University History Essay: Contemporary History of Poland and Communism

This essay delves into the intricate history of Poland, focusing on the internal developments and the eventual downfall of the communist regime. It highlights the significant roles played by the Catholic Church, the trade union movement, and left-wing liberals in opposing the communist rule, drawing on Maryjane Osa's work to provide historical context. The essay examines the impact of religious factors on international relations and the rise of protests. The essay also discusses the influence of Pope John Paul II, the formation of the Solidarity trade union, and the economic and social factors that contributed to the collapse of the communist government. The analysis includes the significance of the collapse of the Soviet Union, which created an environment for this change. The paper concludes by emphasizing the combined efforts of various groups and the failures of the communist policies that led to the fall of the regime, ultimately leading to the rise of Solidarity and the decline of communism in Poland.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
Contemporary History
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
The history of Poland is very complicated due to several reasons. The internal
developments have taken place and halted several times due to many reasons. Maryjane Osa has
brought out the actual historical facts of the country that were relevant for the administration of
Poland. The Catholic Church in Poland played an immense role in causing the downfall of the
Communist rule in Poland. The three specific islands in the internal administration of Poland-
trade union movement, left wing liberals and role of the Catholic Church will be discussed in this
paper. The impact of religious factors has left an indelible mark in the international relations.
The islands of opposition section in the book of Maryjane Osa has brought out all the
relevant sections regarding the protests of different parts in Poland. All the three sections in the
country like left wing liberals, Catholic Church and the trade union movements. Many religious
protest movements broke out in the region and Bishops of the German fraternity had begun the
protests against this communist regime. The Polish Catholic chauvinism in the country had also
done much harm to the people.
The spiritual renewal was needed in this scenario and everyone wanted to get rid of the
communist powers in Poland. However, some activities of the Cardinal Wyszyński had been
largely discussed about. The furor over the pastoral letter began and this also gave rise to the
campaigns to be arranged to showcase the repression of state on Catholic Churches. The trade
union movement also came very strong and people began their protests on the streets of the
cities. They gave slogans like “We demand Freedom”, “Down with the Communists” and many
others (Osa: 90). Therefore, it is quite important to know that the demonstrators of protests had
completely burned down the headquarters of the Communist Party at Poznań.

2CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
The liberals were also one of those groups who came to the scenario so they gathered at
the universities and they were mainly the radical youths. They believed in the Marxist ideologies
because most of them were the members of the party. However, very few of them had
experiences about the terror imposed by Joseph Stalin (Osa: 90). In the primary times, all these
islands had come up to show the solidarity so they could burn down the communist regime and
prevent themselves to the second version of that Stalinist terror. The disciplinary actions were
taken by the universities but eventually the communist regime had to fall down indeed.
The issue of the price rise during the Gomulka regime was one of the major things that
had came about during those times. The government run by the Communist regime was unable to
solve the issues that the common people were facing. The conflicts between the communist
regime and the common workers were going out of hand. Amidst these conflicts, the students
stated in favor of the workers. They actually wanted to show the communist regime that the
country’s youth will not be suppressed by them by any means. They went on to sign the petitions
from all the workers in the cities of Poland that they should be allowed to observe all their civil
rights. This also included their freedom of religion.
They wanted to observe their civil rights regarding religion. They also wanted to focus on
the fact that they should exercise their democratic rights within the country. They also supported
the words of the spokespersons of the churches. Thus, all of the three islands had accumulated
together in a united manner. All of the three sections like the liberal students, workers of the
Solidarity trade union party and the influence of Pope John Paul II helped them to achieve what
they actually wanted. This was to get rid of the communist regime.

3CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
Various other reasons are also there behind the collapse of the Communist movements in
the country. Those reasons are more crucial than the influence of Pope in the entire scenario. The
collapse of the Soviet Union was still due to the perestroika reforms by the Secretary General of
the Communist party of Russia.1 Pope John Paul II himself said some words that would confirm
the global collapse of the party in various ways. Pope mentioned it in one of his lectures “The
tree was already rotten. I just gave it a good shake and the rotten apples fell”. 2
This certainly proves the hatred for communism among the common people of Poland.
Pope has always been recognized as the epitome of anti-Communist struggle in Poland. Amidst
these events, the rise of Solidarity, the Polish trade union was considered to be the driving force
as to why the Communist rulers could not resist this change. Many civil resistances had been put
up in the country that helped the workers to achieve their rights and bring in the social change.
This was supposed to be the first independent trade union in the Warsaw Pact country that had to
be permitted by the Government.3
On the other hand, it must be pointed out that the worker party of Poland was becoming
more mature every time. Therefore, it was highly needed for the Communist party to change
their tactics. The ruling elite class of the Communist people followed some rigid policies and
1 Bardell, Geoff. Sacred Weapons, Profane Enemies: Saint John Paul II's War on Communism. Geoff Bardell, 2014.
2 Osa, Maryjane. Solidarity and contention: networks of Polish oppositions. Vol. 18. U of Minnesota Press, 2003.
3 Kengor, Paul. A Pope and a president: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the extraordinary untold story of the
20th century. Open Road Media, 2017.

4CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
they were unable to provide the workers what actually they wanted. The labor unrest was seen in
this context as the communist regime could not deliver what it actually promised. This was the
basic reason of forming the labor party Solidarity. The parties Solidarity and Kronstadt were
basically the reflections of the conflicts between industrial workers and socialist state within the
country. Thus, the communist ruling came to a halt in the early 1970s at Poland.
The conclusion of the paper can be drawn by saying the political conflicts within
Poland was utilized by Pope John Paul II since he was from Poland also. His religious views
convinced people to get rid of the communist regime in the country. The failures of policies by
communists contributed to this outcome at a large degree. Finally, the formation of the labor
party Solidarity (Solidarność) catered to the downfall of this communist regime. The situation
deteriorated for the communists since they were unable to recover from this condition.

5CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
References
Bardell, Geoff. Sacred Weapons, Profane Enemies: Saint John Paul II's War on Communism.
Geoff Bardell, 2014.
Bloom, Jack M. "Political Opportunity Structure, Contentious Social Movements, and State-
Based Organizations: The Fight against Solidarity inside the Polish United Workers
Party." Social Science History 38, no. 3-4 (2014): 359-388.
Brown, Archie. The rise and fall of communism. Random House Digital, Inc., 2009.
Diez, Thomas. "Diplomacy, papacy, and the transformation of international society." The Review
of Faith & International Affairs 15, no. 4 (2017): 31-38.
Felak, James Ramon. "Pope John Paul II, the saints, and communist Poland: The papal
pilgrimages of 1979 and 1983." The Catholic Historical Review (2014): 555-574.
Kengor, Paul. A Pope and a president: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the extraordinary
untold story of the 20th century. Open Road Media, 2017.
Osa, Maryjane. Solidarity and contention: networks of Polish oppositions. Vol. 18. U of
Minnesota Press, 2003.
Perrone, Arragon. "Pope John Paul II’s Role in the Collapse of Poland’s Communist Regime:
Examining a Religious Leader’s Impact on International Relations." (2012).