1956 Polish period of liberalisation and destalinisation
Polish October
Part of the Cold War
Władysław Gomułka at the height of his popularity on 24 October 1956 addressing a crowd of people in Warsaw, asking for an end to demonstrations and a return to work.[1]
Date
October–December 1956Main phase: 19–22 October 1956
Location
Polish People's Republic
Result
Confirmation of Władysław Gomułka as Polish Party leader
Defusing of Polish-Soviet tensions; armed conflict averted
End of Stalinist era in Poland, beginning of the political thaw
Status of forces agreement on Soviet troops in Poland; withdrawal of many Soviet advisors
Beginning of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
Parties involved in dispute
Soviet Union
Poland
Commanders and leaders
Nikita Khrushchev
Anastas Mikoyan
Nikolai Bulganin
Vyacheslav Molotov
Władysław Gomułka
Edward Ochab
Józef Cyrankiewicz
Aleksander Zawadzki
Political support
Natolin faction
Puławian faction
Polish October (Polish: Polski październik), also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the politics of Poland in the second half of 1956. Some social scientists term it the Polish October Revolution, which was less dramatic than the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 but may have had an even deeper impact on the Eastern Bloc and on the Soviet Union's relationship to its satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe.[2]
For the Polish People's Republic, 1956 was a year of transition. The international situation significantly weakened the hardline Stalinist faction in Poland, especially after the Polish communist leader Bolesław Bierut died in March. Three years had passed since Joseph Stalin's death and his successor at the Soviet Union's helm, First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, denounced him in February. Protests by Poznań workers in June had highlighted the people's dissatisfaction with their situation. In October, the events resulted in the rise in power of the reformers' faction, led by Władysław Gomułka. After brief but tense negotiations, the Soviets gave permission for Gomułka to stay in control and made several other concessions, resulting in greater autonomy for the Polish government.
For Poland, that meant a temporary liberalisation, but eventually, hopes for a full liberalisation were proven false, as Gomułka's regime gradually became more oppressive. Nonetheless, the era of Stalinism in Poland had ended.
^Hubert Zawadzki, Jerzy Lukowski, A Concise History of Poland, Cambridge University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-521-85332-X, Google Print, p.295-296
^Iván T. Berend, Central and Eastern Europe, 1944–1993: Detour from the Periphery to the Periphery, Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-521-66352-0, Google Print, p.115-116
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Global Information
Soviet Union
Poland
Natolin faction