Język Polski
English
Marzec 1968 na Uniwersytecie Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie – przebieg, sankcje i następstwa
Przegląd Archiwalny Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej, No. 13 (2020), pages: 245–274
Publication date: 2023-04-05
https://doi.org/10.48261/PAIPN201313
PDF (Język Polski)
Abstract
Information about student demonstrations at the University of Warsaw quickly reached Lublin. The student demonstrations there were short-lived (3–4 days) and were pacified by the intervention of MO and ZOMO forces with the cooperation of workers’ activists. On 9 March, leaflets calling for a rally in support of Warsaw students appeared in dormitories, the nearby Chatka Żaka [academic cultural centre at UMCS] and some educational buildings. After breaking into the premises of the academic radio station, they set it to receive Radio Free Europe. As a result, students were able to listen to a programme about the events in Warsaw. Four people who distributed leaflets calling for the rally were soon arrested. They were punished with large fines (2400–3000 zlotys) with the possibility of that being changed to 60–90 days in jail and the suspension of their student rights. At around 2 p.m. nearly 2,000 people gathered in the area of the dormitories and Chatka Żaka, then a procession was formed, which set off towards the city centre. However, activist workers, supported by a militia platoon from the local garrison, halted the students. During the intervention, several students were beaten, some were detained and two were brought before the penal-administrative collegium in Lublin. They received fines of 2000 PLN each, with the possibility of this being changed to 60 days in jail. Additionally, all the above-mentioned students were suspended from the university. Under pressure from youth organisations, the rector agreed to organise a student rally on the evening of 13 March in the Chatka Żaka. It started at 8 p.m. in the building’s theatre, drawing about 1,500–2,000 students from all the Lublin institutions of higher education. By the end of March, student actions in Lublin had quietened down, although repressive actions against individuals and those most active continued. It is worth noting, however, that no UMCS student was expelled from the university. A visible consequence of the post-March changes was personnel policy. Two academics commuting in from Warsaw, for whom work at UMCS was a second job, did not have their contracts renewed. A large group of lecturers were promoted to the position of reader, although it should be added that most of the so-called “March lecturers” later successfully completed the habilitation process. With the benefit of hindsight, it is becoming increasingly clear that March ’68 was not just a Warsaw event. The street riots spread over many Polish cities, and were attended not only by students, but also by secondary school pupils and young workers. To this collective knowledge should certainly be added the student demonstrations in Lublin, which were a reaction of the genuine solidarity of the academic community against the brutal actions of the authorities towards young people in Warsaw.
