Poland Under Communism

This 2008 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 Using a wide range of Polish archives and unpublished sources in Moscow and Washington, Tony Kemp-Welch integrates the Cold War history of diplomacy and inter-state relations with the study of domestic opposition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. 'This is a compelling, well-written narrative of contestation between regime and society in the PRL (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, the Polish People's Republic), and is only the second monograph in English devoted entirely to postwar Poland and the first written in English. ... Poland under Communism is thus a valuable book, both for those who already know much of the story as for those encountering Polish history afresh.' International Review of Social HistoryPreface; 1. Prelude; 2. Stalinism; 3. Thaw; 4. Flood; 5. Polycentrism; 6. Stagnation; 7. Counter-culture; 8. Detente; 9. Opposition; 10. Gdansk; 11. Non-invasion; 12. Martial law; 13. Amnesty; 14. Consultation; 15. Abdication.