1956 As a Turning Point in Poland's Foreign Policy
1956 As a Turning Point in Poland's Foreign Policy

Summary/Abstract: The year 1956 brought important changes in the life of the People.s Republic of Poland. Some historians view these changes as cosmetic. refreshing of the façade without a renewal of the system.s structure. Others think that the most profound changes to occur in Poland between 1945 and 1980 took place in October 1956, and that real socialism in the People.s Republic of Poland (PRP) in 1957 had evolved quite significantly since, say, 1953, and that one can speak of a qualitative change.1 Whether the political system, as modified in 1956, deserves a special designation .post-totalitarianism, consumer socialism, .little stabilization,. or some other title.is not really that significant. The question is whether the changes were truly numerous enough to warrant a new name. This article will discuss the 1956 breakthrough based on the example of foreign policy.a sphere traditionally viewed as one of the basic elements, instruments, and gauges of the independence and sovereignty of states.2 The point of departure will be the material presented to the conference.s participants in the form of the new volume in the Polish Diplomatic Documents series, which has recently, and not coincidentally, made available documents on the PRP.s foreign policy in 1957.3 The narrowing of the period under discussion to 1956.57 makes the text somewhat incomplete: it is not certain that the majority of arguments and quotations from 1957 might also apply to later, quieter years, such as 1959 or 1975.

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