Liberating the Proletariat from Soviet-Style Transformation: Socialist Humanism in Poland, 1945-1956

• In Event: Developing Liberty: Dimensions of East Central Europe's Transformations in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Abstract

World War II was a turning point in the intellectual life of Poland, causing a revaluation of pre-war assumptions. The importance of interpersonal bonds in the workplace had been paradoxically strengthened by the radically utilitarian and dehumanizing policy of Nazi Germany in the occupied economy. After the war this experience formed a backbone of opposition not only against the capitalist goal of pure productivity, but also against the relentless industrialization of communism. In fact battling for the ideas of socialist humanism was an obligation for the Polish communist government seeking to transform the country into Soviet style socialism. Thus liberation from dehumanization in the workplace became a political and indeed a practical issue.

Author

• Bartłomiej Kapica, Pilecki Institute (Poland)