A real center of local power in the Stalinist period – the District Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party in Nidzica in 1948–1956

The article presents selected aspects of the history of the Polish United Workers’ Party in the Nidzica poviat in the years 1948–1956. The genesis of the Stalinist party in this poviat was characterized, i.e. selected aspects of the activities of the Polish Workers’ Party and its activities in 1946–1948. Attention was drawn to the extremely developed propaganda activity of the communist authorities, which used lies on a very large scale, promoting, inter alia, Soviet models in all areas of life, from political matters to the economy and the sphere of culture. The process of strengthening the position of the PPR in the Nidzica poviat was emphasized, which was related to, inter alia, with the destruction of the illegal opposition, as well as the Polish People’s Party and the Polish Socialist Party. The course of major political events of that period was also presented: the falsified people’s referendum in June 1946, the equally falsified parliamentary elections in January 1947, and the increasingly wider scope of political repressions against communist opponents. The process of creating the structures of the Polish United Workers’ Party and its leading activists was described, from December 1948 to 1956. Selected aspects of the PZPR’s activities in the political, social and economic fields were characterized. The consolidation of the hegemonic position of the PZPR in political life, socialist realism in the sphere of culture and the Stalinization of economic life, including activities for the collectivization of agriculture. Very strong ties between the party leadership and the local security apparatus, that is, above all, with the County Public Security Office, were emphasized. Attention was paid to the persecution of political opponents, and at the same time to various manifestations of social resistance against communists.

Marcin Rutkiewicz from Gniezno – an independence fighter with a party chapter in his biography

The paper presents a short biography of Marcin Rutkiewicz from Gniezno (1933–2016), a local politician and clerk, which in his youth and in the mature age fought against the communist regime in Poland. However, for several years between those two periods he was involved in the Polish communist party (PZPR), even as its official ideological lecturer. The article first focuses on Rutkiewicz’ clandestine activity in the Underground Scout Army at Gniezno when he was 18 years old, on the subsequent arrest, trial and repressions: a hard prison and then equal hard and exhausting military service. The second focus is Rutkiewicz’ braek up from the communist party in 1988, then involvement in the Citizen Committee (Komitet Obywatelski) „Solidarność” at Gniezno in 1989, and his late political and combatant activity in the free Poland. His interesting but not „linear” political life is a proper example of alternate fortunes of the generation grown under the Soviet regime in Poland after the World War II.

The satirical nativity play is a specifically Polish entertainment genre that flourished on television in the 1960s. The programmes, broadcast after midnight at the turn of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, presented the most important personalities of communist public life as puppets, reciting and singing rhyming couplets. Although it was concessionary satire, the cribs aroused great emotion among the audience. Wojciech Jaruzelski experienced a special situation: he did not appear in the cribs most often, but he was the only one who was presented as an aspiring politician, holding and leaving the most important positions in the state. On his example we can observe the original strategies of the creators of nativity scenes and their attempts to shape the image of Polish politicians, in the Polish People’s Republic and the democratic Poland after year 1989.

The activities of the opposition and dissident movements in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the journal “Obóz”

The activities of the democratic opposition in the former Soviet republics and in the countries dominated by the USSR under the post-war Yalta agreements had a chance to emerge only in the late 1980s, i.e. when the framework of the geopolitical balance of power in Europe was determined by the democratization processes in the Eastern Bloc. Only then, on the wave of perestroika and glasnostia, the voice of circles contesting the existing order of things had a chance to resonate and be heard by the international community. However, not only the structures of the political opposition, but also dissident movements, equally interested in systemic change, marked their presence in the public space of states ruled by communist parties. Thus, the pages of the magazine “Obóz” discuss the groups and milieus constituting a political opposition in the classical sense, as well as groups which, due to their previous connections, of various nature, with the collapsing communist regime, should be considered dissident movements in the strict sense of these words.

Printing techniques in the underground during the period of martial law

The article discusses the printing techniques used by the underground “Solidarity” and other underground groups in Poland in the 1980s. The application of the three most important techniques is discussed and analyzed in turn: printing on a protein duplicator, screen printing and printing on an off set machine. The technical aspects of underground printing are illustrated with examples from the Toruń and Gdańsk regions.

Activity recognized as terrorist in the Piła Voivodship in the 1980s in the light of the object case code-named «Violence» (selected issues)

The object-related case, codenamed “Violence”, was conducted by the 3rd Department of the District Offi ce of Internal Aff airs in Piła during the years of 1984–1990. Its purpose was to identify, neutralize and eliminate acts bearing the hallmarks of terror, in particular; killings, beatings or deprivation of liberty for political reasons, explosions and arson of political objects and state institutions, collecting weapons and explosives in order to organize terrorist attacks, kidnapping people and planes, illegal political and nationalist organizations that use terror as a form of combat, as well as the operational control of channels to terrorist centres in capitalist countries.

Independent publishing activity of the NZS in Kraków in 1980–1981

Publishing activities conducted beyond the reach of censorship were an important manifestation of the activity of the Independent Students’ Association in the 1980s. The magazines and books published by this structure were mainly informative or informative and journalistic, they served to disseminate the organization’s program, but also undermined the views expressed in offi cially published publications. Krakow’s NZS was very active in this respect, publishing 33 periodicals in 1980–1981, and in total in 1980–1989 at least 68 titles. The article discusses and summarizes the publishing achievements of the Krakow NZS in the fi rst, legal period of its existence, and highlights the specifi city of this form of its activity.

Program texts of the Orange Alternative and French manifestos of surrealism – selected contexts

«Orange Alternative program texts and French surrealism manifestos » are a contribution to a detailed analysis of the Orange Alternative program texts in terms of surreal inspirations, many of which can be found not only in the Manifesto of Surrealist Socialism, but in Waldemar Fydrych’s books: Hokus pokus, or the Orange Alternative, written together with with Bogdan Dobosz in 1989. Żywoty Mężów Orangeowych- 2001, Krasnoludki i gamonie- 2006, Major- 2013. The author analyzes various levels of relations between the most important assumptions of the French surrealism contained in the manifestos and the program texts and literary works of Waldemar «Major» Fydrych, taking into account his ties with France. He mentions selected contexts of the activity of the New Culture Movement and the Orange Alternative, referring to the meaning of the characters, ideas and program content. He does not forget about the role of manifestos in the history of the European avant-garde (including the Manifesto of the Communist Party, but futuristic and Dadaist) and the universal dimension of the high-profi le slogans of surrealism, both in Europe and in Poland. He evokes the notion of «socio-political surrealism» and its universal dimension, as well as situates the actions of the Orange Alternative between Solidarity and the authorities of the time.

The «MORENA» plant in Bartoszyce during the strike in 1980 in the light of employees’ reports

The article is a collection of reports of the participants of the strike in 1980 at the «Morena» Clothing Industry Plant in Bartoszyce. They striked not only for higher wages and the improvement of their living conditions, but also for dignity. The communists did everything possible to block the strike action. Various provocations were made, including several attempts to poison the strikers. Despite this, the strike was successful, and the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union «Solidarity» was established in «Morena». However, after the introduction of martial law, the participants, and especially the strike leaders, were persecuted for many years. The author provided an insightful commentary on the published memoirs.

Manifestations of the cult of St. Stanisław Kostka – selected issues.

Since the death of Stanisław Kostka, his cult began to develop. In this article, several selected manifestations of the cult of the Jesuit were referred to: the way to the altars, presence in the liturgical calendar, relics, hagiographic texts, patronage over sacral objects, other patronages, e.g. patron of youth, or performances in art.

The article presents the functioning of the heritage of the Russian colonization of northern California in the cultural memory of the inhabitants of these and surrounding areas of the state that belonged to Russia in the 19th century. The research concerns a specific location, the settlement known as Fort Ross, located in northern California. Today it has the status of the State Historic Park. The non-governmental organization Fort Ross Conservancy operates there, and this activity was analyzed using a case study research method. The characteristic elements of the cultural memory of the inhabitants of this territory were researched, such as: important historical figures, the most important events associated with for the formation of collective identity, institutions and organizations acting as memory guardians, as well as material and immaterial cultural heritage. These elements were analyzed in terms of the differentiation of their functioning in local cultural memory depending on a specific group (ethnic, cultural, religious) or specific subjects of cultural memory.

Jadwiga Janina Cywińska, nee Malkiewicz. One of the Vilnius Six

The first published biography of one of the members of the first community of the Order of Mercy, founded by Fr. Michał Sopoćko according to the revelations received through the intercession of Sister Faustyna Kowalska; court clerk in Vilnius and Toruń.

A boy who wanted to become a Nazi. The image of national socialism in the film Jojo Rabbit by Taika Waititi

The history of World War II and the Third Reich enjoy unfading interest of filmmakers who not only include certain threads of those historical realities into their productions but make them the theme determining a course of a story. The Jojo Rabbit film directed by Taika Waititi is without a doubt much more than just an interesting story of a boy who wanted to become a Nazi. Waititi (New Zealand based) painted a satirical and ambivalent picture of national socialism; this time around viewers could watch it from the perspective of a child imbued with this ideology. The plot of the film contains references to anti-Semitism, Aryan racial superiority and ways of controlling society. The viewer’s doubts may be raised by the fact that all these elements are presented in a satirical form. The aim of this study is not only the attempt to evaluate this picture with consideration to historical realities, but also a look into the choice of media used by the director.

General Zbigniew Nowek – social activist, commander of the special services (1959–2019)

Zbigniew Nowek (1959–2019) – since the late 1970s, an activist of the democratic opposition. In 1980–1981, he was the chairman of the Independent Students’ Association of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. Co-founder of the independent publishing house «Alternatywy». During the period of martial law, he was the publisher and printer of huge amounts of leafl ets and underground newspapers in Gdańsk, as well as books, postcards, posters, etc. In 1998–2001, head of the State Protection Offi ce, in 2005–2008, head of the Intelligence Agency, elevated to the rank of general, in 2010 r. deputy head of the National Security Bureau.