Poznań June

In 1956 in Poznań there was one of the biggest protest against communist government in Poland (which is also known as Poznań June or Poznań 1956 Uprising). It is said that one hundred thousand workers and inhabitants took part in demonstrations. About seventy people were killed during the protest.

After the II World War Poland was a country governed by a communist party. It was not elected in democratic vote. This government was imposed by the Soviet Union, which occupied Poland (as well as Czechoslovakia, East Germany or Hungary) after the II World War. Communist goverment nationalized factories and companies. They wanted to eliminate private property. People were not satisfied with this situation. They wanted to live in a normal, democratic country. In Poznań, they decided to show their displeasure.

There were a few causes of Poznań June. First, workers had to work very hard and it overstepped their possibilities. Second, they earned little money and they had problem with buying simple products eg. a bread or shoes. Third, workers remembered the situation before the II World War, when Poland had been a democratic country with capitalistic economy system and they knew, that people could live better.

In the morning of 28th June 1956 workers from the biggest factory in Poznań (Hipolit Cegielski Poznań) decided to begin demonstration. They organized a big march which finished on the main square in Poznan, near the Local Government Office and abode of communist party. There were about one hundred thousand people on this square! They wanted to change their bad life situation and talk with autohorities, but nobody wanted to answer.

[Workers during protest]

After a few hours, some participants resigned and went home, but some went to Jeżyce district, where was the local headquaters of the Ministry of Public Security (counterintelligence). This was the place where the riots began and authorities decided to fight back using an army. The protest was bloodily muted by ten thousand soldiers and four hundred tanks. Seventy people were killed.

The protest ended tragically, but the world got the information about the dramatic situation in Poland. It was caused by west journalists and guests, who took part in Poznań International Fair, which took place during these days in Poznań. After Poznań June, communists decided to liberalize internal politic. They announced the amnesty and a lot of politic prisoners were set free (eg. Primate – the head of Catholic Church in Poland - Stefan Wyszyński).

The situation in Poland turned out to be a sign for Hungarian people, who also wanted the liberalization of their political system. They started their uprising in Budapest, but it was muted by the Soviet Army. Today there is an important cooperation beetwen Poznań and Budapest – cities – symbols of 1956.

Poznań June was the begining of the communist collapse process in Poland. After just twelve years of communist governance in Poland, people decided to protest. The tradition of Poznań June is very important for Poznań's inhabitants. A lot of them know somebody who took part in this big demostration on 28th June 1956.

[Poznań June Monument. CC 3.0 Radomil]

There are a lot of monuments in Poznań, which commemorate Poznań June. The most important are Poznań's Crosses, which are located on the square, where people demonstrated in 1956. There is also the museum of Poznań June and probably we will visit it together on 11th March.