Jan Józef Lipski - Gomułka for First Secretary! (65/215)

To listen to more of Jan Józef Lipski’s stories, go to the playlist:    • Jan Józef Lipski (Social activist)  

Jan Józef Lipski (1926-1991) was a writer, literary critic, and one of Poland's best known political activists. He fought in the Warsaw Uprising, co-founded the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR), and, from 1987, re-established and led the Polish Socialist Party. [Listener: Jacek Petrycki, Marcel Łoziński; date recorded: 1989]

TRANSCRIPT: Quite early on, before the plenary session held in October, it was being said that Gomułka ought to be in power, and the people were greatly in favour of this and accepted it enthusiastically. Firstly, Gomułka had only just got out of prison which is always a good thing for an activist facing a crossroad in his career. Secondly, people knew that he was very opposed to collectivisation and this was a massive point in his favour. He was attacked for nationalistic tendencies and he himself said a great deal about the Polish road to socialism which also mattered to the people, and so without arousing general anger, it was impossible to make anyone else First Secretary of the Party after that.