This book was the first English-language history of Poland from the Second World War until the fall of Communism. Using a wide range of Polish archives and unpublished sources in Moscow and ...Washington, Tony Kemp-Welch integrates the Cold War history of diplomacy and inter-state relations with the study of domestic opposition and social movements. His key themes encompass political, social and economic history; the Communist movement and its relations with the Soviet Union; and the broader East-West context with particular attention to US policies. The book concludes with a first-hand account of how Solidarity formed the world's first post-Communist government in 1989 as the Polish people demonstrated what can be achieved by civic courage against apparently insuperable geo-strategic obstacles. This compelling new account will be essential reading for anyone interested in Polish history, the Communist movement and the course of the Cold War.
As the most populous country in Eastern Europe as well as the birthplace of the largest anticommunist dissident movement, Poland is crucial in understanding the end of the Cold War. During the 1980s, ...both the United States and the Soviet Union vied for influence over Poland's politically tumultuous steps toward democratic revolution. In this groundbreaking history, Gregory F. Domber examines American policy toward Poland and its promotion of moderate voices within the opposition, while simultaneously addressing the Soviet and European influences on Poland's revolution in 1989. With a cast including Reagan, Gorbachev, and Pope John Paul II, Domber charts American support of anticommunist opposition groups--particularly Solidarity, the underground movement led by future president Lech Wałęsa--and highlights the transnational network of Polish emigres and trade unionists that kept the opposition alive.Utilizing archival research and interviews with Polish and American government officials and opposition leaders, Domber argues that the United States empowered a specific segment of the Polish opposition and illustrates how Soviet leaders unwittingly fostered radical, pro-democratic change through their policies. The result is fresh insight into the global impact of the Polish pro-democracy movement.
Jack M. Bloom presents a moving account of how an opposition developed and triumphed in communist Poland, showing the perspectives and experiences of the participants, while often letting them ...recount their own stories and explain their thinking.
John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in over 500 years, and
the first Slavic pontiff in history. Shortly after his election to
the papacy in 1978, he launched a series of visits to his native
...Poland, then in the midst of dramatic social changes that heralded
the end of Communism. In this groundbreaking book, James Ramon
Felak carefully examines the Pope's first four visits to his
homeland in June of 1979, 1983, 1987, and 1991 in the late
Communist and immediate post-Communist period. Careful analysis of
speeches, press coverage, and documents from the Communist Party,
government, and police show how the Pope and the Communist
authorities engaged one another. Felak gives equal attention to
John Paul's political and religious messages, highlighting how he
astutely maneuvered between the rising hopes of the Polish people
and the dangerous fears of a dying regime. The Pope in
Poland recreates and explicates these dramatic visits that
played a major role in the collapse of Communism in Poland as well
as laid out a papal vision for Poland's post-Communist future.
Monthly monthly of the Inter-Enterprise Commission of the Solidarity Land of Radom
Miesięcznik Tymczasowej Komisji Międzyzakładowej NSSZ Solidarność Ziemia Radomska
