Poland, 1968
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the events in Poland in March 1968, Blinken OSA Archivum is presenting a unique selection of documents from the records of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Research Institute. The collection contains materials on the Polish political crisis and focuses on the student rebellion and its aftermath.
The materials presented here draw a consistent picture of how the events developed, from the first disturbances, students’ protests (in Warsaw and other cities) and the state propaganda, to the political trials carried out in subsequent months. The documents include the Monitoring of the Polish Radio and Television, Polish and foreign press clippings, as well as Radio Free Europe documents including telegrams, situation reports and press surveys.
The Chronicle of Events drafted by Antoni Kuczmierczyk provides the backbone of this collection. It covers the period from the end of January to May 1969 and it includes detailed information about the student protests all over Poland and the arrests and trials that followed. The Chronicle, as well as the index of names attached to it, greatly help navigating through these complex, multi-layered events, which occupy a prominent position in the Cold War history of Central Europe.
