On 14 March this year, Polish tv aired a feature movie directed by Krzysztof Lang, “March ’68” at the highest viewing hours.
As the name suggests, the movie afraid student protests in March 1968, in which the communicative of the unhappy love of the 2 main characters and the circumstances of their subsequent breakup was intertwined.
I will not justice the artistic qualities of the movie or talk about acting due to the fact that it is the function of movie critics. I would like to mention exclusively to the historical and political layers contained in the film.
From this point of view, the movie Krzysztof Lang presents himself very badly, presenting Marc 1968's events in isolation from the facts and perpetuating false myths and stereotypes. The movie shows a simplified and one-sided image of the reality of the late Gomulka era, in which evil communist power suppresses protests of noble youth, fighting for freedom and democracy. This dichotomic division is fundamentally false. Secondly, the movie does not explain the real causes and actual genesis of March events. You can get the impression that student protests erupted spontaneously, without anyone's inspiration and without any connection with erstwhile political events. alternatively of a fair and honest presentation of the Polish reality of the 1960s, we are dealing with primitive distortions and bending of reality under preconceived thesis.
First of all, it should be stressed that the initiators of March events were not the private students participating in protests, but organization activists connected with the detached “puławska group” within the PZPR.. The leaders of this group were prominent organization activists of the Stalinism era – most of them came to Poland from the USSR and were most frequently Jewish. These included: Roman Zambrowski, Antoni Alster, Leon Kasman, Władysław Matwin, or Stefan Staszewski. They held the highest organization and state functions were clearly liable for the terrors and crimes of Stalinism. After 1956, representatives of this faction transformed into organization liberals and supported for tactical reasons Władysław Gomulka.
Their real intentions and intentions were rather rapidly deciphered, resulting in them gradually being removed from power and influence in the 1960 ’ s. An example of this was the destiny of Roman Zambrowski or Antoni Alster. It is besides not by chance that among the leaders of student protests there were children removed from the authority of communist notes: Adam Michnik, Barbara Toruńczyk, Helena Łuczywo, Janina Grudzińska-Gross, or to a narrower extent, not related to the environment of "commandos" Antoni Zambrowski. In the background, scientists and intellectuals specified as: Zygmunt Bauman, Bronisław Bakko, Włodzimierz Brus, or Leszek Kołakowski – openly protesting the politics of Władysław Gomulka. The image from the "Grandfathers" show was truly just a pretext for starting protests and riots, and protesting students were cynically and instrumentally utilized for political games.
The subject of the movie “March ’68” was to present the fates of Polish-Jewish household against the background of March events. The main character's father, a doctor, is removed from work due to her origin, and then the full household is forced to emigrate. Of course, in March 1968 there were individual dramas of people accidentally drawn into the modes of history. However, abuse is the claim that people of judaic origin were not able to stay in Poland and were forced to emigrate. The best example was the last leader of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising Dr. Marek Edelmanwho not only did not emigrate in 1968, but was besides a valued cardiologist in 1 of the Łódź hospitals for many years to come. Nor did many representatives of the "commandos" community, who were the leaders of March protests, emigrated – Adam Michnik, Henryk Szlajfer, Seweryn Blumsztajn, Jan Lityński, Barbara Toruńczyk, Jan Kofman, or Karol Modzelewski. In principle, emigration was an individual choice, most frequently driven by the failure of political influence and career collapse. It is worth recalling that following the March events, Poland was abandoned by representatives of Stalinist repression apparatus, specified as: Helena Wolinska, Stefan Michnik, Maximilian Lityński, Oskar Karliner, Gustav Auscaler, or Felix Aspis. Most of them lived to live to a peaceful old age, unlike their victims.
Analyzing the circumstances that led to March events, we request to return to the period of formation of folk power in Poland after planet War II. There were at the time 2 competitive centres within the circles associated with the fresh power – on the 1 hand the alleged "nationals", i.e. PPR activists and soldiers fighting in the guerrilla troops of GL and AL, and on the another hand the communist activists came from the territory of the USSR, connected with the Central Office of Polish Communists in the USSR and the Union of Polish Patriots.
Even then there were visible differences between these environments, as was an example of, among another things, the conflict of the commander of the People's Army in the Lublin region of Mieczysław Moczar with the straight subordinate Moscow Leon Kasman. Leon Kasman refused to comply with the PPR Central Committee and to hand over his weapons to AL troops led by Mieczysław Moczar. These disputes continued after the war, resulting in the elimination of the “nationals” led by the Bieruta, Berman and Minca groups on charges of right-nationalist deviation. At that time, close colleagues of “Wieslaw” were arrested – Marian Skuszalski and Grzegorz Korczyńskiand Gomulku himself was illegally held in the villa of the Ministry of Public safety in Miedeshina. At that time, the Ministry of Public safety and the safety Office, under Jakub Berman, constituted a State in the State.
Although it is irrational and morally questionable to justice people by the prism of their cultural origin, it is impossible to hide that in the years of Stalinism we had a hard to explain overrepresentation of judaic people in the structures of power. According to very careful calculations Dr. Krzysztof Szwagrzyk, covering only those who revealed their judaic background in the surveys, the number of Jews in the Ministry of Public safety was 18.7%, but that as far as managerial positions are afraid – that number was already 37%. Among 450 people with the highest functions in the MVP (directors and deputy directors of departments and managers of independent departments), 167 officers were of judaic origin.
Among the leading officers of the Stalinist safety apparatus were: Roman Romkowski (actually Natan Grinchpan-Kikiel), Mieczysław Mietkowski (actually Moses Bobrovicki), Józef Rozański (actually Joseph Goldberg), Joseph Light (actually Isaac Fleischfarb), Anatol Fejgin, Józef Czaplicki (actually Izidor Kurc), Michał Taboryski (actually Moses Taboris), Julia Brystiger, Sigmund Ship (actually Nechemiah the Ship), or Leon Andrzejewski (actually Leon Ajzef). judaic people were besides a large group of judges and prosecutors of the Stalinist period who accused or ruled in political trials. Names specified as: Halina Wolińska, Stefan Michnik, Maria Gurowska (Zand), Beniamin Wejsblach, Emil Merz, Gustav Ascaler, Kazimierz Graff, Oskar Karliner, Maximilian Lityński (Lifsches), or Felix Aspis. This list can, of course, be extended to include prominent organization and state activists associated with journalism, finance or diplomacy.
After 1956, Władysław Gomulka limited the settlements of those liable for Stalinist crimes, bearing in head the unity of the party. Only the biggest torturers, including Józef Różański, Roman Romkowski and Anatol Fejgin, were held responsible. This proved to be a mistake, as many Stalinist promoters retained their political influence, spreading liberal and revisionist slogans after 1956. Władysław Gomulka and the leader of the “partisans” faction, acting as Minister of the Interior, put this barrier in place – Mieczysław Moczar. March 1968's events were so primarily a successful effort to clear the state and organization apparatus of the relics of Stalinism, although many mistakes and abuses were undoubtedly made, which should besides be remembered.
Michał Radzikowski
Photo: https://kinotomi.pl/film/2022-March-68
Think Poland, No. 13-14 (26.03-2.04.2023)
