Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1989)

Anti-Communist Resistance in Poland
	Part of the Cold War, anti-communist insurgencies in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Revolutions of 1989
Date	22 July 1944 – 22 December 1990; (46 years and 5 months)
Location	Poland, Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union
Result	Defeat of armed insurgents by the mid-1950sVictory of anti-Communist opposition in 1989 after bilateral negotiations Polish Round Table Agreement; Semi-free parliamentary elections held in 1989 and free presidential elections in 1990; Fall of Communism in Poland;
Belligerents
Opposition movements Armed insurgents (1944–1963) Cursed soldiers; ; Dissident movements Solidarity (1980–1989); ; Anti-government protesters and strikers; Government defectors; Supported by: Government-in-exile; United States; United Kingdom Western Bloc Holy See (from 1978) Catholic Church in Poland	Polish People's Republic Supported by: Soviet Union Eastern Bloc
Commanders and leaders
Łukasz Ciepliński ; Witold Pilecki ; Zygmunt Szendzielarz ; Romuald Rajs ; Józef Kuraś †; ...and others; Lech Wałęsa; Bronisław Geremek; Jacek Kuroń; Adam Michnik; Władysław Frasyniuk; ...and others;	Bolesław Bierut; Edward Ochab; Władysław Gomułka; Edward Gierek; Wojciech Jaruzelski; Stanisław Radkiewicz; Jakub Berman; Czesław Kiszczak; Florian Siwicki; ...and others;
Units involved
Armed resistance Freedom and Independence; NIE; Citizens' Home Army; Peasants' Battalions; National Armed Forces; ...and others Civil resistance Strike committees; Workers' Defence Committee KSS KOR; ; ROBCiO; Free Trade Unions of the Coast; Fighting Solidarity; Orange Alternative; ...and others	Polish United Workers' Party; Polish People's Army; Internal Security Corps; Department of Security; Security Service; ORMO; ZOMO; Citizens' Militia;

Anti-communist resistance in Poland can be divided into two types: the armed partisan struggle, mostly led by former Armia Krajowa and Narodowe Siły Zbrojne soldiers, which ended in the late 1950s (see cursed soldiers),^[1] and the non-violent, civil resistance struggle that culminated in the creation and victory of the Solidarity trade union.

Armed resistance

Freedom and Independence Association

The Freedom and Independence Association (Polish: Zrzeszenie Wolność i Niezawisłość, or WiN) was a Polish underground anticommunist organisation founded on September 2, 1945, and active until 1952.^[2]

National Armed Forces

The National Armed Forces (NSZ; Polish: Narodowe Siły Zbrojne) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy operating from 1942 until 1947. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and communist partisans.^[3] In March 1944, the NSZ split, with one faction coming under the command of the Home Army while the other part became known as the NSZ-ZJ (the Lizard Union). This branch of the NSZ conducted operations against Polish communist activists, partisans and secret police, the Soviet partisans, NKVD and SMERSH, and their own (NSZ) former leaders.^[4] During the war, the NSZ fought the Polish communists, including their military organizations such as the Gwardia Ludowa (GL) and the Armia Ludowa (AL).^[5] After the war, former NSZ members were persecuted by the newly installed communist government of the Polish People's Republic. Reportedly, communist partisans engaged in planting false evidence, such as documents and forged receipts at the sites of their own robberies, in order to blame the NSZ.^[6] It was a method of political warfare practiced against the NSZ also by the Ministry of Public Security of Poland and Milicja Obywatelska (MO) right after the war, as revealed by communist Poland's court documents.^[6] Members of the NSZ, like other "cursed soldiers", and their families were persecuted during the postwar Stalinist period. In the fall of 1946, 100-200 soldiers of an NSZ unit under the command of Henryk Flame, nom de guerre "Bartek," were lured into a trap and massacred by communist military and police forces.^[7]

In 1992, acknowledging its contribution to the fight for Poland's sovereignty, Polish authorities recognized National Armed Forces underground soldiers as war veterans. The Polish Parliament Sejm passed a bill in 2012 commemorating the 70th anniversary of the creation of Narodowe Siły Zbrojne in 1942. Members of the Sejm who supported the resolution pointed out that NSZ members became the most obstinate target of repressions and hate propaganda by security apparatus under Stalinism.^[8]

Civil resistance

1968 Polish political crisis
1970 Polish protests
Dissident movement in the People's Republic of Poland
Letter of 59
Workers' Defence Committee - Komitet Obrony Robotników, KOR
Movement for Defence of Human and Civic Rights
Solidarity
Polish Round Table Agreement

References

^ Kostov, Chris (14 May 2015). The Communist Century: From Revolution To Decay: 1917 to 2000. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 9781785382178 – via Google Books.
^ Henryk Piecuch (1996). Akcje specjalne: od Bieruta do Ochaba. Wydawn. "69". p. 116. ISBN 978-83-86244-05-8. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
^ "Jak walczyło NSZ: próby współpracy z Niemcami, rabunki, ataki na AK. Publikujemy dokumenty". oko.press. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
^ David Cesarani, Sarah Kavanaugh. Holocaust: Critical Concepts in Historical Studies Routledge, 2004, page 119.
^ Piotrowski, Tadeusz (20 August 1998). Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic, 1918-1947. McFarland. ISBN 9780786403714. Retrieved 20 August 2019 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Gontarczyk, Piotr, PPR - Droga do władzy 1941-1944" pg. 347
^ Rzeczpospolita, 02.10.04 Nr 232, Wielkie polowanie: Prześladowania akowców w Polsce Ludowej Archived 2007-12-19 at the Wayback Machine (Great hunt: the persecutions of AK soldiers in the People's Republic of Poland), last accessed on 7 June 2006
^ Piotr Babinetz, Member of Parliament, Sprawozdanie Komisji Kultury i Środków Przekazu o poselskim projekcie uchwały w związku z 70. rocznicą powstania Narodowych Sił Zbrojnych (Report of the Commission of Culture and Media on the new bill proposal) Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, Kadencja VII, Sprawozdanie Stenograficzne z 25. posiedzenia Sejmu, pp. 123–125. PDF file, direct download 1.07 MB.

External links

Polish Underground Soldiers 1944-1963 - The Untold Story

[1] Kostov, Chris (14 May 2015). The Communist Century: From Revolution To Decay: 1917 to 2000. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 9781785382178 – via Google Books.

[Piecuch1996-2] Henryk Piecuch (1996). Akcje specjalne: od Bieruta do Ochaba. Wydawn. "69". p. 116. ISBN 978-83-86244-05-8. Retrieved 4 May 2012.

[:2-3] "Jak walczyło NSZ: próby współpracy z Niemcami, rabunki, ataki na AK. Publikujemy dokumenty". oko.press. Retrieved 2020-01-07.

[4] David Cesarani, Sarah Kavanaugh. Holocaust: Critical Concepts in Historical Studies Routledge, 2004, page 119.

[auto-5] Piotrowski, Tadeusz (20 August 1998). Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic, 1918-1947. McFarland. ISBN 9780786403714. Retrieved 20 August 2019 – via Google Books.

[Gontarczyk,_Piotr_pg._347-6] Gontarczyk, Piotr, PPR - Droga do władzy 1941-1944" pg. 347

[Rzecz-7] Rzeczpospolita, 02.10.04 Nr 232, Wielkie polowanie: Prześladowania akowców w Polsce Ludowej Archived 2007-12-19 at the Wayback Machine (Great hunt: the persecutions of AK soldiers in the People's Republic of Poland), last accessed on 7 June 2006

[Babinetz-8] Piotr Babinetz, Member of Parliament, Sprawozdanie Komisji Kultury i Środków Przekazu o poselskim projekcie uchwały w związku z 70. rocznicą powstania Narodowych Sił Zbrojnych (Report of the Commission of Culture and Media on the new bill proposal) Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, Kadencja VII, Sprawozdanie Stenograficzne z 25. posiedzenia Sejmu, pp. 123–125. PDF file, direct download 1.07 MB.

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