Wojsko Polskie w wydarzeniach poznańskich 1956 roku

The use of the Polish Army units to suppress the protests in Poznań was a surprise not only for the society but for the soldiers as well. The residents of Poznań had not anticipated that the authorities would use military units equipped with heavy armour. Therefore the appearance of a large number of tanks and armoured personnel carriers in the streets caused that the demonstration was quelled and the fighting areas were isolated. Apart from few groups of protesters, the resistance was quickly crushed due to the increasing advantage of the law enforcement forces. Military troops were not appropriately prepared to conduct this kind of tasks. Tackling groups of protesters, liquidating points of fire in buildings, dispersing crowds were not included in the training programmes. It was fully confirmed during the first hours of the events when expected successes were not reached. Later effective methods were applied that allowed dispersing the crowds and swift finish of the fire exchange. Systematic increase of the number of military units directed to Poznań resulted mainly from the fear that the protest and armed groups would spread outside the city. According to the military command, it was confirmed in attacks on police stations after which the protesters gained a lot of guns and ammunition. It was also essential to liquidate the points of fire which not only posed a threat to the troops but to the residents themselves who were the victims of random shoot-out. The introduction of the Polish Army troops against civilians had a precedence character which in future served the Polish People’s Republic authorities to copy these checked solutions. It was confirmed by the events in December 1970 and later by martial law in 1982, the final although late effect of which was the collapse of the totalitarian power and the democratisation of social-political life in Poland.