An uprising that never existed

On 28 June, in Poznań, we traditionally mention the 1956 events that have passed into past under the name “Poznański june”. In the meantime, between the successive anniversarys, we did not even announcement how “Poznański June” was transformed into “The Poznań Uprising of June 1956”. The difference is seemingly cosmetic, but not devoid of meaning. After all, ‘to stand up’ is simply a serious, national thing. That name doesn't get all provincial fuck in us.

The very revelation in the political-historical space of the fresh uprising is seriously encouraging reflection. How could it happen that not only acquaintances, but besides professional historians, who spent decades knowing nothing about him? Could be a collective cataract or dementia. Or is the usage of the word “stand-up” a semantic abuse, another effort to improve past under the thesis? So let us look at events 65 years ago.

Bread and work

Since the beginning of 1956, social unrest has been increasing in Poznań. The main reason for workers' discontent was bad working conditions and low wages. Excavated production standards threatened safety. Workers did not receive their coal deputates, they failed to supply stores. However, the symbolic point of inflammation was the introduction of a "trouble tax", which additionally hit the workers financially. In the absence of agreement with the company's directorate and ministry on Thursday, June 28, 1956, there was a strike.

The centre of events became the largest company in the city, employing respective 1000 workers of Józef Stalin metallic Plant. However, the strike immediately spilled on another large workplaces. shortly the protesters, whose number is now estimated at 100,000, went out on the street to request decent surviving conditions. “Force and liberty”, “We request bread”, “We want to eat” — they proclaimed slogans on banners. These were not political demands. It's a dramatic cry of despair for people who have come to the last resort.

The crowd headed to the premises of the Provincial Committee of the PZPR. The demonstrators besides seized the prison at Młyńska Street, where they freed the prisoners. The protest began to radicalize. In addition to the social slogans, anti-Soviet slogans specified as "Death to Traitors", "Out to Russian Democracy" and "Out with Communists" began to appear.
Soon, the first shots were fired from the public safety office building besieged by demonstrators. The street responded with the fire of a captured weapon. Inevitably, there was a strong solution...

Balance

Communist power did not exert itself to half means. A crucial number of troops were sent to the city. 10th Sudecka Armoured Division, 19th Armoured Division from the 2nd Armoured Corps, 4th Pomeranian Infantry Division named after Jan Kiliński, 5th Saska Infantry Division from the 2nd Armived Corps, 10th Wielkopolska interior safety Corps Regiment and even KBW troops gathered from the distant Szczytn. The intervention forces constituted a full of about 10,000 soldiers supported by 300 tanks and another armored vehicles. Demonstrators armed with about 250 pieces of captured weapons were incapable to present any serious resistance.

The military rapidly captured key positions. After an overnight shooting, the city pacified it. 57 people died or died from injuries (49 civilians, 4 soldiers, 3 UB employees and 1 militiaman), respective 100 people were seriously injured. In this number, the stigmas are children and adolescents. This best shows how many of the victims were actually civilians.

The first day of fighting due to the number of casualties passed into past as “black Thursday”.

Was that an uprising?

The genealogy, the course and effects of events of 65 years ago clearly indicate that the usage of the name ‘stand-up’ is unjustified. The course of events in June 1956 was not planned in any way. There was no command or even an effort of specified an organization, thus there is no question of command, coordination or implementation. The course of events was in fact spontaneous.
The revolt was pacified comparatively quickly. It ended in defeat. Militaryly speaking, as dozens of people were killed, hundreds were arrested. Meanwhile, in just 2 days the organization and the state regained control of the city. However, political defeat was more difficult. Bloodily suppressed Poznań protests, although they echoed widely in the country, did not lead to any direct political decisions.
Is the fact that events of 65 years ago were not insurrection diminishing their value to any extent? Does he depreciate his contestants and victims? Of course not. On the another hand, it is just unwarranted to call the June revolt a revolt that ridicules the full to the detriment of memory of these events.

Who cares about a fake story?

Writing past again makes sense in a fewer cases. For example, if it is based on fresh sources or critical analysis of sources known e.g. on fresh investigation achievements or technological innovation. On the another hand, if it involves selecting sources and interpreting them under the prepared thesis, it ceases to have a dimension of investigation work and becomes propaganda in pure form.

It is this phenomenon that we are dealing with more and more late in Polish historiography, which in the intention of the government camp is to become a tool for shaping social attitudes. That's why he's gonna dump his curiosity works and his views. Depreciation of events and phenomena applicable from the point of view of the historical process and raising to the function of the foundation stones of events and phenomena of episodes or marginality. While Poznań June 1956, despite its dramatic course and many victims, was of secondary importance in the context of the historical process, the primary importance was October 1956. However, while the first one, after a slight lift, fits perfectly with government propaganda, the second completely denies it...

In this way, the June revolt against all logic became a "stand-up". However, this is nothing against the completely delusional “anti-communist uprising” which was to take place somewhere in Polish forests until the 1960s. Well, paper will take a lot. Confabulating is easier, even if the witnesses of past are less and fewer. The rule that a lie repeated a 1000 times becomes actual has not lost any of its actuality.

Przemysław Piasta

The text was released in MP in June 2021