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The First Secretary is dead, Long live The First Secretary! First years of Comrade Gierek
As new First Secretary Edward Gierek began great reformation of the country. As one of the first moves, he approached Nikita Khrushchev with plans based on taking loans from Western countries to expand Polish industry and sign contracts with Western companies to buy license rights from them. While initially reluctant, Nkita Khrushchev saw this as ideal opportunity to check if new course in Polish socialism will work and if this can be implemented in Soviet Union so agreed on this. Probably Anastas Mikoyan known from "importing" hamburgers and hot-dogs to Eastern Bloc convinced Khrushchev that if Polish government pursue reformist economic policy and it will succeed there is no reason to not implement this in other countries but if it will fall, other countries will stay with previous policy.
One of the most innovative policy pursued by Gierek was diverting funds that went into military complex into consumer goods branch of industry (from 25% of GPD to 40% during first years of reign) thus improving quality of living for millions of Polish citizens. Investments into agriculture by mechanization of state-owned farms and reduction of employment to minimum (in order to cut production costs and providing workers for factories) allowed food industry to expand and freeze food prices for many years. Housing campaign allowed Polish People's Republic to develop thousands small, cheap flats - some of them constructed near factories and rented to the workers - leading to dramatically transfer of people from villages to bigger towns and cities changing societal structure in Poland for many years.
All I did, I did for People's Poland. I hope you will do it better than me - last words of Władysław Gomułka; 4th December 1961
It was the 3rd December of 1961 year when electrician, Stanisław Jaros killed First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party Władysław Gomułka in Zagórze (now part of Sosnowiec). Just like failed assasination of Nkita Khrushchev and Władysław Gomułka (15th July of 1959), it was the same perpetrator, same type of weapon (a bomb), same intended victim and same place of assasination. This time Jaros placed bomb few hundreds meters from previous setting thanks to detailed press coverage about planned rout of government car. The bomb exploded just few meters from Gomułka's car, damaged it, killed driver immediately and severely wounded First Secretary. Gomułka died one day later in Sosnowiec hospital but before his death met with Politburo of PUWP and ordered them to fulfill his last will - continue Polish way to socialism regardless of events that happened or will happen. He chose his successor - Edward Gierek - eight years younger Silesian communist politician and First secretary of PUWP in Katowice Voivodenship from 1957.
As new First Secretary Edward Gierek began great reformation of the country. As one of the first moves, he approached Nikita Khrushchev with plans based on taking loans from Western countries to expand Polish industry and sign contracts with Western companies to buy license rights from them. While initially reluctant, Nkita Khrushchev saw this as ideal opportunity to check if new course in Polish socialism will work and if this can be implemented in Soviet Union so agreed on this. Probably Anastas Mikoyan known from "importing" hamburgers and hot-dogs to Eastern Bloc convinced Khrushchev that if Polish government pursue reformist economic policy and it will succeed there is no reason to not implement this in other countries but if it will fall, other countries will stay with previous policy.
One of the most innovative policy pursued by Gierek was diverting funds that went into military complex into consumer goods branch of industry (from 25% of GPD to 40% during first years of reign) thus improving quality of living for millions of Polish citizens. Investments into agriculture by mechanization of state-owned farms and reduction of employment to minimum (in order to cut production costs and providing workers for factories) allowed food industry to expand and freeze food prices for many years. Housing campaign allowed Polish People's Republic to develop thousands small, cheap flats - some of them constructed near factories and rented to the workers - leading to dramatically transfer of people from villages to bigger towns and cities changing societal structure in Poland for many years.
- Tal Shiar
- Word Count: 450