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But from my personal experience the inhabitants of Poland share polar opposite views on the subject. If you go into a city and ask the question most people say 'Boo Communism, yay Capitalism', however if you speak to people in smaller villages they will talk to you about the more prosperous communist times where everybody had a job, and no one had worries.
I work in the city but live in a village and I can appreciate the latter sentiment because many of my neighbours, young and old seem to have been left behind by the rapid developments in the city. Hence, the mass migration of young people to the cities, although I except this isn't just a Polish phenomenon.
But what's the truth? My perception of communism is based upon what I was taught at during school, but could this just not be propaganda from the U.K education system?
Last Friday I had quite a long conversation with a student who I would also call a friend. He has quite a successful job now involving extensive travel inside Russia. But on this Friday he told me stories (all of which I believe to be true), of how people even thinking of travelling to the west during Polish communism, would be 'interviewed' by local Police and those who wanted to travel to Russia would have experienced a much more intensive interview with government officials.
'Why travel to the west? are you not a patriot?'
'Why do you want to go to Russia? Maybe you know something we don't?'
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| My new found book collection. |
Travel, for all extensive purposes, was forbidden.
so here is the one view point of communist Poland, now here is another. After looking through all the old books that we inherited when we moved into our village house, it seems travel during communist Poland was quite easy. I have found street maps to Berlin and Germany, guidebooks to Paris, London and Hungary alongside a book which documents extensively Polish air travel in the 60's.
Did you know that Warsaw Okęcie airport was the 10th busiest hub in Europe during the 60's? That statistic hardly goes hand in hand with the constrained, impoverished nation we have come to know.
Ok, I accept that maybe people purchased the guidebooks just for a 'glimpse' of the outside world, but street maps? who buys a street map without actually travelling? Then I think of Solidarność and conclude that a movement of that magnitude couldn't have started on something trivial or unfounded.
So what is the truth? Any ideas?
I think that opinions on Polish communist are very different because people had and have different expereinces of both systems.
ReplyDeleteWhat complicates the matter further is that people themselves evn have conflicting ideas.
I have one student who told me travel during communist era was next to impossible yet they studied during the 80's in Yugoslavia!
Confusing.
I have also been told that it was easier to travel to the West than to Russia, but I don't know anyone who did either.
ReplyDeleteRemember that Berlin's Germany and Hungary were brother communist countries, with which Poland had a different type of relationship - Yugoslavia as well. A reasonable number of people did go to the Black Sea and other communist tourist destinations, not all being elite Polish communist officials.
Although it is unreliable, entertainment films seem to assume the possibility, at least, of Western travel. The existence of Pevex shops in Poland, trading in western currencies (dollars at least), must mean that people were going abroad and getting money.
One of the other difficulties in judging Polish comments is the ease with which they will see their inability to do things in communist times as being a result of the system. I don't think I ever travelled abroad during the communist period, but since I was living in free London I just accepted it as being normal.
Indeed, to the opposite, I still find it strange that the state continues to send people on health resort holidays in Poland, although it is now much more limited than in communist times. People could well claim it was better in those days, for this at least.
Going to west was possible, if sbd was not too "rude" to gov - for example my father went to Austria to work on a farm for 2 months in late 80'.
ReplyDeleteTo go some east block country was much easier - many people went to Bulgaria, Chechoslovakia or Hungary to trade things that were easier to buy in Poland for things that were easier to buy there. Many people were going to Berlin to do the same.
To go to west for longer period (like for stypendium in foreign university) people often had to sign "lojalka" - they signed paper that they agreed to work with UB (Polish KGB). Most of them (I think) never did anything wrong, but UB could then blackmail them with this paper. Some really were spying on other Polish emigrants.
All in all, communism in Poland failed on economicall grounds - the moral and civic rights problems were only used as another argument - for people the most important thing was the economy, and in 80' it went stright to bottom.
All interesting points, thanks for your opinions ladies and gents,
ReplyDeletePan Steeva - I really see your point about foriegn travel as a Londoner during the eighties. I also remember stories from my paretns that for christmas they would only get a satsuma or some other citrus - very similar stories I hear from Polish people but they blame it on the system as opposed to the infancy of globalisation.
anon - never heard of a 'Lojalka' but it sounds like an interesting idea from the UB, I'll google it when I get a moment.
I'm actually trying to research where the UB had there HQ in Wroclaw? every city had a UB branch so it must have been somewhere in wro, any ideas?
Interestingly I also live in a small village and work in a large city. I agree that there is a disparity of opinion. Sometimes it is a simple as how fortunate you were or obtrusley how lazy you were. In a society that guaranteed work lazy man was king. Many people just drunk their time away and then couldn't cope with the shift to communism. In a town of only a couple of thousand people my local gmnia suffered several suicides a year or two back. This it was reasoned was a knock-on effect from the change in system.
ReplyDeletePeople who hark of the old days, in my view, are guilty of putting personnel comfort above civil rights and humanity. I got into an interesting debate (near argument) a few years back when a local vet was saying how life was better. When I reminded him of the case of the priest killed by the SB he simple remarked that he should have known better and kept his mouth shut.
Interesting stuff Jeremy, thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteI'm suprised a Vet made those comments tho, I would have assumed they would be financially better in the current private system and so think the change was good?