A BREAKTHROUGH: THE YEARS 1944-1948 IN POLISH LITERATURE

The article refers to the breakthrough years 1944-1948 in the history of Polish literature. It was then that the credibility of the post war Polish literature was settled. The credibility depended on its ability to record the apocalyptic, war-occupation experience, on its exploring the heart of the matter and on finding a new form to express it. Tadeusz Borowski's prose and Tadeusz Rózewicz's poetry met this challenge. This breakthrough is illustrated with the literary-history context stretching from the Inter-war Years, World War II, Socialist Realism, the breakthrough of 1956 and 1989 and newest texts. A special issue in the article is the romantic point of reference, being a key moment for the Polish post-war literature, and particularly for the crucial changes made in it by Borowski and Różewicz in the years 1944-1948.