The Radom District was one out of four (after incorporation of Galicia – out of five) basic administrative units of the General Government [Generalne Gubernatorstwo, GG]. Between 1939 and 1945 in the biggest cities of the Radom District such as: Częstochowa, Kielce and Radom were available daily newspapers for Polish citizens published by the invaders. Their authors were deeply interested in such topics as: the youth’s living conditions, work and live perspectives. Needless to say, widely promoted young Poles’ situation in those days was completely subordinated to the Germans’ created propaganda throughout the whole General Government. According to it, German occupation unburdened Polish society of living in “old” Poland where hitherto maladministration of Polish authorities resulted in large-scale unemployment and in inability to provide wealthy life conditions for young people. Equally important was a Jews’ elimination from economy as those who – according to the Germans – were responsible for blocking the development of “honest” craft, services and trade. Young people from rural areas were encouraged to work in the Third Reich as a country of a common welfare. The youth living in towns and cities was only to be career-oriented (in industry, craft and trade) in order to support country’s and nation’s potential. While in official newspapers Germans used to create a vision of personal happiness of every single young Pole who would only be willing to work and learn their profession, they deliberately ignored the fact that the Pole’s entire adult life will be subordinated to the political and economic plans of the Reich. What is more, a newspaper journalism completely avoided all subjects concerning the youth’s situation especially referring to the growth of poverty, liquidation of the Polish cultural life, executions, deportations to concentrations camps, etc. Factors mentioned above, as well as many others, had an influence on the picture of Polish young people’s life, promoted by the Germans in official newspapers, which was totally untrue.

Between 1944 and 1956 those of young people who expressed their opposition to the communist ideology and atheism present in everyday life and also to the permanent violation of freedom, made a decision to get involved in underground activity. According to the IPN’s records, they formed throughout the country at least 972 clandestine organizations with 11 thousand members. Newly created associations referred to various traditions (scouting movement, religion, Home Army, WiN [Wolność i Niezawisłość, Freedom and Independence], BCh [Bataliony Chłopskie, Polish Peasants’ Battalions], NSZ [Narodowe Siły Zbrojne, National Armed Forces], peasant and national movements). In the youth’s conspiracy work three phases could be distinguished. The first one was a present activity of that time – preparation to the change of political system mainly due to an armed struggle. Young people gained military qualifications and conducted campaign aimed at educating conspiracy members about the ongoing political situation and at formation of the civil attitude of the local communities (in leaflets – rather than in the underground press – they appealed to people to preserve their national identity, to maintain resistance and to remain independent of official propaganda’s influence). The next planned phase was to be an direct involvement in military struggle against the enemy, at the side of Polish Army advancing form the West, leading to a restoration of the independence of the country. There were however two major categories of associations – military and scout. Józef Piłsudski was chosen the ideological patron of some of them, whereas others referred to the national conceptions or even to the theory of socialism simultaneously rejecting its contemporary concept. They youth conspiracy activists had vision of the Poland’s future. It was to become democratic country, guaranteeing political and economic freedom and civil liberties. Regardless of the fact that during the first decade of Peoples’ Republic of Poland the youth conspiracy members were not numerous, they were those who – after the defeat of “adult underground” – took over an heritage of an anticommunist resistance: gros grup (about 66 per cent) was active between the years 1949 and 1953.

While it is true to say that the existence of discussions in the “Sztandar Młodych” magazine might suggested moving towards democracy and pluralism in opinions, in fact these conversations imposed particular ways of thinking, conviction about indisputability of various axioms and behaviour patterns. Their aim was to determine one proper interpretation of official ideas, including particular behaviours, aspirations, beliefs and attitudes, which mainly was: restoring the traditional patterns and also building new construction. What is more, they were based on a new ideology and propaganda and on old cultural moulds. Two categories of discourses could be there distinguished: authoritarian and universal narratives. During those discussions, such standards as: subordinating to particular ideology, dependency-domination relations, hierarchy and collectivism took on a new significance. A total devotion and submissiveness to the authority were considered to be real values. Moreover, significant aspects like heroism of friendship and love, depending on ideological attitudes, were widely discussed. The ideological factor was dominating in argumentation concerning women’s work in professions hitherto considered to be masculine. There were also some discussions concerning universal topics such as: social politeness, relations between the young and the elderly and spectators’ behaviour on football stadiums. Ideological indoctrination interlaced with demonstrating basic needs and with issues that young people, regardless of their political convictions, were interested in.

The number of the Union of Socialist Youth [Związek Młodzieży Socjalistycznej, ZMS] members reached a maximum of 1,5 million young people, whereas throughout its twenty-year existence this number amounted to 5 million. In fact, this made the ZMS the biggest youth organization of the PRL’s era. Many various categories of young people belonged to the Union. High, trade and vestibule school students, probably more interested in sports, entertainment and in problems of their age than in politics, comprised nearly half of the Union members. Whereas university students were in minority. The others, were mostly young employees – mainly workers, adult, already formed people, having their own families. The youth of Gomułka’s and Gierek’s era, occupied with nothing but school, work and personal matters and fascinated by the developing, basing on western patterns, youth culture, was very little interested in boring politics and aggressively promoted ideology. Therefore they decided very rarely to join in the ZMS for ideologically-motivated emotions. Those who became the ZMS members, one could divide into two different categories: the first – people who had the need to be involved in activity and the ZMS was the only organization which made it possible. The second one – people willing to join in the ZMS to derive particular benefits only (such as: their supervisors’ satisfaction, access to many attractive leisure activities, establishing social relationships) whereas they were not interested in carrying out a range of activity at all. Those of the first category became activists which was very often a prelude to the political or professional careers, while the others were simply a “membership mass”. Rank and file ZMS members considered themselves to be as ordinary as their peers – having a similar world-view, interest and attitude towards life. Even their political views were not clearly shaped. Therefore it seems that the most appropriate description referring to the majority of the ZMS members would be a statement saying that they were persons who did not mind about the political face of their organization. Moreover, they were not engaged in its activity – some of them did nothing, others – used to attend the meetings and from time to time got involved in particular actions. For most of the average members, the ZMS was either a youth association formed only to fill their free time for a price of participation in boring mass rally or an insignificant enrollment in the membership card.

Secret scouting organizations are considered to have been an important element of the Polish independence underground in post-war Poland. During the period 1944–1956, at least 122 secret youth organizations were formed in Poland, which ideologically and structurally referred to scouting movement. Being a response to current political and social situation in Poland, they were born spontaneously. Those secret groups used to resort to various forms of defiance against the communist system among which the most important one was a propaganda activity similar to “minor-sabotage” operations carried out by the Szare Szeregi [the Grey Ranks]. The scouts painted anti-communist and anti-Soviet slogans on the walls, distributed illegal papers, newspapers and leaflets. Some of the organizations carried out various sabotage operations, such as: the disarming People’s Army of Poland [Ludowe Wojsko Polskie, LWP] and Red Army soldiers as well as MO [Milicja Obywatelska, the Citizens’ Militia] and UB [Urząd Bezpieczeństwa, the Security Office] functionaries, the trains’ derailing, the banks, post offices and shops raiding. Young people, basing on the pre-war patterns, conducted a typical scouting activity. They organized scout camps and bivouacs, gained successive scout degrees and skills. A scout conspiracy was rather short-term – from a few to several months, nevertheless there were particular organizations being active for years. However, sometimes a responsibility for “slip-ups” fell on conspirators who carried out their actions without following necessary precautions, like a carbon paper already used to copy the organization statute or a leaflet, carelessly thrown out to a dustbin. Polish underground groups were worked out by the developed secret collaborators network of the Security Office [Urząd Bezpieczeństwa, UB]. Once UB managed to track down even one of the conspirators it meant the end of functioning of the whole group. The arrestment of one of the scouts was shortly followed by another. Detained young people were subjected to an immediate enquiry and put under psychical and brutal physical pressure. Statements taken in that way, provided a firm basis for bringing the case to military court. Every effort was made to give the trial propagandist character and thus its particular elements were carefully directed – starting from reading off an indictment act to pronouncing a sentence. What is more, the young people’s trials must have been reported in media. In consequence of judicial proceedings, harsh sentences were carried out completely disproportionate to the committed “offences”. People were sentenced to at least a few years in prison and courts did not hesitate to impose substantial punishments.

The assassination of Stanisław Pyjas – collaborator of Workers’ Defence Committee [Komitet Obrony Robotników, KOR], originated a history of Student Solidarity Committees [Studencki Komitet Solidarności, SKS]. The first committee was founded in May 1977 in Cracow by the friends of the murdered and then – in 1977 and in 1978 in the following cities: Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw and Szczecin. In some regions the committees played major role on the regional map of pre-August 1980 political opposition. One could notice that older opposition such as KOR and the Movement for the Defense of Human and Civil Rights [Ruch Obrony Praw Człowieka i Obywatela, ROPCiO] had significant influence on SKS’ activity, however the dependency level varied between particular committees. For example, those from Cracow, Wroclaw and Poznan, and most of all, the one from Warsaw, they were connected with the KOR, whereas those from Gdansk and Szczecin with the ROPCiO. An attempt to make a comparison between SKS’ activity in various fields like: their origins, hitherto history, undertaken actions, self-education process, publications, participation in the events of August 1980, enables historians to get familiar with what was characteristic (specific mechanisms) of the student opposition’s actions in the 1970s. Moreover, those committees which were under the influence of the KOR bore several similarities one to each other. It leads to the conclusion that all activists of the student opposition were simultaneously members of the same movement. Hypothetically, but for the intensive Security Service’s actions aiming at reducing long-distance contacts between particular committees, it would have been possible to create a federation or even to set up a coordination body. Although it eventually did not succeed, it is still entitled saying that in reference to Warsaw, Cracow, Wroclaw and Poznan there was only one Student Solidarity Committee.

This article is an attempt to make a preliminary analysis of the Ukrainian youth movement in Poland in the 1970s–1980s. Its author points out particular elements of this social phenomenon and simultaneously stresses that its definition still remains an unresolved issue. What is more, he uncovers its eclectic character in which it is possible to distinguish deliberately moderated elements as well as many of those of unknown origin.

A new form of graffiti appeared in Poland in the mid 1980s. It was created as a combination of a graphic form and written text. First, the technique to be used was a stencil and a roller, and later – a spray paint on a stencil. When stencil graffiti came into use in Poland for the first time, Polish society was suffering from apathy after martial law. Fortunately this type of seditious activity was no longer acknowledged as to be punished for. Stencil graffiti was a clear manifestation of the youth’s dissatisfaction with the harsh reality of the Communism, which censored freedom of thought and restricted any action against the grim, boring day-to-day life and the official culture. What is more, stencil graffiti was a typical Polish phenomenon, radically different form western tags and murals of those days. It usually depicted various motifs associated with the activity of the youth’s alternative opposition such as: Freedom and Peace Movement (Ruch Wolność i Pokój), Movement of Alternative Society (Ruch Społeczeństwa Alternatywnego) and Orange Alternative (Pomarańczowa Alternatywa) whose absurd sense of humour gave Polish graffiti characteristic style. Great majority of the stencils were devoted to the issue of anty-military opposition’s attitude, ecology and politics – mainly by showing images of the Communist leaders (Lenin, Stalin, General Jaruzelski) in a humorous and perverse way. Some of them were depicting PZPR (Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, Polish United Workers’ Party), ZOMO (Zmotoryzowane Oddziały Milicji Obywatelskiej, Motorised Reserves of Citizens’ Militia) and MO (Milicja Obywatelska, Citizens’ Militia) activity. Warsaw’s first stencil graffiti artist was Tomasz Sikorski, in Krakow – Jacek Jankowski “Ponton”. Their first paintings appeared on the walls in 1985, whereas in 1986 nearly every wall in Poland was covered with graffiti. This process almost extinguished in the early 1990s. Among the most popular Polish graffiti artists there were: Aleksander Rostocki “Olo”, Olgierd Bocheński “Skaman”, Grzegorz Kmita “Patyczak”, Krzysztof Kraśnik “ZBOWID”, Krzysztof Raczyński, Andrzej Miastkowski “Egon Fietke”, Sławomir Macias “Słoń”, Adam Jakubowski “Becon”, Dariusz Paczkowski and Wojciech Koroonkiewicz all of whose memoirs provided a firm foundation for this article and many others. The activities of the Lodz “Leeeżeć” Community which was founded in 1989 and of the Wroclaw LUXUS group are also worth mentioning. During LUXUS’ exhibitions it was possible to take part in workshops of cutting out shapes and designs for new stencils. Both groups were well known for their graffiti of the very artistic character.

In the autumn of 1939, the National Socialist Germany occupying Poland, started imposing a Germanisation policies in the newly incorporated into the Third Reich territories of the Second Polish Republic. The most effective methods of removing Polish identity – apart from elimination of the leadership – were Polish people displacement and dispossession. First months of the occupation were aimed at a gathering information about people living in areas annexed by the Nazi Germany. In 1939, a police population census was taken in the Province of Silesia. The Żywiec District was considered to be unique thanks to its mountainous terrain and enormously rich tree cover which were looked on by German authorities as a great potential both for the timber industry development and for the expansion of the tourist sector in the Żywiec Region. Several dozen hectares of mainly spruce forests belonged to the Habsburgs of Żywiec line. From the very beginning of the German occupation, due to the fact that Karl Albrecht and his spouse Alice – landowners of nearly 30 thousand hectares of forests and of the brewery – had a good relationship with the authority elites of the Second Polish Republic during the inter-war years, they met with deep distrust expressed by German secret police apparatus. The Gestapo got completed very quickly all the materials confirming not only Karl’s sympathy for Polish identity but also his financial support of Polish military efforts. In September 1939 he volunteered to the Polish Army, then in November he was imprisoned and his wife with children were put under house arrest. From that time until the spring of 1943, a discussion on a future of the Habsburgs’ fortune started. From March 1941, despite of the pressure from the Gestapo, the Habsburgs consistently refused to sign the German People’s List (Volksliste) ostensibly demonstrating their support for Poland and their contempt for the National Socialist regime. It ended definitely in the autumn of 1942 when they were sent to the Third Reich as labourers and their whole property was took over. A different fate awaited countess von Montjoye – Leo Karl Habsburg’s widow, brother of Karl Albrecht. She inherited over 10 thousand hectares of forests and many agricultural estates. During her talks with representatives of the Nazi Party and police she always emphasized her and her children’s deep attachment to the German language, culture and nationality. The problem of whether to accept her registration in the Volksliste (Heinrich Himmler was very dubious of it) as well as the issue of Karl Albrecht and Alice, became, during the occupation, a top-level discussion in the Third Reich.

The time of the PRL’s political thaw began on a greater scale in December 1954. At the beginning of 1956, the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union acted as a catalyst for change not only in Poland but also in Hungary. However, the 1956 events in Poland reached their climax in the autumn. At the end of a dramatic meeting held between 19 and 21 October, the Seventh Plenum of PZPR Central Committee (during which Soviet delegation with Khrushchev came to Poland) on 21 October 1956 elected new members of the Politburo (the Political Bureau of the Polish United Workers’ Party) with its First Secretary – Władysław Gomułka. The turning point in the activity of the Communist Party in Cracow was the Plenum of PZPR Voivoidship Committee on 25-27 October 1956 in Cracow. At this point, it is worth mentioning that a group of youth organizations members, having affiliations with the party, played a significant role in political revival in Cracow. Among its leaders there were: Stefan Bratkowski, his brother Andrzej, as well as Bernard Tejkowski and Janusz Ogorzałek. The most important moment was an election of the new authorities. 43 persons (out of 45 members of the Voivodeship Committee plenum) took part in decisive vote for members of the Voivodeship Committee Executive finally electing: B. Drobner, S. Filipiak, T. Hankiewicz, W. Kozub, S. Krzakiewicz, M. Kieta, W. Machejek, J. Nagórzański, S. Pięta, B. Tejkowski, M. Waldenberg. In effect, the position of the majority of hitherto party leaders strengthened. During few months after the Polish thaw, the new Executive was a decision-making body of the Cracow’s PZPR. Drobner became a new Party leader in the Voivodeship, followed by Lucjan Motyka in February 1957. Between the autumn of 1956 and the spring of 1957 the Party was deeply engaged in preparation for the elections. Despite of its efforts, the turnout was the lowest in the country and the PZPR’s candidate – Jan Antoniszczak did not get an electoral mandate, therefore, a byelection in his constituency was necessary. During and after the election campaign an internal dispute in Executive erupted. A number of independent activists occurred in the region and the members of the former PSL (The Polish People’s Party) became active. In the course of time, the situation was finally under control and all dissidents such as Waldenberg were removed from the authority’s circle and from the party. Then another dispute arose over the problem of the employment of the former functionaries of the security apparatus and of the Security Office (remaining active before 1956). After the elections, Motyka’s people established new party authorities in Cracow’s Voivodeship which held their position within the next decade.

A group of people of Belarusian origin who used to collaborate with the Third Reich during World War II settled down in postwar Poland. From the very beginning, due to their anti-Communist past, they were under the watchful eye of the Bezpieka (Department of Public Security, Resort Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego and later Ministry of Public Security, Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego). According to the definition derived from the security apparatus’ dictionary, that category of Polish citizens was the so-called „Belarusian burgeois nationalists”. During the 1940s and 1950s „nationalists’” circles were under constant Bezpieka’s control. Those who belonged to the Belarusian anti-Communist political emigration in the West were taken a close interest in of the Security apparatus’ services. Polish citizens of Belarusian origin were being exploited in the process of uncovering activists of Belarusian opposition in the West. In order to haven them being kept under active surveillance inside and outside the country, Polish security apparatus worked in collaboration with the Soviet one.

This article looks at the problem of surveillance of the Belarusian activists’ circle in Szczecin during the 1950s–1960s. Young Belarusian from the Bialystok region set up, in the spring of 1957, a regional branch of the Belarusian Social and Cultural Society [Białoruskie Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne, BTSK]. Michał Artyszewicz, a student of the University of Technology, was chosen as its first chairman. During a favourable period of time of the Khrushchev Thaw, Belarusian activists started integrating with each other and propagating their native culture. Not only did they manage to establish contact with many compatriots living at home and in exile but also they were able to acquire a lot of books and newspapers such as: widely popular weekly Niwa (published under the auspices of the BTSK Executive Board in Bialystok) and Baćkauszczyna (appearing in Munich). But from the very beginning Szczecin’s activists encountered many difficulties. To some extent, those disadvantages resulted from the „experimental” character of the Society and from the simple fact of being engaged in its activity far away from the territories inhabited by Belarusians. What is more, a direct consequence of a small number of the BTSK members were both – lack of financial allocation to the BTSKs regional branch from the national budget as well as having no own premises. In such circumstances, the existence of the Belarusian Society in Szczecin depended solely on the degree of involvement of its leaders. Their removal from the BTSKs leadership meant the end of its activity. This situation was deliberately used by the security service agents who put Artyszewicz under long-standing pressure. By carrying out operational activity code-named “Działacz” [“Activist”] they tried to recruit him as a secret collaborator or at least to isolate him from the Belarusian circle. Due to the fact that Artyszewicz maintained close ties with Belarusian activists in the West, security agents wanted to use him to penetrate the emigrants’ circles in exile. The alleged “nationalist activity” of Artyszewicz was only a pretext to control both him and other BSTKs members. To make this operation possible, apart from agent’s network, it was also necessary to use representatives of the administrative authority. Eventually, security service agents managed to liquidate the regional branch of the BSTK in Szczecin despite of the fiasco of their plan to conduct operational activity against Belarusian circles operating behind the Iron Curtain. Polish reality of the “little stabilisation”-time did not accept the existence of social structures which differed from those promoted by the Polish state.

This article offers an insight into the organisational landscape of former First Polish Armoured Division soldiers during their first phase of settlement in Belgium, between 1947 and 1970. It analyses how formal immigrant organisations gathering former division soldiers in Belgium arouse under the influence of mobilising agencies in Great Britain, the Polish People’s Republic and Belgium. These agencies were at some point pre-occupied with the outbreak of a possible World War III, while at other moments focusing on the way World War II was remembered. All articulating their own, specific, war memories, they clashed over who and what should be remembered, and had an interest in having the former division soldiers remembering World War II in line with the way they did. This created a power struggle with various mechanisms including or excluding former division soldiers in Belgium, a struggle which over time led to changes in mobilisation and denial policies towards them. I question how mobilising agencies promoted their case, gained power and reshuffled relations towards former division soldiers in Belgium by means of immigrant organizations.

This article, making a valuable contribution to study on changes of social sentiments, deals with the problem of numerous letters reaching the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party [KC PZPR – Komitet Centralny Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej] in the 1970s. It is also an attempt to analyze changes that occurred in mentality of Poles of the Edward Gierek’s decade. That correspondence enables its today’s readers to become familiar with the economic and sociopolitical problems that bothered Polish society the most. The correspondence’s analysis shows peoples’ growing discontent with the government, resulting from their dissatisfaction with not fulfilled aroused social needs. It also indicates housing, prices and wages problems. Moreover, people writing to KC PZPR used to criticize such aspects of daily life as: party apparatus’ morality, living conditions and social injustice. However, there were high percentage of letters having a character of panegyrics on the supreme party authorities.

This article describes “Solidarity” circle of Elbląg, which after 13 December 1981 faced the necessity of changing hitherto methods of its activity. Since that time the most crucial assignment to be fulfilled by former members of the “Solidarity” movement (split after the introduction of martial law) was sustaining the idea of “Solidarity” through distribution of illegal publications and organizing patriotic demonstrations. An initial section of this article is a paragraph concerning “Solidarity” of Elbląg at the time of its legal activity. It focuses on the August 1980s events in Elbląg and on the scale of the public support for the “Solidarity” before the introduction of martial law. The main part of the text concentrates both on spontaneous, antiregime initiatives of the youth of Elbląg (Independent Poland Movement [Ruch Polski Niepodległej, RPN], Kalinscy brothers) and on coordinated actions of the first underground Edmund Krasowski’s group, taken after 13 December 1981. A large piece of the text refers to two patriotic demonstrations in Elbląg on 18 December 1981 and between 3 and 5 May 1982. The May manifestations are considered to have been the biggest social protest in Elbląg in the 1980s. Major initiatives with subsequent activities of the Elbląg underground are compared in the ending to this article. This comparison enabled to advance the thesis that all activities presented in this article were the best organized and particularly intense throughout the period after 13 December 1981 in Elbląg. This article is based on documents from the Institute of National Remembrance’s Archive in Gdańsk and from the State Archive in Łódź with the headquarters in Malbork. Numerous testimonies of witnesses such as Antoni Borowski, Edmund Krasowski, Waldemar Matejak as well as various publications on this topic were used as a complement to those archival documents. The article is an important step in historical research on the underground activity of “Solidarity” and other opposition groups of Elbląg in the 1980s.