Erasing Icons: De-Stalinization and the Polish Opposition

This project examines currents in Polish governance and society from approximately 1956 to 1981. It emphasizes the themes of de-Stalinization, politicization, and non-violence as tools for analyzing the period and answering to the question: “to what extent did 1980 and the consolidation of the Solidarity movement represent a completion of the de-Stalinization project begun in 1956?” The goal is to provide a more complete understanding of an already researched period of history, and to explain the true origins of Solidarity as a political movement in Poland. Using mainly secondary source material, this translates into a new interpretation or an analytical critique of established currents in the scholarly discourse about Solidarity, KOR, and Polish opposition in the late-1970’s.