Research Catalog

Title

Political dissent and opposition in Poland : the Workers' Defense Committee "KOR" / Robert Zuzowski.

Author

Zuzowski, Robert.

Publication

Wastport, CT. : Praeger, 1992.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

293 p., [10] p. of plates : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

Political dissent in Poland after World War II had changed considerably by the early 1980s. In the 1950s and 1960s it was characterized by spontaneity and lack of strategy; the opposite held true in the 1980s. The people of Poland became highly politicized and openly acting dissident organizations, hostile toward the communist state, flourished. Robert Zuzowski presents a comprehensive portrait of the unique pattern of dissent, exemplified by the Workers' Defense Committee KOR, which finally triumphed in Poland. He examines the rise of the opposition in Poland, a country which has experienced more political crises than any other East European nation. Zuzowski argues that KOR, by introducing an innovative approach to political dissent in Poland, contributed significantly to the transformation of Polish politics. The volume also explores dissent in Poland during the two decades prior to the formation of KOR. The reasons for the formation of the Workers' Defense Committee are analyzed and its activities from its inception until the summer of 1980 are chronicled. The author then examines the Committee's relations with the Roman Catholic Church and dissident organizations. Concluding chapters discuss KOR's formal dissolution and the organization's influence on Polish political culture. This volume will interest students of communism and/or sociopolitical change, as well as all those concerned with East European politics.

Subject

• Komitet Obrony Robotników > History
• Since 1945
• Dissenters > Poland > History
• Opposition (Political science) > Poland > History
• Poland > Politics and government > 1989-

Genre/Form

History

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

1: Introduction -- 2: Dissent in Poland, 1956-1976 -- 3: The Formation of KOR -- 4: KOR's Activity, September 1976-June 1980 -- 5: The Roman Catholic Church and KOR -- 6: KOR's Relations with Other Dissident Organizations -- 7: KOR and Solidarity, July 1980-September 1981 -- 8: KOR after KOR -- 9: Why Were There Organizations like KOR in Poland? -- 10: Conclusion: The Significance of KOR -- Appendix A. KOR Members -- Appendix B. An Interview with Wlodzimierz Schilling-Siengalewicz, Former Chairperson of the Seamen's and Deep-Sea Fishermen's Trade Union.

ISBN

0275941388 (alk. paper)

LCCN

^^^92002685^

OCLC

25245670

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library