The problem of Polish sovereignty in the period of changes of the Polish October campaign before the elections to the Parliament of Polish People’s Republic in 1957

Abstract

The aim of the article is to indicate the impact of the political thaw in the Polish October on discussions and dispute over the sovereignty of the PRL.  Raised to power on a wave of political thaw, the team headed by Władysław Gomułka was aware of the consequences of Poland’s belonging to the Soviet empire.  For the new leader of the PRL, increasing the sovereignty of the country was the same as the autonomy of Polish communists within the so-called socialist community, in accordance with its ideological conditions, as well as without undermining the Kremlin’s dominant position.  It was in such a spirit that one should understand Gomułka’s political actions regarding the Hungarian issue and the negotiations that the Polish side had with the Soviet Union on economic problems, the issue of stationing Soviet troops in Poland, and the repatriation of Poles from the USSR.  As a result of these talks, relations with the eastern neighbor were regulated in more formalized and legal terms, which in the eyes of a significant part of society was an increase of the independence of the PRL from the Kremlin.  They were generally aware that under the current conditions, no more could have been obtained.  Nevertheless, the issue of the sovereignty of the PRL was present during the campaigns before the elections to Parliament in January 1957. Many candidates for deputies, including party members, raised during the meetings with voters the issue of Poland’s dependence on the eastern neighbor, and also raised the subject of the revision of eastern borders and the trade with the USSR, at that time unfavorable for PRL. Anti-Soviet moods, which were particularly worrying for the authorities, also made them-selves known in the army.