We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
The policy of the communist authorities towards writers and artists in the 1945 to 1989 period can be divided into several stages. The first lasted from the end of 1944 to November 1947. The second stage lasted from November 1947 until the end of 1949, when socialist realism was forcibly introduced into all areas of cultural life. The third stage ended at the beginning of 1955, when one could observe a weakening of the authorities (accused of violations of the socialist rule of law). The whole year 1955 and the turn of 1956/1957 is referred to as the “thaw” period. During Władysław Gomułka’s era (October 1956 – December 1970), the attitude adopted by the authorities towards artists remained mostly unchanged. It manifested itself as an ideological offensive and repression of any emerging signs of resistance in that community. When Edward Gierek was in power as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party (1970–1980), the policy towards writers and artists evolved in two stages. The first (1971–1976) was characterized by liberalism and pragmatism, as part of a regime’s legitimization strategy. During the second stage, lasting from February 1976 to August 1980, preventive and repressive elements began to prevail in the position taken towards artists, who increasingly voiced opposition towards the authorities. Opposition was to be quashed by more stringent censorship, numerous searches, interrogationof artists and harassment. In 1980 and 1981, the authorities concentrated on ensuring that the managing bodies of the artist/writer associations had the right political credentials, although with no effect. They supported artists with communist party affiliations and unsuccessfully tried to attract the neutral centre and to exploit it. During the martial law period, the authorities adopted a repressive policy towards artists, but they failed to put an end to their boycott of public institutions. The attempt to use artists to legitimize the activities of the authorities in the perestroika period was only partially successful. Finally, the cultural policy of the authorities was put aside altogether after the political changes of 1989.
More...
In the People’s Republic of Poland, Warsaw experienced two periods of accelerated urbandevelopment. The first one was the time of reconstruction, which lasted until 1955. The second occurred in the first half of the 1970s . Wisłostrada and Trasa Łazienkowska were built, the Central Railway Station was erected, and design works on the underground railway line were resumed. These activities, completely different from the stagnant investment policies implemented by Władysław Gomułka, owed a lot to the communist party patronage, although it would be difficult to point to specific names. The reconstruction years were inextricably linked with Bolesław Bierut. The article analyses the maintenance of Warsaw’s capital city status, the political and private involvement of Bierut in the process of rebuilding and redevelopment of the city, his relationships with architects, and his propagandist image of the “builder of the capital”. Reference has been made to the Soviet models for city redevelopment, serving as a basis for the “6-Year Capital Reconstruction Plan” of 1949. The cited architectural and party documents reveal an image of Bolesław Bierut as a person particularly engaged in the post-war reconstruction of Warsaw. From 1949 onwards, Warsaw was being designed in line with the postulates of socialist realism, imposed on Poland along with the advances of Stalinism. During Bierut’s reign, the reconstructed districts in Warsaw included the Old Town destroyed by Germans, Krakowskie Przedmieście, and numerous monuments. At the same time, the capital of Poland was supposed to become an industrial city with a totally different social tissue. It was all in line with the general plans of Stalin, Bierut being their executioner.
More...
The Polish Journalists’ Association was one of many industrial vocational organizations set up in Poland at the beginning of the 1950s. Based on the Soviet model, Polish authoritiescreated a network of creative organizations which were something between a trade union and a social club where every member would monitor another. What is so special about the Polish Journalists’ Association? First of all, the fact that its members were the propagandists most active in the building of foundations of the totalitarian communist system. Their situation was quite particular in the break-through year of 1956. The year 1956 and the deep political and economic changes it brought along were both an opportunity and a threat to them. It was an opportunity because they could flourish and write without a gag in the mouth. It was a threat because the careers of the most committed stalinism champions would break one after another. The article analyzes the changeable political commitment of PJA in 1956. An important role is played by considerations on differences between journalists from the peripheral regions and those active in the centre of Polish reality, presented against a broader backdrop of the political situation in the People’s Republic of Poland. Finally, the text answers this question: what was the actual role of PJA in 1956? It also outlines the problems the Association had to face over the following years.
More...
The revolutionary social and political changes initiated in the summer of 1980, related to the birth of and activities conducted by the Solidarity movement, took place mainly because of the social mobilization of workers. The direction and nature of these changes were also determined – albeit not necessarily in an active manner – by the attitude of other social structures, particularly the creative circles. Opole, the city regarded since 1963 in terms of an informal capital of the Polish song – is a good example. The 19th National Contest of the Polish Song, held from 25 until 28 June 1981, became a legend. The song “Let Poland be Poland”, performed to the general public at this festival, became an unofficial anthem of the Solidarity revolution. For political reasons, the festival organizers could not interfere in the course of the festival. The censorship intervention proved unsuccessful, as well. The activity of TSA, a rock group set up in Opole, was also a major phenomenon on a national scale. The group’s songs constituted a certain attempt at escaping from the greyness and hopelessness of everyday life in communist Poland. Somehow shadowed by these phenomena were local facts connected with individual attitudes of representatives of the Opole creative circles towards the revolutionary changes taking place in Poland’s social and political life. These facts, however, are also significant in the context of illustrating the social realities of the 1980s. A vast majority of artists from Opole was not actively engaged in the endeavours of the opposition forces, but – at the same time – they would neither attack the opposition nor side with the authorities. Cases of active involvement in the activities undertaken by one or the other side of the political barricade were quite rare. The longstanding opposition activity of the Opole actor Tadeusz Żyliński calls for special attention. This man is an example through which one can see quite clearly how much could be done by politically active artists after August 1980. Unfortunately, only a small part of the Opole creative circles was interested in such opportunities. Political passivity, coupled with efforts aimed at fulfilling one’s own personal and professional ambitions, were definitely more prevailing. Everyday social and political reality of the 1980s in Poland was a far cry from the idealistic views on the social mission of our intelligentsia.
More...
The article describes diplomatic operations carried out by Poland’s MP and executiveminister in Sofia Adam Tarnowski, one of the leading representatives of Polish diplomacyin the Second Republic of Poland. He was the longest serving Polish diplomat in the Kingdom of Bulgaria (1930–1941). Later he emigrated to London to hold prominent functions: a general secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an MP in the Czechoslovakiangovernment in exile, Minister of Foreign Affairs during and after the war in the governments of Tomasz Arciszewski and Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski. Chronological dividinglines of the study are: the fall of Poland in September 1939 and Bulgaria breaking off itsdiplomatic relations with Poland in March 1941. At that time, the Polish diplomatic post in Sofia was one of the very few legations which dealt with diplomatic issues despite the German seizure of Poland. When the war had broken out, Tarnowski began conductinga serious diplomatic campaign towards establishing contacts with his occupied motherland,helping people threatened by Nazi repressions, and informing foreign governments of crimes and destruction taking place in Poland. Tarnowski was supported by a group of Bulgarian diplomats sympathising with Poland. They stayed in Berlin and occupied Warsaw and provided priceless services to our country by carrying money, letters, and information about the Nazi crimes in the occupied Poland in their diplomatic bags. Our MP in Sofia would give shelter to Polish refugees, protect valuable objects belonging to the national heritage, and organize redeployment of Polish troops from Bulgaria into Turkey. The most spectacular operation managed by Tarnowski was the evacuation of a group of several dozen Polish airmen (in September 1940) by sea from the Black Sea coast to Turkey. A very important element of Tarnowski’s operations was the intervention with the Bulgarian government to help Polish scientists from the Jagiellonian University and the AGH University of Science and Technology arrested by Germans in November 1939. Tarnowski talked to Professor Bogdan Fiłow, President of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, a world famous archaeologist, who was about to become Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The sources of the article include: unknown historical documents from AAN, published diplomatic and intelligence documents, journals and recollections. Bulgarian sources and analyses, including video footage, were also used.
More...
The basis for the settling of accounts in Czech lands was President Edvard Beneš’s decreeadopted on 19 June 1945. colloquially referred to as the “Great Retribution Decree”. The decree served as a basis for the creation of 24 Extraordinary People’s Courts. As a supplementto the retribution laws, the so-called “Small Retribution Decree” was passed.Retribution courts were established against the background of spontaneous retributionstaking place in the spring of 1945. A lot of German soldiers and civilians, as well as Czechs accused of collaboration with the enemy fell victim to wild retributions (sometimes in the form of lynches). The “Great Retribution Decree” ceased to be effective on 4 May 1947, marking the end of Extraordinary People’s Courts which had passed judgement on more than 21,000 people. The EPC in Prague judged many German war criminals, e.g. Karl Hermann Frank and Kurt Daluege. Separate legislative measures were adopted to judge high ranking officials of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Based on a decree passed by PresidentBenes, the National Court (Narodní Soud) was established. Since the beginning of retributions, the authorities in Prague were faced with the need to set apart the process of retributions and the displacements of Germans from Czechoslovakia. Based on the legal solutions adopted, bringing to justice a lot of people, particularly Sudeten Germans, for what they had done was blurred by the post war displacement process. The retribution process taking place in Slovakia was also unique. The retributions were based on a decree passed by the Slovakian National Council on 15 May 1945. As opposed to what happened in the Czech part of the country, the Slovaks distinguished a few categories of the accused, depending on their nationality. The National Court (Národný Súd) was established in Bratislava. It is before this court that the famous trial was held against reverend Jozef Tiso, the former president.Having taken over the power in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, the communistsdecided to reactivate the Extraordinary People’s Courts. As opposed to the first phaseof retributions, the “second retribution” was supposed to be based on a vague notion of“people’s justice”. The objective of the new government was to use the retribution processto discredit their political opponents. Similar measures aimed at instrumentalisation ofthe retributions had been adopted by Czech and Slovak communists even before the coupd’état of February 1948
More...
The article presents the history of the Democratic-National League, an opposition organization with a national profile, which operated in the years 1957–1961, in the context of events associated with the Polish national movement after World War II, as well as in the time-frame during which the movement was active – the first years of Gomułka’s government. The author describes the structure of the organization and its programme, trying to find the sources of the ideas which it contained. He also tries to present the links between the Democratic-National League and national activists from outside its structures as well as the Catholic Church. Describing the historical context, the author goes back to the end of World War II, while the main part of the work covers the 1957–1961 period – from the moment of making the decision to set up the organization until its co-founders and key members were sentenced. The main sources for the article were documents from the IPN Archive and interviews with the League members.
More...
The paper covers and explains how the “Islamic Caliphate”/DAISH has been posing a threat not only to international community at a global level but also to Georgia at local level. Georgia lays on the most prominent geopolitical crossroad, linking West (EU+USA) and East (China+CIS states) and with its location Georgia has played double gamble with its nation’s future geopolitical destiny. The location attracts positive as well as negative factors in defining Georgia’s security provisions and in some cases it could cause the so-called “security dilemma” for Georgia’s geopolitics. Hence, Georgia’s security is facing with a new phenomenon, the so-called “asymmetrical threat” that could be really dangerous to national interests.
More...
The aim of this paper is to analyse the current situation on the border of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, in the current regional problematic security context. At the moment, neither the Republic of Moldova nor Ukraine has full control over its territory. Eastern Ukraine undergoes continuous armed confrontations, while the implementation of the Minsk agreements remains uncertain. As regards the Republic of Moldova, political instability and economic crisis continue to threaten its security and corruption is also a major obstacle for the administration in Kiev and Chisinau.However, a new regional context emerges after the signature of the Association Agreements of both countries with the EU in July 2014. The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine are bind to cooperate to strengthen their borders, in order to benefit from the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the EU.In addition, new agreements signed by the two countries in November 2015 established joint border controls at Pervomaisc and Kuchurhan points and, also, cross-border data exchange at the common frontier points. The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine implemented several years ago a joint control at the Northern border point Mamaliga – Criva, but it is for the first time when this will happen just a few kilometres away from Tiraspol, the so-called capital of the breakaway region of Transnistria. The agreements signature to strengthen their common border follows the 2015 restrictions imposed by Ukraine on the passage of goods at Moldovan – Ukrainian border, limiting, also, the free movements of Russian troops to the breakaway region of Transnistria. Moreover, Kiev denounced in 2015 several agreements signed with Russia on military cooperation, including the 1995 agreement regarding the transit of its territory and the supply of Russian troops stationed in Transnistria. On the other side, Tiraspol faces a deep economic crisis, aggravated by the political rivalries, emerged after the “parliamentary elections” held in November 2015. The region is also planning “presidential elections” in December 2016. As of January 2016, the European Union extended the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area to the whole territory of the Republic of Moldova, including the Transnistrian region. In this context, border cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine will have crucial influence on the relations of the two states with the separatist administration from Tiraspol. Amid political instability in Chisinau and also Kiev and taking into consideration the developments in Eastern Ukraine, prospects for solving the “frozen conflict” in the separatist region of Transnistria remain, however, uncertain this year.
More...
The author brings in attention a declaration given after the Second World War by Traian Borcescu, one of the most important heads of the Romanian Secret Service (S.S.I.) about the circumstances of the murder of thousands of Jews in Iași, on 26-29-th of June 1941. Traian Borcescu is an important memorialist in this case because he was one of those chiefs of the Secret Service who knew and encouraged the complot against the Chief of State, Ion Antonescu. So he is not one of those memorialists who tried to exculpate marshal Antonescu. The document shows a memorialist who tried to tell the truth, after many years after the Second World War, after many years of detension, in a perioad of his life in which he had nothing to win or to lose telling the truth. Explaining the whole context of the event, Traian Borcescu brings important arguments that the murder of the Jews in Iași was planned by the German SS officers and brings their ”arguments” to do these crimes.
More...
In the process of Transnistrian conflict settlement there is a plethora of factors at the local and international level influencing the negotiations. The current constellation of the conflict settlement is based on both negative and positive prerequisites. On one side, economic crisis motivates both Tiraspol and Moscow to follow a pragmatic line in the negotiations. Germany’s chairmanship in the OSCE brings in a useful diplomatic tool for resuming 5+2 talks. On the other side, US’s securitization of sovereignty of East European countries and stationing of anti-missile defense system in Romania lead to re-militarization of regional politics. Besides, conflict settlement has not yet been prioritized in Tiraspol and Chisinau in front of internal political struggles.
More...
For the military in general and the Romanian Army in particular, building a favorable image through outreach activities and public relations are not sufficient, requiring specific elements of media operation. Introducing media operation in operational planning process constitutes a necessary condition for increasing the success of a military mission, but at the same time for the image of the military organization in peacetime
More...
The 150th anniversary of the American Civil War just passed. Although European armies did not participate in the conflict, the future of European democracy depended on the outcome. The American war that lasted from 1861 to 1865 tested whether republicanism (or democracy) would survive in the United States. The most prominent difference between the two warring sides in that conflict was that slavery was widespread on one side, and was abolished or limited on the other side. However, another major difference between them was political. The widespread practice of slavery had transformed government in the southern states with the result that a few ruled over the many. But in the northern states where slavery was abolished, republican government prospered. Thus, the American Civil War was an inter-regime war between republicanism against oligarchy. This war was important in the international context because in that era, democracy faced many challenges in Europe and aristocracy was strong. The establishment of the rebel Confederacy in America presented European aristocrats with a natural ally. The republican victory over oligarchy in the American war meant that the strength of the American nation could later aid the advance of democracy in Europe and the world.
More...