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Grzegorz
Ganowicz
CHAIRMAN
OF POZNAŃ CITY COUNCIL
Ladies
and Gentlemen!
It
is my honour and great pleasure to present to you this exhibition devoted to
the events, which fiftieth anniversary we are going to celebrate tomorrow in
Poznań.
On
the 28th June 1956 the streets of our city filled with protesting workers of
the big industrial plants of Poznań. They demanded freedom, work and bread.
The
political situation of the 'fifties seemed favourable to their protests. The
death of Joseph Stalin (1953) and Nikita Khrushchev's secret report condemning
Stalin's crimes in 1956 revealed the first weaknesses of the communist system
and heralded changes in the politics of the communist authorities in Poland.
Tired
of ubiquitous communist propaganda, and embittered by the indifference of the
authorities, failing to respond to petitions, letters and deputations, the
workers of J. Stalin's ZISPO plants (formerly and currently Hipolit Cegielski
Poznań plants) decided to take to the streets of Poznań to protest against
poor living and working conditions, price increases, progressive cuts in wages
and lay-offs. They demonstrated against the imposed and ineffective planned
economy, accompanied by omnipotent bureaucracy and the outlawing of trade
unions.
On
this day the workers were joined by the other inhabitants of Poznań. The
demonstration turned into a mass protest of the people of the city, voicing
their discontent with the dire social and material conditions. About 100
thousand people took to the streets. However, a few hours later, the initially
peaceful and spontaneous demonstration turned into bloody riots. The protesters
disarmed policemen and took over the premises of the communist authorities, the
prison and then headed for the Security Office. It was from inside that
building that the exchanges of fire started. There were women and children
among the killed insurgents. One of the first victims was thirteen-year old
Romek Strzałkowski, whose death became the symbol of the uprising. Full-scale
fights lasted several hours. The authorities quelled the uprising with over 10
thousand soldiers and about 400 tanks. They were resisted by 400 insurgents
armed with guns, pistols and petrol-filled bottles. More than 70 people were
killed, and about 900 more were injured on both sides.
Detentions
and reprisals against participants of the events started on the very same day.
The prosecution charges were intended to prove that June events had been a
provocation prepared, led and carried out by the American and the West German
secret services and a reactionary underground movement.
For
many years the communist authorities spared no effort to hide the truth about
Poznań June. No official statistics as to the number of the victims were
published, the killed were buried in secret, and the participants of the
uprising were persecuted for many years thereafter. The conspiracy of silence
has not managed to expunge these events from the memory of the inhabitants of
the city. Today, the June tradition is an essential element of identity of the
inhabitants of Poznań and Wielkopolska.
Ladies
and Gentlemen. The events that took place in Poznań on the 28th June 1956 are
of vital importance for both Poland and the whole of Europe.
For
Poland, the rebellion of workers and inhabitants of Poznań was the "first
cry", the first mass social protest against the imposed authorities. At
the same time, along with the earlier events that took place in Berlin (1953)
and in Prague (1948) as well as the uprising in Hungary (1956), the Poznań
June provided a stimulus for further transformation in torn apart post-war
Europe. Two decades later, another mass protest of workers of "Solidarność"
instigated decisive political transformations and contributed to lifting the
Iron Curtain.
Ladies
and Gentlemen. Fifty years ago the inhabitants of Poznań protested and lost
their lives on the city's streets for freedom. These extraordinary, bloody
events were witnessed by the foreign guests of the Poznań International Fair.
Thanks to these people, the news of the dramatic events in Poznań spread to
western newspapers. It is not by accident that due to their presence both
Europe and the world participated in the Poznań June.
Today,
inviting you to this exhibition, we hope to restore the memory of the events of
the 28th of June 1956 to the minds of Europeans. Let us remember this date and
place, as one of the most prominent moments of post-war history, which made
divided Europe free and united anew.
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