Poland 1958 November 13th
Polish Prime minister Gomułka had spent time in prison sent there by communist officials, the polish communist party however ran into a snag, they needed a compromise canadate, Gomulka was removed from prison and given the position of prime minister. The party expected him to be a meek servant, the Soviet union protested the move because it had been done with out their approval.
Gomulka agreed to let the soviets base nuclear missles in Poland as a way to show Polands true sympathies to the soviet union. For five years he played the role of weak soviet stoge, then on November 13th having found men he knew would be loyal. He had his people seize the soviet nukes in the dead of night. It turned out that Gomulka did in fact hold a major grudge against the soviet union and he bided his time until he could free his country. Now armed with soviet nuclear weapons he demanded that the soviets remove all milatary forces from Poland or the tiny country would use the 54 missles they stole to turn Moscow into Ash.
The next few months were an armed standoff, and then the Russian bear blinked and went home. The Newly freed Poland joined Nato soon after becoming a stanch ally even if they never surrendered the nukes they stole from the soviets. As for Gomulka himself he helped turn poland into the successful democracy it is today.
The November surprise is still controversal to this day, was it an act of treachery? An act of cunning? An attempt to free his country, an attempt to get revenge, a reckless endangering of the world, or a brave stance against tryanny. The 13th of November remains an important part of world history.
My question is this.
What would have happened if the November Surprise had never happened?
And what is your opinion of Gomulka's action?
Was he a Hero or one of histories villians.