Puławians Explained

The Puławians, or the Puławy faction^[1] (Polish: Puławianie, frakcja puławska), as they came to be informally dubbed, comprised one of two principal communist groupings in Stalinist Poland which – in the spring of 1956, following the death of Bolesław Bierut – vied for power within the leadership of the Polish United Workers' Party (the PZPR). The Puławians were known, during Poland's destalinization process, as reformists.

The other – a hardliner – grouping were dubbed the Natolinians (Natolińczycy), or the Natolin faction.^{[2] [3]}

The Puławy faction included many communists of Jewish extraction.^[4] Among the most prominent were Roman Zambrowski^[5] and Leon Kasman.^[6]

The name "Puławy faction" came from the addresses of the Warsaw apartment buildings at Puławska Street 24 and 26, which had survived the Germans' planned destruction of Warsaw in World War II. The apartments were occupied mainly by high communist party officials,^[7] including supporters of the Puławy Street faction.The Natolin Palace faction called them, by an uncomplimentary version of the word, “the Jews.”

Witold Jedlicki describes the struggle between the Natolinians and Puławians in his Simpletons and Yids.^{[8] [9]} (Chamy i Żydy)^[10]

Some children of Puławians would later be involved in Poland's March 1968 polticial crisis.^[11]

See also

• 1968 Polish political crisis
• Władysław Gomułka
• Mieczysław Moczar
• Natolin faction
• Leon Kasman
• Aleksander Zawadzki

Notes and References

1. Book: Rowiński . Jan . The Polish October 1956 in World Politics . Jaskułowski . Tytus . Międzynarodowych . Polski Instytut Spraw . 2007 . PISM . 978-83-89607-21-8 . 22 . en.
2. Book: Kozdra, Jan . What Sort of Communists Are You?: The struggle between nationalism and ideology in Poland between 1944 and 1956 . BookBaby Publishing . 2017 . 978-1925515657 . 176 .
3. Book: Davies, Norman . God's Playground: A History of Poland. 1795 to the present . 1981 . Clarendon Press . 9780198225928 . en.
4. Book: Komunizm w Polsce: zdrada, zbrodnia, zakłamanie, zniewolenie. 2005 . Kluszczyński. 9788374470292. pl.
5. Book: Gerrits, André. The Myth of Jewish Communism: A Historical Interpretation. 2009. Peter Lang. 9789052014654. en.
6. Book: Schatz, Jaff. The Generation: The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Communists of Poland. 1991. University of California Press. 9780520071360. en.
7. Book: Irwin-Zarecka, Iwona. Neutralizing Memory: The Jew in Contemporary Poland. registration. 193. Chamy i Żydy.. 1990-01-01. Transaction Publishers. 9781412829526. en.
8. Book: Gross, Jan Tomasz. Fear: Anti-semitism in Poland After Auschwitz ; an Essay in Historical Interpretation. registration. 30. Witold Jedlicki chamy i żydy.. 2007. Random House Trade Paperbacks. 9780812967463. en.
9. Book: Nowak, Jerzy Robert. Zagrożenia dla Polski i polskości. 1998. Inicjatywa Wydawn. "ad astra,". 9788387538873. pl.
10. Book: Jedlicki, Witold. "Chamy" i "Żydy". 1980. Wydawnictwo Krąg. pl.
11. News: "Puławianie" i "natolińczycy". Rzeczpospolita.