Suchergebnisse

The research article (Expression of Dissidence) analyses Polish underground publishing during the late Cold War using the NOW-a publishing house as an example. The innovation of my approach lies in an attempt to bring closer Western and Eastern studies on various aspects of resistance. The subject of Polish resistance has already been studied but not with reference to the concept of everyday resistance. The protest sites are examined more closely with the question of how urban and rural geography can play a role in bringing a movement together. More broadly, what my contribution offers is to revive Charles Tilly's concepts to study Polish resistance and to see historical developments from a social movement perspective.

Artykuł podejmuje zagadnienie pomocy dla opozycji demokratycznej w Polsce rozwijanej przez polską emigrację polityczną w świecie zachodnim w latach 70. i 80. XX wieku. Studium zogniskowane jest na jednej, ale ważnej inicjatywie – Funduszu Pomocy Krajowi w Londynie. W latach 1976–1990 Fundusz zebrał ponad 280 tysięcy funtów (ok. 850 tysięcy dzisiejszych funtów) na pomoc dla polskiej opozycji. Należał do kluczowych organizacji w systemie wsparcia procesów demokratyzacyjnych w Polsce przed 1989 rokiem. Tekst wpisuje się w historiografię zimnej wojny, która akcentuje akcje podejmowane na rzecz jedności Europy. Autor wskazuje na wagę społecznych wysiłków emigracji. Uwypukla rolę pośredników na drodze do Polski. Jednocześnie autor stara się wpisać historię Funduszu w szerszy kontekst międzynarodowy.

The article depicts the efforts by the Polish emigre in the Western world to give support to the Polish pro-democratic movement under the communist dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. The focus of the text is only one yet important initiative, namely, Aid Poland Fund (Fundusz Pomocy Krajowi). In 1976–1990, the London-based Fund raised more than 280 thousand British pounds – circa 850 thousand British pounds in today's money – for a Polish opposition. The Fund was a major unit in transnational advocacy networks to foster a democratic transition in Poland before 1989. The scholarship draws from the Cold War historiography that emphasize the actions undertaken to unify the European continent. The author heavily stresses the role of the Fund's intermediaries on the way to Poland but also places them in the larger context of international politics.

This article discusses the history of the so-called book program—a joint effort by the US government, the East European diaspora, and readers of prohibited books behind the Iron Curtain. Between 1956 and 1989, the program purchased some ten million copies of publications and delivered them to people in Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe in order to undermine communist rule. The article gives nuanced explanations of the motivations and practices of book-takers, placing Cold War books in the context of consumer goods trades. Using the historical materials of the Polonia Book Fund, a US-sponsored publishing project for Poland, this article contributes new insights on the transatlantic perspective of the cultural Cold War. This article focuses on the program's early stages, and describes various elements of the transnational smuggling network. The program's state–private partnership was a workable solution that helped to foster a diversity of opinions in post-Stalinist Poland.

The article deals with the history of the so-called Book Program—a joint effort of the US government, the East European diaspora, and readers of books prohibited behind the Iron Curtain. This was one of the most brilliant smuggling operations in the history of Eastern Europe. In 1956– 1989, the operational budget was used for the purchase and delivery to the population of Soviet-dominated Europe of about ten million publications in an effort to undermine communist rule there. This study adds new things to what is already known about the cultural Cold War. Concentrating mostly on Polish cases, the author examines relations between state and non-state actors inside the network of the book program. Using historical materials, he captures the complexity of the grassroots activists–US government interactions, which were finally successful, but this communication also proved difficult for both parties. Contributing to the discussion of hegemony and autonomy in state–private networks, the author points out cooperation and negotiation, not the co-optation of diaspora communities by the US government.

NOW-a Publishers versus Polish Secret Service, 1982–1989 This article contributes to the history of the biggest Polish underground publishing project during the communist period. Sowinski argues that NOW-a publishers, though attacked by the police, was not destroyed. One of the main reason for this was the resilience of the grassroot activists energised by external support from Polish émigré circles in the West. Author also seeks causes of NOW-a success as underground book producer in the strategy of limited police harassment of the late stage of communist dictatorship. After martial law had been lifted in 1983 the Polish authority avoided to take major operations against opposition, i.e. massive crackdowns and imprisonments. Instead, the regime developed more subtle methods of policing the illicit book circulation. However, what constantly hampered the police effort to penetrate the NOW-a network was a lack of solid intelligence. The article offers a deep insight into the police investigation, agents reports as well as provides with fresh statistic on independent publishing and the police counterattacks.