticising living conditions, the pointless stress on the teach-
It was already Spring, and yet another meeting at the Writers’ Club. In the ing of Marxism, or the length of military service. A few students even
corridor, [Wiktor] Woroszylski was sitting on the parapet of a window. His carried a coffin bearing the words “Academic freedom”.
words came naturally, as though the matter was self-explanatory:
“You know, Comrade, more and more people throughout the country Poland. Traditional ‘Juvenalia’ student festivals commence in Kraków.
are awaiting Gomułka’s return.” They are accompanied by anti-règime slogans: demands for the truth
[...] I was surprised, indeed unpleasantly so. and changes to the current constitution.
I did not know Gomułka all that well at the time [...]. I accepted
the opinions held by the current leadership about Gomułka without Stefan Bratkowski, member of the District Council of the Polish
Students’ Union:
For the first time since the war, the Juvenalia festival provided an op-
Prague,
portunity for mass street rallies. Third year students of Civil Engineering Czechoslovakia,
[...] had military training classes in Bronowice; instead, they played tru- May 1956. Stu-
ant and made for Kraków city centre. First stop were the various halls dents take part
in the traditional
of residence. They began with the Academy of Fine Arts building on Lea Majáles student
Street, home to the most beautiful girls in Kraków, where they chanted: festival. Banner
“Come and join us. Come and join us!” At that, everyone ran out and reads: “For all
senior officials,
within an hour and a half the crowd numbered thousands of young peo- particularly in
ple making their way through the streets of Kraków, laughing and sing- the Ministry
ing, repeating their “Come and join us!” of Education –
a completely
[...] The Civil Engineering lads led the demo to the head office of the new medicine
Kraków press and once there several thousand voices roared: “Truth and called DEKULTIT
bread! Truth and bread!”. [...] And that’s how we led the young people of [from the words
“de-” and “cult”]
Kraków out into the streets [...] and, because nothing happened to us, this
– bound to re-
later gave some sort of encouragement to the workers in Poznań. move all student
Kraków, 12 May demands”.
NÁRODNÍ ARCHIV

Stefan Bratkowski, Pod znakiem pomidora [Under the sign of the tomato], in:
Październik 1956. Pierwszy wyłom w systemie. Bunt, młodość, rozsądek [October 1956.
The first breakthrough in the system. Revolt, youth and sensibility], ed. Stefan Brat-
kowski, Warsaw 1996.
18
NÁRODNÍ ARCHIV

Prague,
Czechoslova-
kia, May 1956.
Students during
Majáles festival.
Banner on
book-case reads:
“Banned”.

19
/ 14 June

Poland. Stanisław Cat-Mackiewicz, former Premier of the Govern-

ment-in-Exile, returns to Poland. His decision is seen as a symbol of
support for Edward Ochab’s political team.

Stanisław Cat-Mackiewicz in a national broadcast:

I am immensely moved as I stand on Polish ground. I have always
represented the political direction which was opposite to that which
today’s Polish government represents. The fact that I am greeted here
with such good will, shows me that Poland is not divided into victors
and vanquished but is just made up of Poles.
Warsaw, 14 June
“Zielony Sztandar” [The Green Standard] Issue no. 49, 20 June 1956, quote as per:

Piotr Bojarski, 1956. Przebudzeni [The Awakened], Warsaw 2016.

/ 15 June

Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak Communist Party Congress

comes to an end. First Secretary Antonín Novotný states that the
Party line does not require revision. The resolution of the students
and their critical activity against the system are denounced but the
authorities do not resort to acts of repression...

Antonín Novotný in a speech at the Czechoslovak Communist PAP

Party Congress:
The working peoples have a right to expect that young people who
have been given the opportunity of obtaining a higher education will
/ Mid-June
Warsaw, 14 June
1956. Arrival at
Warsaw Airport
not turn against the system but will work with all their strength to Poland. Protests and lightning strikes in the Stalin Metalworks (pre- of Stanisław
support the building of a Socialist community. [...] Recently, groups of viously ZISPO, and later – the Hipolit Cegielski Plants). They are set Cat-Mackiewicz,
former Premier
reactionaries have made surreptitious attempts to make use of the against the background of a severe housing crisis and – in particular of the Polish
criticism which the Party has purposely introduced into all aspects of – the raising of productivity norms and cuts in wages. Government-in-
our life so as to infiltrate the student ranks. [...] It should be openly Exile.

stated that our peoples will not allow any abuse of our institutions of Stefan Jędrychowski, Deputy Prime Minister:
higher education. The generally enlivened discussion, some relaxation in pressure and
Prague, 15 June liberalisation have resulted in disappointment with the results of the
Speech given by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Com- 6-year plan, especially in the field [level] of the standard of living. Claims
munist Party, Comrade Antonín Novotny, “Nová mysl” [New Ideas] Issue no. 6, 1956.
for arrears of wages have re-appeared [...]. There is widespread discon-

20
 Poznań, the
1950s. Table
of productivity
leaders in the
ZISPO plant.
Heading on
notice board:
“Youth in the
front line of the
battle to carry
out the 6-year
Plan ahead of
time”.

ARCHIWUM HCP
tent relating to several millions of zloties of wrongfully unpaid wages. Stanisław Matyja, a member of the ZISPO delegation, the infor-
Revindication of arrears of wages spread throughout Poland [...]. mal leader of the protesters:
Poznań An elderly workman emerged from the crowd [...]. He said to the Minis-
Stefan Jędrychowski – Wspomnienia o Październiku 1956 [Stefan Jędrychowski – ter: “Look here – you’d better complete primary schooling first – before
Reminiscences of October 1956], in: Marcin Żukowski, Okres Października ‘56 w relacji
seeking a post as a minister”. At that, an indescribable uproar broke
Stefana Jędrychowskiego złożonej w roku 1983 [The October ’56 period as related by
out. Someone in the distance pointed out a rope to me, they were firm-
Stefan Jędrychowski in 1983], “Radzyński Rocznik Humanistyczny” Issue no. 11, 2013.
ly intent on hanging the Minister.

/
Poznań, 27 June
Stanisław Matyja, Działaliśmy jawnie i głośno [We acted openly and out loud], in:
27 June
Październik 1956. Pierwszy wyłom w systemie. Bunt, młodość, rozsądek [October 1956.
The first breakthrough in the system. Revolt, youth and sensibility], ed. Stefan Brat-
Poland. During a meeting with workers at the ZISPO Metalworks, the In-
kowski, Warsaw 1996.
dustrial Plant Minister, Roman Fidelski, retreats from agreements made
the previous day with their delegates. This sparks massive outrage.

21
 Hungary. At a meeting of the Petőfi Club, devoted to the freedom of Stanisław Matyja:
the press, the public chants slogans in support of Imre Nagy, the Prime A group of people barged its way into the Provincial Committee
Minister who – in the period 1953–55 – attempted to carry out a more building [...], moments later, windows were opened and there were
liberal line and was displaced by supporters of the Stalinist status quo. shouts of: “See how they live here!” Tableware and prepared meals,
After the meeting, Rákosi decides to suspend the activity of the Clubs cold meats, vodka and other delicacies were displayed to the pub-
and to introduce repressive measures aimed at the press. lic. The demonstrators became agitated because they were fighting
for bread, for reasonable productivity norms, fighting to be treated
Budapest,
Tibor Déry, writer: normally – and here was the leadership, ostensibly a people’s leader- 27 June 1956.
Let us look closely at today’s situation. Those Comrades who take part ship, living the high life. [...] The writer, Tibor
in the discussions or listen to them, do not take into account a certain Events then took a fast turn. A patrol car arrived – from the direction Tardos speaks
during a meet-
specific circumstance. They do not see that they are able to do so only of the post office on Kościuszki Street, I think. It was positioned strategi- ing of the Petőfi
because they have – shall we say – permission from above. [...] cally and people began to shout and protest. After a moment, I heard Club.
The number of people who take part in one discussion after an-
other numbers approximately 1,500–2,000; each professional group
in turn gives vent to its anger at these discussions and then heaves a

ERICH LESSING / MAGNUM PHOTOS / PHOTO POWER

sigh of relief, comfortable in the knowledge that freedom of speech
and freedom of criticism have been regained, and with them hope for
the future. We let loose our words, delight in them as a child delights
in a tin whistle but we do not notice that our words are just that –
words, our hopes remain unsatisfied and our environment sees little
change. [...]
We have regained freedom of speech in a falsely construed dimen-
sion; relaxed or even pleased, we listen to our own voices, while all
around remains practically the same as it was.
Budapest, 27 June
Pető Iván, A Petőfi Kör Sajtóvitájának Jegyzőkönyve [Report from a Petőfi Club discus-
sion on the subject of the press], “Beszélő online”, http://beszelo.c3.hu/cikkek/
a-petofi-kor-sajtovitajanak-jegyzokonyve [accessed: 03.07.2017].

/ 28 June

Poland. A strike breaks out in the ZISPO Metalworks and quickly

turns into a demonstration by many thousands of people outside
the Provincial Headquarters of the Polish United Workers’ Party.
Economic demands are now accompanied by political demands –
for freedom. Demonstrators destroy devices jamming foreign radio
broadcasts and attack prisons. Shots aimed in the direction of the
demonstration come from the State Security Forces building. Clashes
break out between armed civilians and functionaries. In the after-
noon, the army advances into Poznań.

22
 Poznań, 28 June
1956. Protesting
workers carry
banner: “We de-
IPN

mand bread”.

23
the same voice as previously – it was [Wincenty] Kraśko [Propaganda began to disperse quickly and stopped at some distance, forming an
Secretary at the Provincial Committee]. He spoke for a minute, or so, enormous semi-circle. But those of us who held flags stood firm. Sud-
and was dragged out of the patrol car. He was punched several times. denly, I saw the woman I’d mentioned aiming at us with a machine
Poznań, 28 June pistol and shots immediately began to ring out. My legs felt hot and I
Poznański Czerwiec 1956 [Poznań’s June 1956], ed. Jarosław Maciejewski and Zofia fell. After a moment, I realised that it was I who had been shot.
Trojanowicz, Poznań 1981. Poznań, 28 June
Poznański Czerwiec 1956. Relacje uczestników [Poznań’s June 1956, Statements of
participants], selection and editing: Aleksander Ziemkowski, Poznań 2008.
Helena Przybyłek-Porębna, tram-driver:
A woman stood in a first or second floor window above the main gate
[of the State Security building]. Suddenly, we heard the sound of shots. Anna Kowalska, writer:
We could not see where they were coming from. A moment later, how- If the workers are sending their wives and children to their deaths in
ever, wounded demonstrators began to fall to the ground. People strike demonstrations – then that’s the final straw. Of course, the ‘Ex-
presses’ and other tabloids write of counter-revolution but, then, were
the government and the Party not themselves a counter-revolution
Poznań, 28 June
over all these years? Were the people who allowed workers’ wages to 1956. Women’s
be reduced by three to four hundred zloties, as the ‘Express’ claims... protest.
were those who calmly and with total lack of responsibility continued
their bureaucratisation, counting on the fact that the workers would
put up with anything, that they don’t need to feel responsible if the
poor don’t survive... were they not all counter-revolutionaries and
criminals? They lament because three metalworkers fell but the fact
that the nation was on its last legs and continues to perish – oh, no
– on that there is silence! Only now will the lies, the comedies, the
sickening complaints commence. The army opens fire on the people,
on working class women and children. No, it won’t end there!
Warsaw 28 June
Anna Kowalska, Dzienniki 1927–1969 [Diaries 1927–1969], Warsaw 2008.

Extract from Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz’s speech to the peo-

ple of Poznań:
The blood which has been shed in Poznań can be laid at the door of
imperialist spheres and the reactionary underground in Poland – it
is they who are the direct perpetrators of the events. [...] Any provo-
cateur or madman who dares to raise his hand against the people’s
authority can be sure that the same authority will not hesitate to lop
off his hand in the interests of the working class, the working peasant
and the intelligentsia, in the interests of the battle to raise the stand-
ards of living, or the interests of democratisation of our lives and the
interests of our Motherland.
Warsaw, 29 June
IPN

“Trybuna Ludu” Issue no. 181, 30 June 1956.

24
 /
Poznań, 28 June
1956. Protesters
30 June
outside the of-
fices of the State
Poland. The number of arrests following the Poznań incidences rises to Security Forces.
approximately 750. Many detainees were beaten during interrogation.

Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Director of Radio Free Europe’s “Voice of

Free Poland”:
An important issue arising from the Poznań incidents concerned the
imminent trials. As the authorities announced that “those responsible
will be punished with the full severity of the law”, [Wojciech] Trojanow-
ski, in a broadcast entitled Reflektorem po kraju [Searchlight on the
country], posed a series of questions: Will the arrestees be judged ac-
cording to old Stalinist methods, will the hearings be open, will the
defence have full use of freedom of speech? Will western journalists
be allowed in the courts? The trials were to be a test – would the break
with the abuses and crimes of the “bygone era” be confirmed in prac-

LESZEK PAPRZYCKI / WYDAWNICTWO MIEJSKIE POSNANIA

tice by Ochab’s team?
Munich, 30 June
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Wojna w eterze. Wspomnienia 1948–1956 [War in the radio
waves, memoirs 1948–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 1991.

Poznań, 28 June
1956. Tanks
disperse protest-
ers outside the
offices of the
State Security
Forces.

LESZEK PAPRZYCKI / WYDAWNICTWO MIEJSKIE POSNANIA

Jan Józef Szczepański:
Official statements are typical. At first, there was talk of “a tragic mis-
take” made by “provocateurs”. Now it is just “provocateurs”, “fascist
gangs” and “dregs of society”. Moscow points in no uncertain terms
to “American dollars” as the cause. The press received a secret order
to stop any critical articles. We are in for a new idyll – overshadowing
an iron fist.
Kasinka
Jan Józef Szczepański, Dziennik 1945–1956 [Diary 1945–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 2009.

25
 Poznań,
ITAR-TASS / PAP

28–29 June
1956. Slogan on
tram: “Out with
dictatorship!”

26
 /
Warsaw, the
1950s. Children
Early July
playing against
a background
Poland. Voices of support and solidarity with Poznań appear throughout of the ruins on
Poland. They are formulated in letters to the press, radio, Party authori- Grzybowska
ties, as well as in leaflets and slogans painted on walls. Strikes are or- Street.

ganised in many industrial plants with similar demands to those made

in Poznań.

Extract from a letter signed “A Worker from Kielce”:

When I heard on the morning news on 5 July that aid from the American
Red Cross had been rejected, I was both surprised and shocked.
Those who had rejected the aid spoke in their own names, not on be-
half of the nation – their salaries do not waver between 500–800 złoties
like those of the average proletarian worker, they do not live in hovels
and slums like hundreds of thousands of oppressed workers who are told:
“Yours is the power.” They do not worry about what they’ll put in the pot
for dinner; they enjoy life and entertain each other with foreign wines and
various delicacies [...].
Ask the workers of ZISPO, of “Pumeks” or other plants who it was who
forced the weapons into their hands – was it not the conditions created by
the “power of the people”? Shortly, workers will stand before the courts,
workers who demanded their human rights. Yet this is not fair – there, in
the dock – should be the people who had brought about this situation, the
people who had tightened the noose around the necks of thousands of
Poznań’s working people. It was not “foreign enemies” who had done so
but the empty stomachs of those who, for 12 years, had been, and still are
being, robbed.
Kielce, 9 July
​​Księga listów PRL-u [Compendium of letters from the People’s Republic], vol. 2, selection and
editing: Grzegorz Sołtysiak, Warsaw 2005.

Jerzy Stempowski in a letter to Jerzy Giedroyc:

If Warsaw journals write of provocation then this will be proof that they
IRENA JAROSIŃSKA / OŚRODEK KARTA

are no more free than previously, and that they have to repeat what “Prav-
da” prints. There’s no other way. [...]
It is finally clear that, after several months of rowdy rebellion and eu-
phoria, and particularly after the events which took place in Poznań, we
will now have a period of expiation, with the inevitable “зaмaливaния
гpexoв’ [Russian: supplication for forgiveness] before the Kremlin.
Bern, 17 July
Jerzy Giedroyc, Jerzy Stempowski, Listy 1946–1969 [Letters 1946–1969], Part 1, Warsaw 1998.

27
/ 6 July

Poland. “Trybuna Ludu” publishes an article by Krzysztof Wolicki en-

titled Pierwsze wnioski [Initial conclusions]. That same day the article
is condemned by the Politburo and Jerzy Morawski, the newspaper’s
editor-in-chief (and Central Committee Secretary connected with the
reform faction), is sacked.

Extract from article Pierwsze wnioski [Initial conclusions]:

‘Poznań’s Thursday’ had two aspects: that of the frustration of the
workers and that of a hostile revolt against the people’s government.
[...] The strikes staged by Poznań workers – and this fundamental,
painful truth cannot be masked or ignored – was to no small degree
caused by the bureaucratic manipulations of our proletariat state, our
state, our government. Poznań. A por-

WOJCIECH KONDRACKI / PAP

trait of Bolesław
Warsaw, 6 July
Bierut in the
“Trybuna Ludu” Issue no. 87, 6 July 1956.
offices of the
State Security
Forces, came

/ 7 July
under fire dur-
ing the Poznań
incidents.
Poland. The report of an enquiry – headed by Edward Gierek, Secre-
tary of the Central Committee – into the circumstances of the Poznań
incidents is presented at a meeting of Provincial First Secretaries of the authority of our leaders; we were unable to differentiate between
the Polish United Workers’ Party. According to the report, this was a the boundaries of justified criticism, which should be amplified, and
planned diversionary tactic instigated by centres hostile to the peo- the defamation of our leadership and our political system.
ple’s leaders, which exploited the dissatisfaction of the workers. Dur- Warsaw, 7 July
ing the discussion, many activists, including Edward Ochab, attack AAN, KC PZPR, 237/V–237, k. 1–95, kopia, mps., quote as per: Poznański Czerwiec
1956. Wybór dokumentów [Poznań’s June 1956. Selection of documents], vol. 1, selec-
the press for undermining the authority of the country’s leadership.
tion and editing: Stanisław Jankowiak, Rafał Kościański, Edmund Makowski, Rafał
Reczek, Poznań 2012.
Edward Ochab during a meeting of the Central Committee of the
Polish United Workers’ Party, on the subject of the effects of the
so-called Gierek Commission:
Personally, I believe that – to a great degree – we have lost a sense of
/ 18 July

proportion in our work, an objective assessment of the proportions Hungary. Tension grows within the country and the Party. Under
of what has been achieved and of the difficulties which we now face pressure from Moscow, Mátyás Rákosi resigns. He is succeeded by
[...]. Based on these realities, we must strive for the increased develop- Ernő Gerő, who was equally responsible for the crimes of the Stalin-
ment of our industry and retention of our authority – by any means at ist era and also equally opposed to any changes. The press, which is
our disposal. It is we who are responsible for the growth of liberalism also Party-based, begins to speak out with increasing force against
among the various gossips and muck-spreaders who have undermined the status quo.

28
 Drawing from a
series entitled
“Scenes from
Poland. Start of the VII Plenum of the Central Committee of the Pol-
the field” on the
ish United Workers’ Party. During stormy discussions, it soon be- front page of the
comes obvious that the Party is divided into two factions. The “Nato- satirical journal
lin” group’s main demands are for personnel changes and they are “Szpilki”. Text
reads: “Comrade
quick to remind the “Puławy” group that its members belonged to the Chairman,
most resolute architects of Stalinism. The latter, on the other hand, are what’s on the
more in favour of a revision of the mechanisms of the system and they agenda?” – “First,
we’ll tackle the
accuse their adversaries – often justifiably – of frequent anti-Semitic resolutions of
ressentiment in the Party and in society at large. During the Plenum, the VII Plenum,
the Prosecutor General, Marian Rybicki, admits that there is no proof and then you’ll
tackle the
that the Poznań incidents were influenced by imperialist agents. Dur-
removal of my
ing the duration of the Plenum, Nikolai Bulganin, Premier of the USSR, furniture to my
takes part in the 22nd July ceremonies, marking the 1944 manifesto new apartment”.
which proclaimed Poland’s Interim Communist Government.

GWIDON MIKLASZEWSKI / “SZPILKI” 1956, ISSUE 37

Jarosław Abramow-Newerly, writer:
The surge of the revolutionary wave grew ever larger. At the top, nobody
seemed to realise that chopping off hands is not the best remedy for an
ailing society and at the VII Plenum of the Polish United Workers’ Party,
Edward Ochab toned down the words of the Premier, promising an im-
provement in the standard of living and the introduction of reforms.
Warsaw, 18 July
Jarosław Abramow-Newerly, Lwy STS-u [The lions of STS], Warsaw 2005.

Nikolai Bulganin:
It would be wrong not to realise that the advent of the war against the
cult of the individual has resulted not only in a revival of hostile and
opportunistic elements but has also led to the emergence of suspicious ed back into the folds of the Polish United Workers’ Party. Through-
and dubious characters in our own ranks. Misled by enemy propagan- out the country voices are raised, demanding the return of Gomułka
da, these people often misinterpret various hypotheses relating to the – as a victim of the Stalinist system – to the country’s leadership.
cult of the individual and this has found its expression in the pages of
some official media in Socialist countries, including Poland. Stefan Staszewski:
Warsaw, 22 July Gomułka was not a new figure but the public looked out for him (the
Zbysław Rykowski, Wiesław Władyka, Polska próba. Październik ’56 [A Polish Attempt. Party was to do so much later). Society realised that it would not be
October ‘56], Kraków 1989.
able to get rid of the Communist leadership of the country, so it looked
for a Communist with – as it thought – a more human face. [...] This
/ 2 August led to a curious situation: it was not Gomułka who pushed for the
leadership, the impetus came from the people themselves.
Poland. Władysław Gomułka, Marian Spychalski and Zenon Kliszko Warsaw
(also imprisoned during the war with “the enemy within”) are accept- Teresa Torańska, Oni [They], Warsaw 2004.

29
IRENA JAROSIŃSKA / OŚRODEK KARTA

Sopot, 6–12
August 1956.
I Polish National
Jazz Music Festi-
val. On stage is
Krzysztof Kom-
eda’s Sextet.
/ 12 August

Poland. The I Jazz Festival comes to an end in Sopot. It becomes a

symbolic confirmation that this genre of music – outlawed during the
Stalinist era – is spreading to the public sector, albeit not without op-
position. The clothes worn by the participants, modelled on western
fashion, are a way of manifesting freedom.

From an article by “Krystyna”, entitled Sprawa raczej ponura

[A somewhat sombre matter]:
The fact that, instead of banners, four overgrown youths carried
[models of] four significant letters, that half-clad aroused young girls
cavorted in a dance fashion, that young men with idiotic hairstyles
capered to the sounds of a samba – those are just minor details. It
is the spectacle itself which is curious. Tight drainpipes [jeans], shirts
hanging out, the idiotic fringes worn by the boys, the jumpers with
cleavages à la Sophia Loren, the bedraggled hairstyles and blasé ex-
pressions on the inane faces... If this is to be a thaw, then a thirty-
degree frost is a better option.
Sopot, 14 August
“Dziennik Bałtycki” Issue no. 193, 14 August 1956.

ERICH LESSING / MAGNUM PHOTOS / PHOTO POWER

/ 26 August

Poland. At the shrine in Częstochowa, several hundred thousand pil-

grims witness the Jasnogóra Pledges of the Polish Nation – a prayer
written by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, who had been kept in solitary
confinement since the autumn of 1953.

Tadeusz Mazowiecki, writer and Catholic activist:

Around half a million people. It was hoped that perhaps the Primate
himself, Cardinal Wyszyński, might appear, that he might be re-
leased. The Bishop’s throne stood empty with just a bunch of red and
white flowers. Everyone knew that the words of the pledges had been the Church’s strength which had managed to gather together such Sopot, 12 August
written by the Primate whilst in confinement; they were read out by masses of people. 1956. The Jazz
Festival ends
Bishop [Michał] Klepacz. This was yet another event which gave gen- Jasna Góra, 26 August with the Miss
eral hope that changes might take place, especially as the pledges  adeusz Mazowiecki, Zygmunt Skórzyński, Historia nie tylko złudzeń: Październik 56
T Sopot Contest.
[A History – not just of illusions: October 56], in: Październik 1956. Pierwszy wyłom w syste-
contained a long-term moral programme and were addressed to
mie. Bunt, młodość, rozsądek [October 1956. The first breakthrough in the system. Revolt,
the entire nation. This event was also proof of the re-emergence of
youth, sensibility], ed. Stefan Bratkowski, Warsaw 1996.

31
INSTYTUT PRYMASOWSKI STEFANA KARDYNAŁA WYSZYŃSKIEGO Częstochowa,
Poland, 26
August 1956.
Procession car-
rying a picture
of the Madonna
of Częstochowa
during celebra-
tions of the Jas-
nogóra Pledges.
/ 1 September for support for the plans of the Polish United Workers’ Party to widen
the scope of independence from the Soviet Communist Party.
Hungary. Géza Losonczy, a journalist associated with the reform
faction, publishes an article in “Művelt Nép”; in it, he as much as Edward Ochab:
demands a revision of the entire policy of the Hungarian Workers’ I spoke with all four of them: Mao [Zedongi], Czou En-laj [Zhou Enlai],
Party. In the following weeks, the press campaign for reforms gath- Czu Te [Zhu De] and Liu Szao-tsi [Liu Shaoqi]. The gist of my discourse
ers momentum. Students join the campaign, demanding not just the boiled down to the fact that we, in Poland, want to deal with our matters
return of Imre Nagy but also free elections and withdrawal of Soviet by ourselves. Among others, I mentioned that we want to bring Gomułka
troops. back to the leadership and to some degree to right the wrongs which he
had suffered, and that this should actually strengthen and consolidate
/ September our Party. Our Chinese comrades reacted very positively to our plans.
Peking
Poland. The first workers’ council is set up in the FSO Saloon Car Plant Teresa Torańska, Oni [They], Warsaw 2004.

in Warsaw’s Żerań district. On the one hand, the increasingly popular

move towards workers’ councils was intended as a mouthpiece for in-
dustrial plant employees, on the other hand, it was meant to have a
positive effect on their productivity. Lechosław Goździk, Chairman of
/ 27 September

the Polish United Workers’ Party [PZPR] and leader of the workers in Poland. After being postponed several times, trials of the partici-
Żerań, establishes contact with students and intelligentsia who favour pants in the Poznań incidents now commence. Fearing the reaction
reforms. of western observers, the authorities do not charge the workers with
organising a strike but with “acts of hooliganism”. Noteworthy is the
Lechosław Goździk: attitude of the lawyers who – in contrast to trials during the Stalinist
It is interesting to note that, during those first elections in the FSO plant, era – really do stand up in defence of their clients.
it did not matter whether someone was a Party member or not; people
were chosen out of respect for them and their competence... and their Extract from speech by defence lawyer of unknown accused in
ability to achieve something for the plant. Election results refllected the the “trial of the nine” (transcript):
proportion of Party members versus non-Party members among the I know that the prosecution would prefer to see a precisely defined
employees. [...] personal responsibility relating to each of the accused who are sitting
We had a basis for hope that we really would become decision mak- here in the dock; it wants to narrow down the proceedings. However,
ers. [...] At that time, nobody dreamt that we could build capitalism. You we are all aware that these people did not just appear out of thin air
had to be suicidal to even think of something like that and, anyway, [...], indeed, [...] they were led out into the streets by a clear motive
there was no money. and we want to define that motive. We know that the 28th June was
Warsaw no ordinary day. [...]
Lechosław Goździk, Byliśmy u siebie w domu [We were in our own home], in: Październik Why then, here in this courtroom, should we not find an open an-
1956. Pierwszy wyłom w systemie. Bunt, młodość, rozsądek [October 1956. The first break-
swer to the question – where did these people come from, why did half
through in the system. Revolt, youth, sensibility], ed. Stefan Bratkowski, Warsaw 1996.
of Poznań find itself out on the streets on that day?

/
Poznań
PANAWOP, sygn. P.III-93, Materiały J. Sandorskiego, teczka 8, k. 333–343, quote
15 September
from: Poznański Czerwiec 1956. Wybór dokumentów [Poznań’s June 1956. Selection
of documents.], vol. 1, selection and editing: Stanisław Jankowiak, Rafał Kościański,
China. Commencement of the Congress of the Chinese Communist
Edmund Makowski, Rafał Reczek, Poznań 2012.
Party in Peking. It is attended by Edward Ochab. He is on the lookout

33
WOJCIECH KONDRACKI / PAP

Poznań,
27 September
1956. One of
the show trials
which followed
the June inci-
dents.

34
 /
Budapest,
6 October 1956.
6 October
Deputy Premier
Antal Apró
Hungary. Exhumation and repeat funeral of László Rajka, Minister of speaking during
Internal Affairs, sentenced to death in 1949 – during a wave of purges the funeral of
throughout Eastern Europe – under false accusations of having con- László Rajka.

nections with Tito. The funeral is transformed into a demonstration

by 100,000 participants, dissatisfied with the politics of Ernő Gerő’s
political team.

Elek Nagy, a turner, trade union leader in the Csepel factory:

The factory intended to send three representatives to Rajko’s funeral
[...], while we were expected to meekly carry on working. This caused a
revolution on a grand scale. How come – were we not to be allowed to
attend the funeral of a hero? [...]
We stopped the machines, made our way to the washrooms and
the entire shopfloor left the factory. Let them register us on the ab-
sentee list! And we left. Perhaps it was not so much that we wanted to
pay homage to the memory of Rajko, as to express our displeasure at
the current government, the leadership and the political situation. [...]
Some 1,000 people from the Csepel factory went to the funeral.
Budapest, 6 October
A forradalom emlékezete. Személyes történelem [Memories of the revolution. A personal

AP PHOTO / EAST NEWS

history], ed. Adrienne Molnár, Zsuzsanna Kőrösi, Márkus Keller, Budapest 2006.

Jenő Széll, art historian, former Hungarian Ambassador to Bu-

charest:
Rajko’s funeral was terrible! [...] Crowd after crowd of people with
drawn faces. It was an event rarely seen in the streets of Budapest –
people walked along, greeted acquaintances but did not form groups
ULLSTEIN BILD VIA GETTY IMAGES

as they do in today’s official funerals. [...] It was there that we heard

the words: “Never again, comrades!”. [...] That was the first time in
years that I burst into a torrent of tears. And I was not the only one in Budapest,
such a state. 6 October 1956.
Budapest, 6 October Repeat funeral
of László Rajka,
A forradalom emlékezete. Személyes történelem [Memories of the revolution. A personal
following his
history], ed. Adrienne Molnár, Zsuzsanna Kőrösi, Márkus Keller, Budapest 2006. pardon.

35
/ 9 October / 12 October

Poland. Student rally at Warsaw Technical University attended by del- Poland. Władysław Gomułka takes part in a sitting of the Politburo of
egates from various factories and workplaces. Participants demand the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party. He criti-
democratisation, worker control over the activities of plants and cises the economic policies to date and also draws attention to the
open politics – including disclosure of the subject of talks between necessity of normalising Polish-Soviet relations.
the leadership of the Polish United Workers’ Party and Gomułka.
Resolution put forward by the students is published in “Po Prostu”. Extract from Władysław Gomułka’s speech at a sitting of the
Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party:
Lechosław Goździk: Our entire life must now be governed by the principles of this new life,
Masses of people outside the Technical University because they could the principles of democratisation, any return to the old processes has
not all fit in inside; we enter from the front, into the hall; we barely to bring worse results. You can govern a country once you have lost its
managed to push our way through. All around were raucous voices, confidence but only with the help of bayonets, and anyone who takes
whistles, shouts of – ‘out!’ [...] The demonstration was organised by that option, opts for total failure. We cannot return to the old methods.
the students, it was the first demonstration by the Technical University Warsaw, 12 October
and they had invited officials, too. [...] Gomułka i inni. Dokumenty z archiwum KC 1948–1982 [Gomułka and others. Docu-
ments from the Central Committee Archives, 1948–1982], selection and editing: Jakub
I made my way to the podium and stood there like a nincompoop [...]
Andrzejewski [in reality: Andrzej Paczkowski], London 1987.
they were yelling and whistling, so finally I lost my temper and started
to whistle, too. Except that I was whistling into the microphone and,
therefore, my whistle was amplified. I look around – they’ve stopped Warsaw,
whistling and are waiting to see what’s happening. So I then told them 16 October 1956.
that any idiot can whistle, and I can, too; and then I posed a question Article written
by Bolesław
– are we to take advantage of this chance, which has appeared in our Piasecki
country, or do we whistle our way past the chance? If you want to, we entitled Instynkt
can carry on whistling. If not, then let me speak. At that I heard: ‘Let państwowy [The
Instinct of the
him speak!’ So I started to speak. [...] About what had happened in our
State], published
country, about what we are doing in our plant in Żerań, what should in “Słowo
– in my opinion – be done in our country. And we reached an under- Powszechne”,
and displayed on
standing. [...] We sang the Polish national anthem “Poland is not yet
a notice board
lost...” and then we all made our way home. [...] in Warsaw Uni-
WOLAŃSKI / PAP

I had this sort of inner conviction that this must work, that there versity. Heading:
is simply no other solution. Certainly, the powers-that-be had never “Comrades! Be
warned! Fascism
faced such a situation. [...] This was an authentic workers’ movement is raising its
– an action carried out by the very workers to whom the authorities head”.
always referred, a movement within industrial plants.
Warsaw, 9 October
Lechosław Goździk, Byliśmy u siebie w domu [We were in our own home], in: Mieczysław Jastrun:
Październik 1956. Pierwszy wyłom w systemie. Bunt, młodość, rozsądek [October 1956.
Gomułka’s return to political life is widely commented. I confess that
The first breakthrough in the system. Revolt, youth, sensibility], ed. Stefan Bratkowski,
I have no confidence in the fuss which surrounds him nor do I know
Warsaw 1996.
what he now stands for. To me it all looks like an attempt to restore
authority to a matter which has been compromised. [...]

36
 An Association of Hungarian Students’ Organisations is set up (MEF- Cover page of
ESZ – Magyar Egyetemistákés Főiskolások Szövetsége). the Hungarian
journal “Szabad-
ság” with a
Tamás Kiss, co-founder of MEFESZ: photograph of
A long table stood on the platform in the ‘Auditorium Maximum’ but the meeting
of members
nobody sat behind it. [...] We went up on the dais. [...] Silence. It was then of the MEFESZ
that I announced that we are opening a student meeting [...]. Everything Students’ Asso-
happened so spontaneously; just an hour or two earlier we would not ciation at Szeged
University in
have dreamt that we would be organising a meeting and that we would
October 1956.
be speaking before eight hundred students. The timing was right. [...]
Suddenly, Tivadar Putnik, a student aged perhaps three or four
years older than us, stood up. [...]: “Since you’re already making de-
mands in academic and social matters, let’s also demand that Rákosi
be punished and Imre Nagy reinstated as Premier!” He then spelt out
four or five political demands. There was silence at first, then cheering
broke out. And then tongues were loosened, people kept interrupting
each other – I could not keep up with calling the next speaker – every-
one had some sort of political demand to add.
Szeged, 16 October
Pontosan tudtam, mire számíthatok [I knew exactly what to expect]. Interview with
Tamás Kiss, conducted by Adrienne Molnár, 1956th Institute – OHA, No. 734,
http://server2001.rev.hu/oha/oha_document.asp?id=455&order=2#fnj_3,
[access: 03.07.2017].
THE 1956 INSTITUTE

/ 18 October

Poland. Edward Ochab is informed by the USSR Ambassador that a

delegation of top Soviet leaders is to visit Poland the following day.
Moscow is concerned by the development of the political situation
What next? Throughout Poland the atmosphere is that of an im- on the Vistula, the calls for changes in Polish-Soviet relations and
pending revolution, tension, and expectation. Some people fear Rus- the expected changes of personnel in the leadership of the Polish
sian provocation. United Workers’ Party. The Praesidium of the Central Committee of
Warsaw, 16 October the Soviet Communist Party informs the Communist parties of China,
Mieczysław Jastrun, Dziennik 1955–1981 [Diary 1955–1981], Kraków 2002. Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania and the GDR of
the proposed action against Poland.
/ 16 October
Extract from a telegram from the Central Committee of the So-
Hungary. The atmosphere has not calmed down after Rajko’s repeat viet Communist Party:
funeral. The Party leadership attempts to convince people that it is There has recently been a serious clash among the leadership of the
capable of change. The crisis deepens. One contributory factor is the Polish United Workers’ Party regarding assessment of the Party’s ac-
news from Poland that intervention by the Soviet army is expected. tions in the face of the internal situation, and of the measures which

37
 should be undertaken as a result. This conflict concerns basic matters of the

IRENA JAROSIŃSKA / OŚRODEK KARTA

Party’s and the State’s internal and foreign policies, as well as the structure
of the Party leadership. Since the situation in Poland is of such profound
importance for the Socialist bloc, and especially for the USSR, we find the
situation in the leadership of the Polish Communist Party intensely worry-
ing. Under the circumstances, the Central Committee of the Soviet Commu-
nist Party considers it essential to send a delegation to Poland, composed
of Comrades Khrushchev, [Lazar] Kaganovitsch, Mikoyan and [Vyacheslav]
Molotov.
Moscow, 18 October
Shen Zhihua, Rola Chin w rozwiązywaniu kryzysu październikowego 1956 r. Analiza postawy
Chin wobec wydarzeń w Polsce i na Węgrzech [China’s role in the solution of the October
1956 crisis. An analysis of China’s attitude to events in Poland and Hungary], “Polski Przegląd
Dyplomatyczny” [Polish Diplomatic Review] 2005, vol. 5, Issue no. 4.

/ 19 October

Poland. During the night, two Soviet Army divisions leave their bases in
Lower Silesia and Western Pomorze and head for Warsaw. Also headed for
Warsaw are troops of the Warsaw Military Sector, which are responsible to
the head of the Ministry of Defence, Konstanty Rokossowski. At 7 a.m. the
Soviet delegation, headed by Nikita Khrushchev, lands in Warsaw’s Okęcie
airport. The delegation includes members of the Praesidium of the Central
Committee of the Soviet Communist Party. The delegation arrives without
an invitation from the Polish leadership.

Władysław Gomułka:
Already on their arrival at the airport, the Soviet Comrades, and Comrade
Khrushchev in particular, made a spectacle of themselves. [...] As soon as
he left the plane, Khrushchev first greeted the Soviet generals and Marshal
Rokossowski, ignoring the members of the Polish Politburo and members
of the government. He then approached the Polish delegation and in rau-
cous tones began to shout in Russian at Comrade Ochab, saying: “Comrade
you’ll never get away with this,” all the time pointing his finger at Ochab
in a threatening manner. We reacted calmly to this display, not wanting to
make a public spectacle in front of the Soviet generals and their chauffeurs.
Warsaw, 19 October
Notatka z rozmów przeprowadzonych w dniach 11 i 12 stycznia 1957 r. między delegacjami
Komunistycznej Partii Chin i PZPR [Note on talks which took place on 11th and 12th January
between delegates of the Communist Party of China and the Polish United Workers’ Party], Warsaw, the
1950s. Voluntary
in: Andrzej Werblan, Rozmowy Władysława Gomułki z Zhou Enlaiem w 1957 [Talks between
workers.
Władysław Gomułka and Zhou Enlai in 1957], “Dzieje Najnowsze” 1997, R. 29, z. 4.

38
Poland. At about 8.30 a.m. talks commence in the Belweder Palace Poland. The talks take their course, interrupted from time to time
between the Soviet delegation and the Polish delegates, including with information about the progress of the troops and the situation
Edward Ochab and Władysław Gomułka. Khrushchev expresses his in Warsaw. After 2 p.m., Roman Zambrowski, a member of the Polit-
discontent with the proposed personnel changes in the Polish United buro of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party,
Workers’ Party. Talks break off and the Polish members make their reads out the following communiqué: Soviet and Polish troops are
way to the opening of the VIII Plenum. nearing Warsaw; the workers of the FSO plant have decided to take
to the streets to stop them.
Władysław Gomułka: At about 4 p.m., Marshal Rokossowski reads out yet another piece of
In the Belweder Palace, Comrade Khrushchev immediately declared: “We news about attempts to lead workers out into the streets in order to
will intervene with force and we will not allow your intentions to come block the city. The Politburo sends Zambrowski and Gierek out to the
to fruition.” At this, I told him we would not continue any talks until he workers, to calm the atmosphere.
removes the revolver from the table – that is: until he retracts his threats.
Warsaw, 19 October
Sketch entitled
Notatka z rozmów przeprowadzonych w dniach 11 i 12 stycznia 1957 r. między delegac-
October winds
jami Komunistycznej Partii Chin i PZPR, [Note on 11th and 12th January talks between blew as usual.
delegates of the Communist Party of China and the Polish United Workers’ Party] in: An- Text reads:
drzej Werblan, Rozmowy Władysława Gomułki z Zhou Enlaiem w 1957 [Talks between “Trybuna Ludu
Władysław Gomułka and Zhou Enlai in 1957], “Dzieje Najnowsze” 1997, R. 29, z. 4. – Special sup-
plement – VIII
Poland. 10 a.m.: A meeting of the VIII Plenum of the Central Commit- Plenum”.

tee of the Polish United Workers’ Party commences in the Council of

Ministers offices in Aleje Ujazdowskie. Władysław Gomułka is co-opted
onto the Central Committee. The Plenum decides that the talks with
the Soviet delegation will be led by Gomułka and members of the Po-
litburo. The Plenum discussions are postponed to the following day.
Talks in the Belweder Palace begin again in the afternoon.

Anastas Mikoyan, member of the Praesidium of the Central

Committee of the Soviet Communist Party:
You underestimate the dangers. Anti-Party and anti-Soviet propaganda
is rife in Poland. [...] the Polish Press equates Stalin’s Soviet regime with
MIECZYSŁAW PIOTROWSKI / “SZPILKI” 1956, ISSUE 44

fascism. We are worried that the current situation in Poland is under-

mining belief in Socialism and weakening us [...].
If you are in favour of friendship, how do we interpret the discussions
in the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party about the
removal of Soviet commanders from the Polish Army? [...] If you have no
need of the Warsaw Pat – say so. Clearly, our military cooperation is also
being undermined.
Warsaw, 19 October
Dokumenty centralnych władz Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej marzec–listopad
’56 [Documents of the central authorities of the Polish United Workers’ Party, March –
November ‘56], selection and editing: Marek Jabłonowski et al, Warsaw 2009.

39
 Stefan Staszewski:
The Internal Security Corps issued 800 weapons, a couple of machine
guns, as well as hand grenades, to the workers’ militia, which had been
set up in the car factory in Żerań. At the time, various self-defence groups
were being established in many industrial plants but only the workers’
militia in Żerań was armed [...]. These workers were to organise cover
for Warsaw, against the Polish units which Gen. Huszcza had sent out
from the Pomorze district and which were heading for Warsaw. Indepen-
dently of these units, Soviet troops were also heading for Warsaw but,
as they were stationed further away, the immediate danger came from
the Polish forces commanded by Gen. Huszcza. The workers’ militia from
Żerań set off to meet them. It was given orders to infiltrate the unit and
to demobilise it politically. The workers did, indeed, penetrate the ranks
and commenced their agitation and, as a result, the army was halted.
Warsaw, 19 October
Teresa Torańska, Oni [They], Warsaw 2004.

Poland. 7 p.m.: Khrushchev reads out a communiqué, according to

which, Stefan Staszewski, First Secretary of the Provincial Committee
of the Polish United Workers’ Party is mobilising the capital’s workers
in order to support the future composition of the Politburo. As far
Warsaw,
HENRYK GRZĘDA / PAP

as the Soviet side is concerned, the fact that personnel matters are October 1956.
becoming a topic for ‘the streets’ is proof that the Polish leadership Lechosław
Goździk during
of the Party has no control over the situation.
a rally in the FSO
At about 8 p.m., there is a further communiqué about the movement of car plant in the
Soviet and Polish tanks headed towards Warsaw. The Soviet side is un- Żerań district.
concerned, explaining that these are “planned exercises”. The situation
appears to have reached stalemate, neither side intends to give way.
Karol Modzelewski, Warsaw University student of history, par-
ticipant in the action in the FSO plant: Extract from notes on the talks between the Central Committee
[Lechosław] Goździk proposed that we should load trucks with sand, of the Soviet Communist Party and members of the Politburo of
prepare bottles filled with petrol and take with us forged metal blanks the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party:
(easier to throw than bricks), and also flags – red and white, and red – Comrade Gomułka: We can hear out your opinion about the internal situ-
and then block the road to Warsaw. “When the tank commander opens ation in Poland but the final decision is ours. Comrade Khrushchev is med-
the turret, we’ll sing the Internationale and the Polish national anthem. dling in our affairs and is mistaken in saying that we are against friendship.
Our soldiers won’t shoot. But if they’re Ruskis...” – here he made a ges- Comrade Kaganovich: Comrade Khrushchev is merely making a po-
ture as though to say that then we’d use the metal forgings and petrol. litical assessment of the facts.
Warsaw, 19 October Comrade Gomułka: Comrade Khrushchev said that removal of Com-
Emocje rewolucji. Październik 56: wspomnienia świadków [Revolutionary emotions. rade Rokossowski from the Politburo will mean a break-up of the War-
October 56: recollections of witnesses], Jolanta Zarembina, “Polityka” Issue no. 45,
saw Pact.
1 November 2016.
Comrades Khrushchev and Mikoyan: Yes.

40
 JAN TYMIŃSKI / PAP
Comrade Gomułka: You have no right to threaten us. [...] What do
you suggest?
Comrade Khrushchev: Mend matters. Take steps against mutual en-
emies and rebuild the policy of friendship with the USSR. [...]
Comrade Gomułka: I see no other way out except the one which we
have set out.
Warsaw, 19 October
Dokumenty centralnych władz Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej marzec–listopad
’56 [Documents of the central authorities of the Polish United Workers’ Party, March –
November ‘56], selection and editing: Marek Jabłonowski et al, Warsaw 2009.

Poland. At about 9 p.m. Khrushchev suddenly changes his attitude Warsaw,

20 October 1956.
and accepts the Polish terms.
Student rally in
the Great Hall of
Extract from notes on the talks between delegates of the Central Warsaw Techni-
cal University in
Committee of the Soviet Communist Party and members of the
connection with
Politburo of the Central Committee of the Polish United Work- the VIII Plenum
ers’ Party: of the Central
Committee
Comrade Khrushchev: I’ve been sitting here and thinking – you want
of the Polish
to free yourself from our advisors in your army and from the KGB. We United Workers’
cannot stubbornly insist that they remain. [...] I confess that we came Party.
here to [...] influence you. [...] I can see that you don’t want to go along
with us, nor are you doing so. You make your own decisions but, be
warned, the responsibility for them is yours, too. Nikita Khrushchev:
Comrade Gomułka: We are aware that we are taking responsibility We leave with a sense of anxiety. We are responsible not just for our own
for Poland on ourselves. country but for the politics of the entire Socialist bloc. [...] The strengthen-
Comrade Khrushchev: I’m not just talking about internal responsibil- ing of the Polish People’s Republic is a joy not just for the Polish nation but
ity – it’s a responsibility before our entire bloc. We will go back home and also for us. Yet now they have spat in our face – and unjustly so.
discuss with the Praesidium of the Central Committee what to do next. Warsaw, 20 October
Warsaw, 19 October Dokumenty centralnych władz Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej marzec–listopad
Dokumenty centralnych władz Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej marzec–listopad ’56 [Documents of the central authorities of the Polish United Workers’ Party, March –
’56 [Documents of the central authorities of the Polish United Workers’ Party, March – November ‘56], selection and editing: Marek Jabłonowski et al, Warsaw 2009.
November ‘56], selection and editing: Marek Jabłonowski et al, Warsaw 2009.

Poland. Once the Soviet leadership returns to Moscow, the move-

/ 20 October ment of troops headed for Warsaw is halted. At the Plenum, Gomułka
gives a programme presentation which contains criticism of the cult
Poland. At 1 p.m. the Polish-Soviet negotiations come to an end. of the individual and of the economic policies of the bygone era. He
Khrushchev expresses his dissatisfaction with the attitude of the declares himself in favour of a diverse road to Socialism. Student and
leadership of the Polish United Workers’ Party. Nonetheless, the So- workers’ delegations arrive in the Central Committee to express their
viet delegation drops the demands with which it had come to War- support for changes in personnel. Over 20,000 people gather in the
saw and leaves for Moscow at 7 a.m. Technical University.

41
 Jerzy Stempowski in a letter to Jerzy Giedroyc: Jan Józef Szczepański:
I visited Radio Free Europe which was at constant boiling point due We underwent a quiet revolution, or perhaps it was a skillfully prepared
to the events in Poland. [...] What I heard there filled me with im- coup d’état. Today, Gomułka became the First Secretary of the Central
mense dread. It would seem that the situation in Poland has broken Committee. [...] Pro-Gomułka rallies take place throughout the country.
loose and nobody can control it any longer. Apparently, the Poles were They differ from previous events of this type in that the demands are car-
being encouraged to resist by Mao Tse-tung, who had recently been ried out with conviction. There are, apparently, similar events in Hungary.
visited by Ochab. Optimists take comfort from this information, just as Kraków, 21 October
if everything was clear-cut and Mao Tse-tung’s words were as good as Jan Józef Szczepański, Dziennik 1945–1956 [Diary 1945–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 2009.

gold, and not just an attempt at creating an abcès de fixation [French,

here: diversion] to relieve the Manchurian border. Many people in Jarosław Marek Rymkiewicz, poet, writer and literary critic:
Warsaw delude themselves that the situation between Moscow and As I listened to Gomułka’s speech [...], I was laughing. That’s because I
the West will not tolerate a new Soviet occupation of Poland. They do already knew that they are lying, that a new fiddle was just beginning.
not realise that [...] the situation in the West is actually encouraging I did not believe a single word [...]. This was a very fresh awareness and
Khrushchev to occupy Warsaw. All would be well if the Warsaw opposi- very cynical and, therefore, even quite regrettable – particularly as peo-
tion had some idea of what it could achieve, without exposing Poland ple succumbed to it at the time, both young people and intellectuals
to a new calamity. succumbed to it.
Bern, 21 October Łódź, 21 October
Jerzy Giedroyc, Jerzy Stempowski, Listy 1946–1969 [Letters 1946–1969], part 1, War- Nieśmiertelny Stalin i złowieszcze więzienie nudy. Rozmowa z Jarosławem Markiem
Warsaw,
saw 1998. Rymkiewiczem (23 March 1985) [Immortal Stalin and the ominous prison of boredom.
21 October 1956.
Conversation with Marek Rymkiewicz], Jacek Trznadel, Hańba domowa. Rozmowy Queuing for
z pisarzami [Domestic shame. Conversation with writers], Lublin 1990. newspapers.
Jan Olszewski, lawyer, member of the editorial team of “Po Prostu”:
Each of us probably had in our minds the worst possible connotations
[...]. After all, this was still the 1944 generation, [the generation of the
Warsaw Uprising]. Feverishly, I began to organise various venues in
the town which were to serve as contact points, or as safe-houses for
those who were most at risk. I do not know whether we referred to it as
such but it was preparation for underground work – should the Soviets
launch some sort of intervention and the authorities be taken over by
some sort of Soviet puppets.
Warsaw
Jan Olszewski, Czas “Po Prostu” [The time of “Po Prostu”], Karta Issue no. 77, 2013.

/ 21 October
MARIAN SOKOŁOWSKI / PAP

Poland. Final day of the Plenum. The Central Committee elects a

new Politburo. It does not contain the politicians most associated as
exponents of Soviet influence. Konstanty Rokossowski, nominated
as a candidate by the “Natolin” faction, is unsuccessful. Władysław
Gomułka is elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the
Polish United Workers’ Party.

42
 Extract from draft notes made by Vladimir Malin, Head of the Hungary. Students from Budapest, Miskolc, Pecs and Sopron join
General Department of the Central Committee of the Soviet Com- MEFESZ [Hungarian Federation of University and College Students’
munist Party, from a meeting of the Praesidium of the Central Associations]. They set down their demands and call for a further day
Committee: of demonstrations of solidarity in the streets of Budapest.
Taking into account the current situation, we have to resign from
armed intervention and to arm ourselves with patience. Béla Lipták, student:
Moscow, 21 October The meeting began normally. Everyone says his or her piece, as in a theatre
Aleksander Oriechow, Polska w 1956 roku widziana z Kremla i Starego Placu [Poland – we don’t even pay much attention [...] Some sort of commotion breaks out
in 1956, seen from the Kremlin and the [Central Committee on] Staraya Square], in:
next to the platform. Those who had been half asleep suddenly wake up,
Polski Październik 1956 w polityce światowej [Polish October 1956 in world politics],
conversation dies out. [...] Our attention becomes concentrated and then a
ed. Jan Rowiński, Warsaw 2006.
voice is raised over the clamour: “I represent the Szeged branch of MEFESZ,
give me the microphone.” [...] The same thought occurred to everyone: the
Zhou Enlai, Premier of the Chinese Communist Party: boy’s gone mad! At best he’ll be thrown out of the university, they might
The Chinese Communist Party supported the stance taken by the Pol- even jail him... Good Lord, that one is out of his mind, too! – I thought to my-
ish United Workers’ Party on 21 October, after the VIII Plenum had self as Imi Mécs, who was sitting in the row in front of me, began to clap...
already taken its own decision. The main achievement, therefore, be- The entire hall is in uproar... Reporters appear, cameras click and
longs to our Polish comrades. The Chinese Communist Party merely whirr, spotlights are switched on, the tough voice of the lad from Szeged
had a stabilising influence. fills the air: “Technical University students! Hungarians! I bring you news
Warsaw from the students of Szeged and from the Poles who are studying there!
Notatka z rozmów przeprowadzonych w dniach 11 i 12 stycznia 1957 r. między delegac- You are being double-crossed! Today, the wind of freedom blows through-
jami Komunistycznej Partii Chin i PZPR [Note from talks on 11th and 12th January 1957 be-
out Poland ...”. And he begins to read out the demands of the students
tween delegates of the Chinese Communist Party and the Polish United Workers’ Party], in:
from Szeged; suddenly his voice seems to break, he is almost in tears and
Andrzej Werblan, Rozmowy Władysława Gomułki z Zhou Enlaiem w 1957 r. [Władysław
Gomułka’s talks with Zhou Enlai in 1957], “Dzieje Najnowsze” 1997, R. 29, z. 4. then we hear him haltingly, unmelodiously begin to sing the Hungarian
national anthem. It was like throwing petrol on a fire – the anthem rever-
berated throughout the hall and when we finished singing, the students
/ 22 October who stood there impassively, expectantly – their faces radiant, their eyes
wet with tears – were transformed into another breed.
Poland. Prosecutor’s office drops charges against participants in the Budapest, 22 October
Poznań incidents and revokes sentences. Finally, only those judge- Béla Lipták, Amiről kevés szó esett. Adalékok a Budapesti Műszaki Egyetem 1956
októberi eseményeihez [Rarely mentioned. A trigger to the events of October 1956 at the
ments made against the three participants in a lynching of a Corporal
Technical University of Budapest], Budapest 1992.
in the State Security Force are upheld.

Jan Nowak-Jeziorański: Demands set out during a rally of students from Budapest
Instead of the workers, it was the authorities who found themselves Technical University:
in the dock. During the court summing-up speeches, hypotheses about 1. We demand the immediate withdrawal of Soviet units from Hungary
some sort of conspiracy were put forward, as well as accusations con- [...].
cerning the hooligan-like nature of the demonstration. Only a few sen- 3. We demand that a new Government be constituted, led by Imre Nagy,
tences were passed – the sentences were quite mild. and the immediate sacking from their posts of the criminals of the Sta-
Munich, 22 October linist era and of Rákosi’s règime. [...]
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Wojna w eterze. Wspomnienia 1948–1956 [War in the radio 5. We demand universal, equal, secret and multi-party elections to a new
waves, memoirs 1948–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 1991.
National Assembly. We demand recognition of workers’ right to strike.

43
 Budapest,
22 October 1956.
Students of
Budapest Tech-
nical University
march, carrying
Hungarian and
Polish flags.
AKOS ENGELMAYER COLLECTION

44
 Budapest,
9. We demand complete revision of the norms operating in industry and 23 October 1956.
Demonstrators
an urgent and radical overhaul of wages for workers and salaries for
demolish a
white-collar employees. [...] statue of Joseph
11. We demand a new review of all economic and political trials by in- Stalin.
dependent tribunals and the release and rehabilitation of all those who
have been unfairly condemned. [...]
12. We demand complete freedom of speech and expression. [...]
15. The students of Budapest’s Technical Universities express their total
solidarity with the workers and the young people of Warsaw and Poland
in their strivings for independence. [...]
This resolution came into being in the dawning of a new era in Hun-
garian history, on 22 October 1956, in the hall of the Technical Univer-
sity and on the initiative of several thousand young Hungarians who
loved their country.
Budapest, 22 October
Elektronikus Könyvtár (Hungarian Digital Library), http://mek.oszk.
hu/01900/01937/html/szerviz/dokument/bme16ps.htm [dostęp: 07.07.2017].

/ 23 October

Hungary. A demonstration takes place in Budapest; it calls for sup-

port for the changes taking place in Poland. In the evening, tens of
thousands of people demonstrate outside the Parliament building,
where they are addressed by Imre Nagy. A statue of Stalin is demol-
ished. The first shots are fired – outside the radio headquarters, func-
tionaries of the State Security Forces (ÁVH) fire at the crowds. Within
a few hours the rebellion spreads throughout the city.

George Gömöri, Polish language and literature specialist:

It was only a quarter to three and yet it already seemed as if the whole
of Budapest had taken to the streets. [...] It was a lovely, peaceful Octo-
ber day, with flags barely fluttering in the wind [...]. I put on an organ-
iser’s badge and took off my tie. The sky was blue, people talked to each
other with an indolent expectancy, in the distance someone played a
Polish patriotic song on a trumpet. It was now five to three. Far more
students had arrived than we expected. We were ready to go. I ran to the
head of the procession and it moved off.
This was a heart stopping moment – I cannot think of any other words
KEYSTONE / PAP

to describe it. Hardly had we moved off than people in the windows of
neighbouring buildings began to clap and cheer. After the first slogans
chanted by the crowd, the clapping intensified. “Freedom! Independ-

45
AKOS ENGELMAYER ARCHIVES
ence!” and “Polish-Hungarian friendship!”, then “We demand a new lead- Budapest,
ership!” [...]. 23 October 1956.
Demonstrators
Józef Bem Square was packed tight. [...] As we sang the national an- rally round the
them, I suddenly noticed the characteristic face of [the Jewish novelist, statue of Józef
Timor] Déry near the pediment of the statue. A man of small stature and Bem, a 19th
Century Polish
wearing glasses, pushed his way through behind Déry. I realised that he
and Hungarian
must be [Adam] Ważyk, whose arrival in Budapest that morning had been national hero.
announced on the radio. “Let Ważyk speak,” I yelled.
Budapest, 23 October
George Gömöri, Z dziennika naocznego świadka [From the diary of a direct witness],
“Kultura” Issue no. 10, 1966.

Adam Ważyk, Qui tacent, clamant [They who are silent, shout]:
I was with you that day when,
Beneath the statue of Bem,
You flew the Hungarian and Polish flags.
I know not who was wounded, or who is no longer with us,
Nor when the voices stilled and the fires broke out.
Your voice, Tibor Déry, at that hour of turmoil
Asked me on the ‘phone whether I was safe,
And I heard that voice from the parliament building,
As it broke in the air like a last cry.
We, who were history’s conscience, are silent,
And now this mute voice is the ‘raison d’état’...
Adam Ważyk, Qui tacent, clamant, “Nowa Kultura”, Issue no. 48, 24 November 1956.

Pius Zimándi, writer, educator:

People’s bravery is beyond anything we have imagined until now. To my
left someone speaks out loud: “I’ve had my fill of keeping silent for the
last three years!” He had probably been imprisoned or interned. [...] On
my right, a grey-haired man with a reddening face, shouts: “Russians
go home!” Nothing happens to him. Until recently, he would have been
jailed for a couple of years for those words. [...]
You can see that, for these people, this is a matter of great import.
United, they crowd here; some wear ribbons in the national colours –
men, women, old people and youngsters, simple people and intellectu-
als. The Communists have, indeed, managed to achieve national unity!
Budapest, 23 October
Pius Zimándi, A forradalom éve. Krónika 1956-bol [The year of revolution. Chronicle of 1956],
Budapest 1992.
46
 AKOS ENGELMAYER COLLECTION
Istvan Angyal, one of the leaders of the Uprising:
In the firelight, we could see uniformed figures with bayonets standing at
the corner of Bródy and Pushkin Streets. We could not see clearly [...] how
many there were, what uniforms they wore or what their intentions were.
We formed a line, ten or twelve people, arm-in-arm. [...]. As we ap-
proached to a distance of some five to six steps, the officer gave a com-
mand “Fix bayonets!” We unbuttoned our shirts and shouted: “Here, aim
here!” Continuing to sing, we walked on. Now the officer commanded:
“Fire!” and shots rang out, the elderly man standing next to me fell. The
rest of us intermingled with the soldiers and they could not shoot for
fear of hitting one of their own. We told them not to shoot at us because
we are people just like they are and that among us they might find their
own mothers – and then they would be spilling their own blood. They an-
swered, saying they were duty bound to carry out orders and that regula-
tions did not permit them to accept orders from enemies of the people.
Budapest, 23 October
Istvan Angyal, Angyal Istvan saját kezű vallomása [István Angyal’s handwritten state-
ments], Budapest 1991.

Poland. Marian Spychalski replaces Kazimierz Witaszewski (known

as ‘General Cosh’) as Deputy Minister of Defence. This satisfies at-
titudes among the military – resolutions passed by mass meetings
in individual units demand far-reaching changes: removal of Rokos-
sowski, rehabilitation of unjustly condemned officers and settlement
of the question of Soviet advisors. A National Catholic Progressive
Intelligentsia Club is established. This community declares its sup-
port for Władysław Gomułka.

Tadeusz Mazowiecki:
It was important to give support to what had happened: this break-
through must come and it has to be supported; this is not a moment
for arguments, this breakthrough must be defended at all costs.
Warsaw
Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Zygmunt Skórzyński, Historia nie tylko złudzeń: Październik 56
[A History – not just of illusions: October 56] in: Październik 1956. Pierwszy wyłom w
systemie. Bunt, młodość, rozsądek [October 1956. The first breakthrough in the system.
Revolt, youth, sensibility], ed. Stefan Bratkowski, Warsaw 1996.

Budapest, 23 October 1956. Demonstrators

outside parliament. Banners with portrait of Imre
Nagy, and slogans: “Polish-Hungarian Friendship”.

47
/ 24 October which have intruded upon the peaceful demonstrations of the young
people have misled many honest working people and have turned
Hungary. The first Soviet tanks enter the city before 4 a.m. Units of them against democracy and the rule of the people.
the Red Army meet with resistance by several thousands of armed [...] Trust us – we have learned from the mistakes of the past and we
Hungarians – pupils, students, workers and soldiers. The insurgents will lead our nation to success!
take over the radio building and broadcasts are made from the par- Budapest, 24 October
liament building. The Hungarian Army remains mostly passive al- “Népújság”, 25 October 1956; A forradalom hangja [The voice of revolution], compiled
by László Varga, Budapest 1989.
though some units do occasionally take part in pacifying disorder in
various other towns. The revolution spreads to smaller communi-
ties but, on the whole, does not result in armed conflict. Imre Nagy Poland. An enthusiastically welcomed Gomułka makes a speech to
takes over the post of Premier which, in accordance with the plans 300,000 people gathered in Defilad Square in Warsaw. Despite the
of the Party leadership and the Soviets, should calm the situation. attitude of the public, he calls for an end to rallies and demonstra-
tions, fearing that an unrestrained movement might be beyond Party
Imre Nagy in a radio broadcast made at 12.10 p.m.: control. The speech coincides with nationwide demonstrations by
People of Budapest! many thousands of participants; these gradually begin to die out fol-
[...] A government led by Communists and with the support of the lowing Gomułka’s speech.
Hungarian people has every chance of carrying out our political pro-
gramme. This, as you know, includes a wide-ranging democratisation Władysław Gomułka in a speech at a rally in Warsaw:
of Hungarian public life, the realisation of a Hungarian road to Social- We have received Comrade Khrushchev’s assurance that Soviet troops
ism, which would suit our national temperament, and a substantial in Poland will return to the places in which they are stationed within
improvement in living conditions for the working peoples. However, two days, and will remain there on the strength of international agree-
in order that we may start working on this programme together with ments, as part of the Warsaw Pact. [...]
you, we need to have order, discipline and peace. The enemy elements Comrades! Time is of the essence. The Party must begin to resolve
the difficult, everyday matters of our economy and of the state.
Today, we turn to the working peoples of Warsaw and the entire
Budapest,
nation with an appeal for an end to rallies and demonstrations! It is
HUNGARIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

October 1956.
now time to return to our working routine, enlivened by belief and a Insurgents take
conviction that a Party allied with the working class and the nation will to the streets of
the city.
lead Poland along a new road to Socialism.
Warsaw, 24 October
“Trybuna Ludu” Issue no. 298, 25 October 1956.

Wiktor Nowakowski, Managing Director of the “Produkcja”

Workers’ Cooperative:
Today, I am taking part in an enormous rally in front of the Palace of
Culture. Gomułka is making a speech. The audience’s reaction appears
to be in order; for instance, when he mentions Khrushchev’s prom-
ise that Soviet troops will return to their bases, there is silence. Here
and there a burst of applause – a sign of satisfaction. Mostly, though,
there is silence which signifies surprise as to why it was that the Soviet

48
troops had left their bases in the first place and made for Warsaw.
Even a complete idiot now understands that, up till now, there could
have been no question of sovereignty.
Warsaw, 24 October
Wiktor E. Nowakowski, Okruchy systemu [The crumbs of a system], Karta 76, 2013.

Jacek Kuroń, leader of Warsaw Technical University’s Association

of Polish Youth [ZMP]:
We said: and that’s how he ends the revolution, he’s the boss now. [...]
After the rally, we returned to the College Council of the ZMP. We were
all furious. Although all of us were totally worn out by all those rallies, his
“an end to demonstrations” infuriated us. Was that all he had to tell us?
Warsaw, 24 October
Jacek Kuroń, Wiara i wina [Faith and Fault], Warsaw 1990.

Stanisław Kuziński, II Secretary of the Warsaw Committee of the

Polish United Workers’ Party:
After the official termination of the rally, its participants divided into
two groups. The first was extremely unruly and [...] Goździk [...] led

WŁADYSŁAW SŁAWNY / FORUM

it away to Constitution Square and thence towards Warsaw Tech-
nical University, where it slowly and spontaneously dispersed. The
second group, made up of several thousand people, moved off along
the Aleje Ujazdowskie, intending to shower the Soviet Embassy with
stones. That would have constituted an attempt to undermine the
understanding agreed with such difficulty with the Soviet delegation.
It was then that [...] the groups of workers gathered in the vicinity of
the Warsaw Committee in Aleje Róż and Szopen Street proved useful.
Hollering unrepeatable slogans, they intermingled with the crowds The atmosphere of national degeneration has disappeared. For a Warsaw,
and dispersed them completely. few days now, the people are not the same as previously. In the even- 24 October
1956. Władysław
Warsaw, 24 October ing, I saw groups of typical ‘flower people’ [young people in colourful Gomułka makes
Stanisław Kuziński, Zwrot ’56 z perspektywy Komitetu Warszawskiego [About-turn ’56 clothes] and hooligans in the city parks – they were enthusiastically a speech during
seen from the perspective of the Warsaw Committee], “Dziś” Issue no. 10, 1996. a rally in Defilad
discussing recent events. People need real fodder for their emotions.
Square.
Hopefully, the situation will not push us back into a fictitious world.
Jan Józef Szczepański: Kraków, 24 October
The tragic Uprising in Budapest. Jan Józef Szczepański, Dziennik 1945–1956 [Diary 1945–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 2009.

Today there were two demonstrations reflecting current attitudes.

The rally with Gomułka in Warsaw, imbued with authentic enthusi- Poland. The Sejm [Polish parliament] brings in a new electoral system.
asm and tactical speeches which the audience understands perfectly, Despite the current system which turned voting into an empty ritual,
and in the evening a demonstration outside the Hungarian Embassy in in practice it is possible to have more candidates than seats. The elec-
support of the Uprising – strictly condemned in a radio communiqué. tions, which were initially meant to take place in December, are now
Gomułka balances on the tight rope with remarkable skill. [...] planned for 20 January 1957.

49
/ 25 October firing had quietened down a bit, I took shelter with some other people
in the arcade of the southern entrance to Parliament. The arcade was
Hungary. ÁVH State Security units carry out a massacre of demon- full. I banged on the doors asking that we be allowed inside because
strators (almost two hundred dead) outside the Parliament building. the firing was now coming from Akadémia Street. [...] When the firing
With Moscow’s approval, Gerő is replaced by János Kádár, who had abated, we again tried to escape as we were standing directly in front
been imprisoned during the Stalinist era. Nagy demands the with- of an armoured car. And it was then that a shot fired from it, hit me.
drawal of Soviet troops. For a moment, I lay among the dead but then managed to escape [...].
Budapest, 25 October
Extract from a report by Anastas Mikoyan and Mikhail Suslov for Interview with Tibor Pákh conducted by Eszter Balázsin, 1997–1998, OSZK 1956th
Institute – OHA, No. 690.
the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party:
Comrade Imre Nagy asked us to increase the number of our troops
in the Budapest area, particularly infantry. Comrade Malinin prom- Pavel Tigrid, Czech writer:
ised our Hungarian Comrades that we will increase the number of our The steel caterpillar tracks of Soviet tanks moved around the cob-
troops in order to bring back order in the Budapest area. [...] Exchange bled streets in the final act of that tragedy while we in Czechoslovakia
of fire in the capital is unceasing. Fire from roof tops and upper floors didn’t even raise a finger. Whilst people in Communist Poland organ-
is returned by Soviet units with machine guns, Szpagin assault pistols, ised collections of money for medication and donations of blood for
and often with guns mounted on armoured vehicles. the Hungarian insurgents, the Czechs placed bets on match results
Budapeszt, 25 October and in Bratislava they attended hockey matches.
A “Jelcin-dosszié”. Szovjet dokumentumok 1956-ról [“The Yeltsin Dossier”. Soviet docu- New York
ments from 1956], transl. Éva Gál et al, Budapest 1993. Pavel Tigrid, Marx na Hradčanech [Marx in the Hradčany district], Brno 2001.

Tibor Pákh, lawyer, translator: German Democratic Republic. Speaking to Ernest Wollweber, Min-
I was wounded outside Parliament [...]. This wasn’t random firing but ister of State Security, Walter Ulbricht, the First Secretary of the SED,
a slow, consistent massacre. [...] There was no escape. [...] Once the accuses the Polish security apparatus of not taking any steps to pre-
vent Gomułka’s return to power.

Budapest,

/
October 1956.
Inhabitants
26 October
flee from the
fighting between
Poland. Gomułka’s delegates, Władysław Bieńkowski and Zenon insurgents and
Kiszko, visit Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in Komańcza, where he has the Red Army.
been interned since September 1953. They bring him news of the
First Secretary’s decision to release him.
SOVFOTO / UIG VIA GETTY IMAGES

Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński:

At 9 a.m. the Deputy Minister of Justice, Zenon Kliszko, and dep-
uty Władysław Bieńkowski, arrived in Komańcza on the orders of
Władysław Gomułka [...]. They described to me the social and econom-
ic situation in the country, as well as both the internal and external
political situation. All these factors indicate that the country needs to
regain peace and calm as quickly as possible. Władysław Gomułka be-

50
 opposition to the repression of participants in the 1953 workers’ Warsaw,
demonstrations. October 1956.
Polish Primate,
Cardinal Stefan

/
Wyszyński after
release from
28 October internment.

Hungary. An armistice is declared. The government recognises that

HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON / MAGNUM PHOTOS / PHOTO POWER

the current events are democratic and national by nature, rather

than counter-revolutionary.

Extract from conditions set by the Corvin köz insurgent group:

To the Command of the Soviet Army
[...] Only part of the ÁVH State Security forces and some of the Soviet
troops stationed in Budapest are attacking us. We scorn those Hungar-
ian politicians who – for the sake of strengthening their own positions
– have turned to you for armed support. To us, the ÁVH functionaries
who provoked an armed revolt and the unnecessary shedding of blood
are perpetrators of fratricide. But it is you whom we are unable to
understand – after all, we are not an external enemy but only an op-
pressed nation which is justly demanding its rights. [...]
Why do you fight against us? Why is Russian blood spilt for reasons
of our own internal matters [...] Leave this battle to us and we will win
lieves that, in terms of the Church-State relationship, it is the current our rights, rights which should apply to every human being.
situation in which the Primate of Poland finds himself which arouses [...] We demand that the Soviet Army discontinue its hostile ac-
the most serious concerns of the public. They have, therefore, been tion, withdraw to its own bases and leave the territory of our country
delegated by the Party Secretary to hear out what the Reverend Father by 31 December 1956.
has to say. I answered: “For three years I have been of the opinion that Budapest, 28 October
the place of the Primate of Poland is in Warsaw.” Gergely Pongrátz, Corvin köz – 1956, Budapest 1989.

Komańcza, 26 October
Stefan Wyszyński, Zapiski więzienne [Notes from imprisonment], Warsaw 2006.

/ End of October

/ October Poland. End of October. Radio broadcast appeal for blood donors
for wounded Hungarians. Almost 800 litres of blood are donated by
German Democratic Republic. To date, some 21,000 victims of several thousand people; medication and food are also collected.
repression during the past era have been reprieved or pardoned Throughout Poland, Committees for Aid for Hungarians are set up,
(although most of them were former Nazis and not political prison- and demonstrations of solidarity are organised. The Polish press
ers). Among them are SED politicians, including Anton Ackermann, openly publishes information about the events taking place on the
who was once in support of the German road to Socialism, and the Danube – although this can also be interpreted as a warning to the
former Minister of Justice, Max Fechner, arrested as a result of his Polish public as to the consequences of fermenting emotions.

51
 Budapest, Octo-
ber–November
1956. Unloading
containers of
blood donated
by inhabitants
PAP

of Poznań.

52
 Extract from an article entitled W obliczu tragedii węgierskiej [In
the face of the Hungarian tragedy]:
/ 30 October

The events taking place in Hungary come as a shock to the conscience Hungary. At 7.20 a.m., the Ministry of Defence broadcasts news of
of every honest Pole. The fratricidal war taking place over many days the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Budapest. A new government
and the heavy casualties which it brings, have also brought mourning is set up. It is composed not only of Communists but also of repre-
to our own country. Many of us pose ourselves the dramatic question: sentatives of the other political parties which have emerged in recent
Budapest,
how is it that with the existence of a people’s power, a sizeable por- days. It can be said that a multi-party system has been reborn in Hun-
30 October 1956.
tion of the Hungarian peoples is taking to arms against that very rule gary. Insurgents attack the headquarters of the Budapest Commu- Cardinal József
of law? [...] nist Party Committee and kill State Security functionaries in the build- Mindszenty with
the leader of
The conservative, Stalinist elements in the leadership have been ing. Universally hated AVH State Security functionaries are subjected
the insurgents
hampering the process of democratisation to the very last moment. to lynchings at this time, both in Budapest and in a few other towns. following his
The peaceful demonstrations by the young people of Budapest who The Primate of Hungary, Cardinal József Mindszenty, is released. He release.
were expressing their solidarity with the changes taking place in
Poland and putting forward similar demands for Hungary, were ad-
dressed in harsh and unacceptable terms by the former First Secre-
tary, Ernő Gerő, who chastised the demonstrators for their so-called
“reactionary sentiments”.
Warsaw, 28 October
“Trybuna Ludu” Issue no. 301, 28 October 1956.

/ 29 October

Poland. The Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party

sends out an appeal to the Hungarians – published in the Hungarian
press. Gomułka and Cyrankiewicz, both signatories of the document,
criticise Gerő and express their support for Nagy and, among others,
for the demand that Soviet troops be withdrawn from Hungary.

Extract from An Appeal by the Central Committee of the Polish Unit-

ed Workers’ Party to our Hungarian Brothers:
Hungarian Brothers! You and we are on the same side, on the side of
freedom and Socialism. [...] May peace reign in Hungary – peace and
the unity of the nation which are so essential for your realisation of
the wide-ranging programme of democratisation, development and
Socialism which your government of National Unity has announced.
Warsaw, 29 October
“Trybuna Ludu” Issue no. 302, 29 October 1956.

KEYSTONE / PAP
53
 Andrzej Kijowski:
This evening there was news of further escalation of fighting and of
Soviet troop reinforcements. Let’s wait and see – this could end very
badly. Or, perhaps, very well. It’s possible that these Polish and Hun-
garian revolutions are the price we have to pay to avoid war... The Rus-
sians will finally realise that they are completely alone. So, what next?
Either the conservative wing, headed by Molotov, will come to the fore
in the USSR and then we can expect anything – including an invasion
by the Red Army – or the liberal wing, headed by [Georgiy] Malenkov
will win – and then things might improve. [...]
People walk around the streets, sporting Hungarian rosettes in their
lapels; outside the university there is a collection point for medicine,
as well as Hungarian flags and posters designed by students of the
Academy of Fine Arts. At the corner of Aleje [Jerozolimskie] and Nowy
Świat Street there is a Hungarian flag on the lamp-post and a poster

ERICH LESSING / MAGNUM PHOTOS / PHOTO POWER

showing a chain broken by a blood stain.
Warsaw, 30 October
Andrzej Kijowski, Dziennik 1955–1969 [Diary 1955–1969], Kraków 1998.

Poland. Meeting between Gomułka and representatives of the Cath-

olic intelligentsia. A decision is taken to bring back the legitimate edi-
torial team of “Tygodnik Powszechny”, which had been dismissed in Budapest,
1953 in favour of Bolesław Piasecki’s faction. The First Secretary also October 1956.
The body of an
agrees to the publication of the Catholic monthly “Znak”.
executed AVH
State Security
Jerzy Zawieyski, Chairman of the National Catholic Progressive functionary.
Intelligentsia Club:
has been imprisoned since 1948 under a life sentence. Thousands [Gomułka] spoke to us as a Pole, not as a man of the Party. First, he
of people sentenced in political trials are also released from prison. spoke of the Soviet Union – saying that the most important thing was
to free ourselves from its interference and that this had already been
Gyula Csics, school pupil: done and that we can now rule our country ourselves. It does not
Insurgents hanged two secret policemen [ÁVH members] by their feet mean, however, that the danger is past and any anti-Soviet action is
on a tree. One was wearing a militia uniform, the other was dressed in an action against Poland. He expressed concern that Catholic young
the uniform of a colonel of an armoured unit. [...] Both had a ribbon in people are intemperate and put forward provocative demands at ral-
their buttonholes to confuse the insurgents [...]. lies [...]. He asked that we help the government in calming down and
By the evening, the radio was already broadcasting as Radio Free stopping intemperate disruptive moves. He gladly welcomed our read-
Kossuth and it announced that a National Guard had been established iness to cooperate in the rebuilding of Poland and noted that he was
and that [Cardinal] Mindszenty had been released. pinning great faith on such cooperation from the Catholic community.
Budapest, 30 October Warsaw, 30 October
Gyula Csics, Węgierska rewolucja 1956. Pamiętnik dwunastolatka [The Hungarian Jerzy Zawieyski, Dzienniki [Diaries], vol. 1, Warsaw 2011.
Revolution of 1956. Diary of a twelve-year old], Warsaw 2016.

54
ERICH LESSING / MAGNUM PHOTOS / PHOTO POWER

Budapest, Octo-
ber–November
1956. Destruc-
tion of Soviet
propaganda
material.

55
/

KEYSTONE / PAP
1 November

Hungary. Imre Nagy announces Hungary’s withdrawal from the War-

saw Pact and its neutrality, and he turns to the United Nations for
guarantees. At about 10 p.m., the radio broadcasts a speech by János
Kádár. Even as the speech is being broadcast, Kádár is no longer in
Budapest. He has made a secret journey to the USSR. At a meeting
with Soviet leaders, he agrees the setting up of a new Hungarian
leadership. In the course of the next few days, Nikita Khrushchev in-
forms the leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries of the decision to
pacify the Hungarian Revolution by force.

János Kádár in his speech:

Hungarian workers! Peasants! Intelligentsia!
[...] The illustrious uprising of our nation has freed Hungary from
the yoke of Rákosi’s rule. It has won freedom for the people and inde-
pendence for the country, without which there is not – nor can there
be – Socialism. We can say with all surety that the people who are
responsible for the idealistic and structural preparation and direction
of the revolution, come from your own ranks. [...]
We are honest with you. This national uprising has found itself at a
crossroads. Either the Hungarian democratic parties find enough de-
termination to strengthen their victories or we shall be facing an open
counter-revolution.
Budapest, 1 November Hungary, Communists are being massacred – it would seem that the Budapest,
“Népszabadság”, 2 November 1956, quote from: Egy népfelkelés dokumentumaiból, events there have gone beyond the control of any authority. [...] 1 November
1956 [From the documents of a certain revolution by the people, 1956], selection: 1956. Imre Nagy
The UN has lost all credibility. The abomination of that naked politi- announces
Tamás G. Korányi, Budapest 1989.
cal brute force has the feel of polluted air. There is no-one to turn to. Hungarian
neutrality.

/
Kraków, 2 November
Jan Józef Szczepański, Dziennik 1945–1956 [Diary 1945–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 2009.
2 November

Poland. The Politburo of the Central Committee of the Polish United

Workers’ Party issues an appeal, in which it criticises the Soviet aggres-
sion on Hungary and indicates that the crisis can be overcome by the
/ 3 November

Hungarians themselves. Appeals for calm are addressed to the people Hungary / USRR. Members of the Hungarian delegation, led by the
of Poland. Minister of Defence, Pále Maléter, who were to have negotiated the
terms of the withdrawal of the Red Army with the Soviets are arrested
Jan Józef Szczepański: by them instead, in the Soviet Command HQ in Tököl, Hungary. In
An atmosphere of panic. In the morning, every half hour the radio Moscow, at a meeting of the Praesidium of the Central Committee of
broadcast the Central Committee’s call for calm. Shops were emptied the Soviet Communist Party, a counter-government is set up, led by
as people stocked up with food. Huge queues outside the shops. In János Kádár and Ferenc Münnich.

56
KEYSTONE / PAP
Cardinal József Mindszenty in a radio broadcast: Budapest, Octo-
Our situation is dependent on what the 200-million strong Russian em- ber–November
1956. Armoured
pire intends to do with those of its armed forces which find themselves column.
on our territory. According to the radio, these forces are continuing to
grow. We are a neutral state and we do not give the Russian empire
any excuse for the shedding of blood. [...] One state attacks another
when it has itself been attacked. We, however, have not attacked Rus-
sia! [...]
Everyone in this country should be aware that the battle fought in
Hungary was not a revolution but a battle for the nation’s liberation.
[...] We need new elections – honest elections – in which all political
parties can take part. The course of such elections should take place
under international supervision.
Budapest, 3 November
József Mindszenty, Emlékirataim [My memoirs], Toronto 1974, quote from: Egy
népfelkelés doku­mentumaiból, 1956 [From the documents of a certain people’s
uprising, 1956], 1956, selected by: Tamás G. Korányi, Budapest 1989.

/
4 November

Hungary. Commencement of a second Soviet invasion. As in the

first, insurgents in Budapest (numbering several thousands), put up
armed resistance. At 5.20 a.m., the radio makes its first broadcast of
a short declaration by Imre Nagy, which is then repeated many times
over in the English, French, German, Russian, Czech and Polish lan-
guages. After the broadcast, the Premier and his closest circle take
refuge in the Yugoslav embassy.

Imre Nagy’s message to the UN Secretary General, broadcast by

Radio Free Kossuth:
This is Imre Nagy speaking, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the
Hungarian People’s Republic. Today, at dawn, Soviet units attacked
our capital city with the obvious intention of overthrowing Hungary’s
legal, democratic government. Our forces stood ready to fight. The
government remains at its post. This is my message – sent to the peo-
ple of Hungary and to the whole world.
Budapest, 4 November
Magyar Távirati Iroda (Hungarian Information Agency), http://1956.mti.hu/pages/
Audio.aspx [access: 11.07.2017].

57
Olaf Csongovai, student:
I slept on a table in an office on Tűzoltó Street. At dawn, the lads said
that the Russians had returned. I remember that my gut reaction was
‘devil take them – couldn’t they have waited a few hours; I was in a
deep sleep’. [...] We grabbed our weapons.
[...] On Berzenczey Street, a unit of Soviet infantry suddenly appeared.
I began to fire at them but they didn’t even quicken their advance, they
just marched calmly towards us. That was a dreadful feeling. Are they
not afraid? I fire at them but they don’t even fall to the ground, just carry
on marching. It was then that I began to feel afraid. Tanks didn’t worry
me. I felt no fear that they would open fire. But infantry... I was afraid of
a massacre – the fact that we would be fighting hand to hand.
Budapest, 4 November
Interview with Per Olaf Csongovai conducted by László Eörsiin, 1992, OSZK 1956th

MARIO DE BIASI / LEEMAGE / EAST NEWS

Institute OHA, No. 420.

Leszek Dzięgiel, ethnologist:

The, as yet, non-blasé Kraków press published articles which were full Budapest,
of sympathy although, here and there, one could discern a warning November 1956.
AVH State Secu-
tone: see, this is where lack of moderation and sense gets you! The fear
rity functionary
that Moscow would invade us, too, on some sort of pretext – it was just captured by
waiting for an appropriate gesture, a word or action. insurgents.
Kraków, 4 November
Leszek Dzięgiel, Swoboda na smyczy. Wspomnienia 1946–1956 [Liberty on a lead.
Memoirs 1946–1956], Kraków 1996.
counters the fears of many functionaries that democratisation would
lead to a weakening of the position of the Party apparatus.
Extract from An Appeal by the Student Revolutionary Committee:
We do not wish to share the fate which met our Hungarian bro­thers. Jan Józef Szczepański:
Both inside our country and outside it there are forces which are The tension in Warsaw is difficult to bear. Almost everybody expects
strong enough to quell our revolution at any moment. It is also a fact the worse to happen any minute. All ideological masks have ceased
that armed forces are ranged along our borders. Logic will not allow us to have any meaning. Everyone knows that there is just one single,
to provide them with any pretext to advance and attack. deathly danger. [...] The feeling that our fate lies in the hands of crim­
Kraków, 4/5 November inal madmen is terrifying.
Andrzej Bratkowski, W Budapeszcie ktoś bliski potrzebował pomocy [In Budapest, At this time, the feeling of a temporary return to the spheres of the
someone very close needed help], in: Październik 1956. Pierwszy wyłom w systemie.
civilised West is almost palpable: if nothing else then at least the fact
Bunt, młodość, rozsądek [October 1956. The first breakthrough in the system. Revolt,
that we can give vent to our true thoughts, that we are not made of a
youth, sensibility], ed. Stefan Bratkowski, Warsaw 1996.
clay ready for moulding. Students with Hungarian flags in their lapels
– such a simple form of expression of moral opinions speaks aloud of
Poland. Conference of Party activists. In his speech, Gomułka prom- the entire chasm which divides us.
ises that members of the Polish United Workers’ Party will not be Warsaw, 4 November
judged on their past actions but on their current attitudes. He thus Jan Józef Szczepański, Dziennik 1945–1956 [Diary 1945–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 2009.

58
 Budapest, Octo-
ber–November
1956. March
by insurgents.

KEYSTONE / PAP
Extract from a letter written by “Anon from Radom”:
By now everyone has surely recovered from the fever of a Polish Oc-
/ 7 November

tober revolution. We now see everything in a sober light. So, what is Hungary. At dawn, Soviet combat vehicles take Kádár and his gov-
the conclusion? Just as we used to sit in a sealed wagon, choking on ernment to the Parliament building. In the afternoon, Kádár’s gov-
the reeking air blowing from Moscow – we still continue to sit there. ernment is sworn in, although Imre Nagy’s legal government has
Let us say that we’ve just managed to dislodge a small plank in the not resigned. The state administration from before 23 October is
wooden wagon and felt a tiny whiff of fresh air. Those who had not reinstated.
seen everything, just felt it, began to cheer – ‘hurrah!’ They thought
the entire door had been opened and you could pass through. They Gyula Csics:
soon learnt that just a single small plank had been prised open and Today was to be my twelfth birthday. Today it was not possible to cel-
everything is as it used to be, you still have to remain in the wagon. ebrate any birthday because, today, there was also shooting – perhaps
Those who were further back made a big fuss out of nothing. [...] not as much but you could hear the shots from afar. [...] I had hardly
Where are these changes? [...] I look around keenly, I listen, read crossed the road before six tanks drove down it. One of them stood
and – truth to tell – what is there to applaud? outside our house and opened fire. That’s how several windows in the
Radom house were broken.
Księga listów PRL-u [Compendium of letters from the Polish People’s Republic], vol. 2, In the afternoon, a terrible battle began. Guns continued to fire. Sud-
selection and editing: Grzegorz Sołtysiak, Warsaw 2005.
denly news spread round the inhabitants of our building – the Corvin

59
 Budapest,
November 1956.
Street barricade.
Slogans in
Hungarian and
Russian read:
FORTEPAN

“Russians go
home!! Go back
home!!”

60
 Budapest, No-

JÁNOS TISCHLER COLLECTION

[Department Store] was alight. In our house, all buckets and tubs were vember 1956.
filled with water, in case the fire spread to our building.
Budapest, 7 November
Gyula Csics, Węgierska rewolucja 1956. Pamiętnik dwunastolatka [The Hungarian
Revolution of 1956. Diary of a twelve-year old], Warsaw 2016.

Extract from a report by Georgy Zhukov, USSR Minister of De-

fence:
On 9 November, our units continued to liquidate the smaller insurgent
groups, disarm former soldiers of the Hungarian Army and confiscate
weapons from the local inhabitants. [...] The political situation in the
country is improving. In some places, however, hostile elements con-
tinue to hamper attempts to bring back order and normality. The situ-
ation in Budapest is still complicated, its inhabitants suffer shortages
of food supplies and fuel. János Kádár’s government, together with the
commanders of Soviet units, are issuing orders aimed at providing food
supplies for the inhabitants of Budapest.
Budapest, 10 November
A „Jelcin-dosszié”. Szovjet dokumentumok 1956-ról [“The Yeltsin Dossier”. Soviet docu-
ments from 1956], ed. Éva Gál et al, Budapest 1993.

Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz:
We experience days of magnificence and of tragedy, of human deprav-
ity and of heroism. Above all, though, disappointment – all the grand
slogans of the mighty of this world have turned out to be a lie. Intoxi-
cated by their own power, they are oblivious of everything else – and
it is left to the poor and small states, the little nations to try to replace
force with the rule of law. But it is always they who suffer. Hapless
Hungary, and not just tragically hapless but also exposed to derision,
to shame and vilification. A pity on those people who could bear it no
longer. [...] Nowhere to turn to – just force, just aggression, just greed...
just condemnation of Man to suffering.
Stawisko, 10 November
Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Dzienniki 1956–1963 [Diaries 1956–1963], Warsaw 2010.

/ 11 November

Hungary. The remaining points of resistance by insurgents in the

working-class district of Csepel in Budapest are liquidated.

61
 ganism. This even caused confusion the ranks of our militia. [...] We Bydgoszcz,
must not demonstrate any sort of liberalism. Poland 18
November 1956.
Warsaw Overturned
Fragmenty przemówienia Władysława Gomułki na nardzie I sekretarzy KW PZPR w dniu wreck of
23 listopada 1956 w Warszawie [Excerpts from a speech by Władysław Gomułka, at 25-metre mast
a conference of First Secretaries of the Polish United Workers’ Party, on 23 November of Radio Free
1956 in Warsaw], in: 6 lat temu (Kulisy Polskiego Października) [6 years ago. (Backstage Europe jamming
during Polish October)], Biblioteka “Kultury”, vol. 83, Documents, Paris 1962. device.

USRR / Poland. The visit to the USSR of Gomułka and other rep-
resentatives of the new leadership comes to an end. Agreement is
reached on the conditions under which Soviet troops are stationed
in Poland, on settlement of debts for Polish coal sold to the Soviet
Union at discounted prices, and on the matter of repatriation.
WYBORCZA.PL

Biała Podlaska,
Poland, 18 No-
vember 1956.
Władysław
Gomułka is
greeted with

/
flowers on his
return from
13 November Moscow.

Poland. Konstanty Rokossowski, seen by the country as a represent-

ative of Soviet power, is sacked from his post as Minister of Defence
in line with demands put forward by many Polish Army units.

/ 18 November

Poland. Street skirmishes in Bydgoszcz, caused by an attempt by the

militia to quieten a fracas outside a cinema. Demonstrators stone the
headquarters of the Municipal Committee of the Polish United Work-
ers’ Party and demolish equipment used to jam Radio Free Europe
broadcasts.

JERZY BARANOWSKI / PAP

Władysław Gomułka in a speech during a Party conference:
Throughout the country, we are faced with many hostile incidents –
windows are smashed and Party members are even beaten up. The
fact that prosecuting authorities react leniently is an unhealthy sign.
We have just faced incidents in Bydgoszcz – acts of provocative hoolii-

62
 Terespol,
Poland,
JERZY BARANOWSKI / PAP

18 November
1956. Enthusi-
astic welcome
for the Polish
delegation on its
way back from
Moscow.

63
 Maria Dąbrowska, writer: all over the country. Telephones kept ringing, one delegation followed
Apparently, the negotiations in Moscow went well. [...] Gomułka’s re- another and we could not keep up in providing everyone with full in-
turn [...] was like a triumphal march which stretched from Terespol formation. [...] Besides, the authorities were not interested in promoting
(the current border). Crowds lined the railway line, stopping the train the workers’ councils. [...] After all, in in-house elections, when workers’
even between stations. [...] When they reached Warsaw, the delega- councils are elected by secret ballot, everyone can vote as they think fit...
tion’s private carriage was full of flowers, letters, telegrams and... gifts Warsaw
of toys for Gomułka – even cuddly teddy bears and dolls! Everywhere Lechosław Goździk, Byliśmy u siebie w domu [We were in our own home], in: Październik
1956. Pierwszy wyłom w systemie. Bunt, młodość, rozsądek [October 1956. The first break-
crowds sang: ‘Sto lat...’ [equivalent: “For he’s a jolly good fellow...”].
through in the system. Revolt, youth, sensibility], ed. Stefan Bratkowski, Warsaw 1996.
Warsaw, 20 November
Maria Dąbrowska, Dzienniki powojenne 1945–1965 [Post-war diaries 1945–1965],
vol. 3, Warsaw 1996.
/ 21 November

Władysław Gomułka in a speech during a Party conference: Poland. Influenced by the incidents in Bydgoszcz, the authorities de-
We have now put these and other matters before the Soviet delega- cide to stop devices based in Poland from jamming the broadcasts of
tion, before the Soviet government and we told them that we consider western radio stations – including Radio Free Europe.
them to have been unfairly settled; we told them: give back what’s ow-
ing to us. [...] We have a right to face the working class and to declare: Jan Nowak-Jeziorański:
we did it, nobody else, nobody else could manage to settle these mat- Polish broadcasts on Radio Free Europe were jammed by devices lo-
ters. At the same time, Comrades, it must be said that other solutions, cated in Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. [...] Of course, it was dif-
other possibilities or any other programme for shaping the political ficult to establish whether this jamming was a form of free-of-charge
situation in the country than the one our Party puts forward, does ‘brotherly help’, or whether it was funded by the treasury of the Polish
not – and cannot – exist. People’s Republic.
Warsaw Munich, 21 November
Fragmenty przemówienia Władysława Gomułki na naradzie I sekretarzy KW PZPR Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Wojna w eterze. Wspomnienia 1948–1956 [War in the radio
w dniu 23 listopada 1956 w Warszawie [Excerpts from speeches made by Władysław waves, memoirs 1948–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 1991.
Gomułka at a conference of Province Committee First Secretaries of the Polish United
Workers’ Party on 23 November 1956 in Warsaw], in: 6 lat temu (Kulisy Polskiego
Propaganda
Października), Biblioteka “Kultury”, vol. 83, Documents, Paris 1962.
poster: “Radio
Free Europe

/
calling”, “Stupid
is he who
19 November listens with
bated breath.
Poland. The Sejm [Parliament] passes an Act on Workers’ Councils, Whom does he
giving them wide powers. Its resolutions are an attempt at appeas- help? Deathly
enemies”.
ing the demands of the workers’ unions within the interests of the
centrally planned economy.

Lechosław Goździk:
What we wanted was clear from the slogans which we used. The most im-

JEZIORANSKI.ORG
portant matter was Poland’s sovereignty. Another important point was
that we wanted to be in charge in our workplaces – hence the workers’
councils. Following the VIII Plenum, these sprang up in large numbers

64
 /
Budapest,

MARIO DE BIASI / MONDADORI PORTFOLIO VIA GETTY IMAGES

November.
22 November
Insurgents
dragging the
Hungary. Despite Kádár’s guarantee of safe passage to Yugoslavia, body of an AVH
after leaving the Yugoslav embassy, Imre Nagy is arrested and trans- State Security
ported to Romania. functionary.

Jan Józef Szczepański:

In the editorial office of “Przekrój”, I looked through stacks of foreign
journals showing photographs from Hungary. What a shocking sight.
Masses of pictures of lynchings of secret policemen. People were quite
literally overcome by the hatred which had escalated over many years.
[...] Most horrifying was the need for it in this enclosed circle of terror
– and it still continues.
Kraków, 23 November
Jan Józef Szczepański, Dziennik 1945–1956 [Diary 1945–1956], vol. 1, Kraków 2009.

Jerzy Stempowski in a letter to Jerzy Giedroyc:

The difference between the fates of Hungarians and of Poles – both of
whom are equally tempestuous – seems to evolve from the fact that,
in Poland, the Party had a somewhat broader base and it could [...]
control the situation, whereas in Hungary the initiative immediately
passed to the people, i.e. the anti-Communists who had no idea of
the realities of the situation. Nagy, himself, counted on some sort of
help or diversion from the West. The tragic question: “What is the UN
doing?” was continually repeated in news sent out from Budapest’s be-
sieged parliament to Vienna, and it was heard over and over in radio-
stations which were still in the hands of the insurgents.
A few days ago, I read in “Corriere [della Sera]” an entire indictment
against [President of the USA, Dwight] Eisenhower, which quoted his
rhetoric on the subject of “liberation” during his first election cam-
paign. These promises had been directed primarily at the Polish com-
munity in the US, on whose votes he relied, and yet no Pole gave them
any credence. Why, then, did the Hungarians take this rhetoric seri-
ously?
Bern, 23 November
Jerzy Giedroyc, Jerzy Stempowski, Listy 1946–1969 [Letters 1946–1969], part 1, War-
saw 1998.

65
/ 29 November gest advantage in the present situation is the unique coincidence in
key personae, namely the trio of: Gomułka, Wyszyński and Cyrankie-
German Democratic Republic. The authorities restore the visa re- wicz. This appears to be a good team. The émigré community (by that
quirement – revoked at the beginning of the year – for citizens of I mean the political groups) no longer seems relevant and does not
other countries in the Soviet bloc, including Poland. The journal- stand a chance today. Wyszyński has no plans for a Christian political
GDR, 1956.
ist and philosopher, Wolfgang Harich, is arrested on suspicion of a organisation.
Wolfgang Harich
counter-revolutionary plot. Harich was a Communist who had be- Maisons-Laffitte, 25 November during a discus-
come increasingly critical of the system. Jerzy Giedroyc, Jerzy Stempowski, Listy 1946–1969 [Letters 1946–1969], part 1, War- sion.
saw 1998.

Extract from an article Liquidation of a subversive group:

According to an announcement by the Prosecutor General of the Ger-
man Democratic Republic, on 29 November 1956 a group of people
were arrested on the orders of the GDR Prosecutor General. The aim
of these people, said to be acting in conjunction with western security
services, was to undermine and destroy the constitutional order of the
German Democratic Republic. The leader of this anti-state group was
said to be a certain Dr. Wolfgang Harich, employed as an editor in the
Aufbau Publishing House in the democratic sector of Berlin. [...] All the
accused – without any exceptions – represented spheres which were
hostile towards Socialism and the workers’ movement. The political
aim of this subversive group was said to be the restoration of a capi-
talist order in the GDR.
Berlin, 25 November
Staatsfeindliche Gruppe unschädlich gemacht [Liquidation of a subversive group],
“Neues Deutschland”, 1 December 1956.

/ November–December

Poland. The process of disintegration of agricultural production coop-

eratives – often spontaneous, without waiting for relevant decisions –
gathers speed. In the six months from the VIII Plenum, their number
drops from over 10,000 to around 1,800. At the same time, repatriation
of Poles from the USSR continues – by the end of the year some 16,000

ULLSTEIN BILD VIA GETTY IMAGES

people return to Poland. A personnel revolution also takes place with
the replacement of many Provincial First Secretaries and with reduc-
tions in personnel in the Party and in the Ministry of the Interior.

Jerzy Giedroyc in a letter to Jerzy Stempowski:

We are entering the era of the personal dictatorship of Gomułka.
Gomułka has virtually eliminated the Communist Party. [...] The big-

66
 Salgótarján,
THE 1956 INSTITUTE

Hungary,
Autumn 1956.
Destruction of
a Soviet monu-
ment.
/
2 December which we were previously unable to see clearly. It has shown us that
education based on lies is just not possible.
Poland. The end of the Congress of the Association of Polish Writers. Łódź, 10 December
Antoni Słonimski is elected Chairman. Krajowy Zjazd Działaczy Harcerskich w Łodzi. Uchwały, referaty, głosy w dyskusji [National
Conference of Scouting Leaders in Łódź. Resolutions, papers, discussions], Warsaw 1957.

Mieczysław Jastrun:
At the end of the Congress, I was delegated to approach the Central Extract from a letter from Aleksander Kamiński to Antoni Wa-
Committee, together with [Maria] Dąbrowska and [Jerzy] Zawieyski in silewski, graphic artist, columnist:
relation to a letter from Hungarian writers who were living in exile in The Scouting Movement cannot be a foundation for any one, single
Vienna. We were received by Gomułka, himself. [...] He speaks of two op- political organisation of older youth; quite the opposite – scouting is
posing blocs and gives us to understand that the West gave the Soviets a universal national movement and it should be positively inclined to
a free hand within borders governed by treaties. the future participation of scouts in a variety of legal organisations –
Warsaw, 4 December youth, political and ideological – in Poland. The Scouting Movement,
Mieczysław Jastrun, Dziennik 1955–1981 [Diary 1955–1981], Kraków 2002. like our state, has to recognise the leading role of the Polish United
Workers’ Party in the country. Its work in the sphere of education
should position itself on the Polish road to Socialism with the indis-
/
8 December pensable aspects of democratisation and national sovereignty.
Łódź
Hungary. In the town of Salgótarján, near the Czechoslovak bor- Krzysztof Persak, Listy Aleksandra Kamińskiego do Antoniego Wasilewskiego z lat
1956–1958 [Letters from Aleksander Kamiński to Antoni Wasilewski, 1956–1958], “Więź”
der, security forces attack miners protesting against repressions
Issue no. 8, 1994.
aimed at members of the local workers’ councils. At least 46 peo-
ple are killed.
Łódź, Poland,
8–10 December

/
1956. National
conference of
10 December the Polish Scout-
ing Movement.
Poland. A national conference of the Polish Scouting movement de-
cides on restoration of the pre-war Polish Scouting Association [ZHP].
Aleksander Kamiński, one of the underground commanders of the
‘Szare Szeregi’ [lit. Grey Scout Ranks] during the German occupation, is
elected Chairman of the Supreme Scouting Council.

Zofia Zakrzewska, Head of the ZHP, in a discussion during the con-

ference:
The breakthrough in the work of the scouting movement will be all
the more meaningful in the face of increased criticism of the mistakes
made in the scouting movement in recent years – and for many of us
these are our very own mistakes. [...] The XX Conference has shown
us, the educators, the causes of our disasters and of our failures in
PAP

our work with young people. Like a searchlight, it has focused on that

68
 OŚRODEK KARTA
Poland. Demonstrations in Szczecin caused by the intervention of
the militia against a drunken man. Demonstrators attack the Civil Mi-
litia HQ and also vandalise the USSR Consulate.

Zygmunt Mycielski:
Unrest in Poland is growing. Workers’ Councils approve increasingly
crazy proposals. As do the students who sympathise with the Hungar-
ians’ heroic and tragic resistance. Instances of anarchy multiply all
the time. Attacks on the Civil Militia. Ostensibly under the guise of the
Peasants’ Party, peasants intrude on Party meetings sometimes even
wielding axes. Demonstrations have taken place in Szczecin, and win-
dows have even been smashed in the Soviet Consulate. All forms of
authority, built on terror, fear, against a background of Soviet bayo-
nets and “security organs”, have evaporated. The Militia, the Army, the
Party – they have no meaning. Election propaganda takes on a chaotic
appearance. “Stalinists” have either taken refuge in mouse holes or
they make a lot of noise to divert attention from themselves, or per-
haps it is they, themselves, who provoke the incidents [...].
The country is dark and dismal, nothing fits, nothing works. Things
break down, or are simply unavailable. The trash can of the times,
times whose value lies in precision, in brilliance, in speed and in ac-
curacy. Not here, though, not here in our country.
Warsaw, 14 December
Underground
Zygmunt Mycielski, Dziennik 1950–1959 [Diary 1950–1959], Warsaw 1999.
leaflet. Text:
“Hungary and
ples rightly demand effective directives which will put an end to this Poland”.

/
11 December intolerable situation. [...]
The Praesidial Council of the Hungarian People’s Republic intro-
Hungary. Special tribunals are set up; they issue judgements in ac- duces a new directive [...] relating to the instigation of court proceed-
cordance with the decree concerning states of emergency. During the ings as a matter of urgency in case of the following offences: murder,
first weeks following the Soviet invasion, some 200,000 Hungarians es- pre-meditated murder, arson, theft (looting), deliberate destruction of
cape across the border to Austria or Yugoslavia. A total of some 2,700 public buildings or services, or of buildings serving people’s livelihood
Hungarians are killed, as well as some 700 Red Army soldiers. Approxi- and needs [...], also attempts to carry out such offences, possession of
mately 22,000 people are sentenced and at least 350 are executed. firearms, ammunition or explosives without permits.
Budapest, 11 December
Extract from a Directive on the strength of Act no. 1956/28 in the Törvények és rendeletek, 1956 [Acts and Directives, 1956], quote from: Egy népfelkelés
dokumentumaiból, 1956 [From the documents of a certain people’s uprising, 1956],
matter of summary courts:
selection: Tamás G. Korányi, Budapest 1989.
Enemies of the Hungarian People’s Republic who are in possession of
arms do not shy away even from murder and they intimidate honest
people whose peaceful work serves the entire nation. The working peo-

69
 LISA LARSEN / THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION / GETTY IMAGES

Women
Warsaw,

queuing.
December 1956.

70
 JAN LENICA / “ŚWIAT” 1957, ISSUE 18
Poland. Throughout the country rehabilitation proceedings contin-
ue in relation to victims of political repression – including the case
against Kazimierz Moczarski. As a result, he is cleared of all unfound-
ed charges (cooperation with the Germans in action against the Com-
munist resistance movement during the war), for which he had been
sentenced to death in 1952.

Jerzy Stempowski in a letter to Jerzy Giedroyc:

There [in Warsaw] people are losing their heads. Uncertainty and la
grande paura [Italian: great fear] do not allow anyone to concentrate
on something which exceeds everyday catastrophes. They can imagine
it only too well. I read in “Corriere [della Sera]”, that even Radio Free
Europe and the Voice of America have been given directives to reas-
sure the people of Eastern Europe, advising patience and avoidance of
any major anti-Soviet demonstrations.
Bern, 17 December
Jerzy Giedroyc, Jerzy Stempowski, Listy 1946–1969 [Letters, 1946–1969], part 1,
Warsaw 1998.

Mieczysław Jastrun:
Fear of the people. Such is modern Communism. Communists cannot
think in terms other than force. That is what the “dictatorship of the
proletariat” is about. [...] There is currently such universal disbelief in
development and in the consolidation of the new order in Poland that
– despite all hope – I still see myself as a naïve child.
Warsaw, 21 December
Mieczysław Jastrun, Dziennik 1955–1981 [Diary 1955–1981], Kraków 2002.

Leszek Dzięgiel:
In 1956, we were entering yet another phase of the continuation of the
system which was thrust upon us after the war. The new propaganda
rhetoric has quickly become fossilised. Different gestures and incanta-
tions demonstrating political and ideological correctness. Other forms
of protest, allusion and evasive manoeuvres. The leash which had been
tugged over the years, slipped out of the hands of those wielding it – but
only for a moment. The next minute it was already held firmly, although
now the length of the lead had to be much longer than previously. Sketch entitled
“Man whose
Kraków
thoughts are
Leszek Dzięgiel, Swoboda na smyczy. Wspomnienia 1946–1956 [Freedom on a leash. too daring”.
Memoirs 1946–1956], Kraków 1996.

71
Budapest, October
1956. Statue of
Stalin demolished
by insurgents.

AP PHOTO / EAST NEWS

72