Twórczość Henryka Sienkiewicza w ocenie Głównego Urzędu Kontroli Prasy, Publikacji i Widowisk (GUKPPiW)

Abstract

The 19th century classics were used in the People's Republic of Poland for educational and propaganda purposes. The authorities, however, took utmost care as to let the mass reader have only those items from the masterpieces of the 19th century writers that were believed to be consistent with the socialist doctrine or at least neutral towards it. The analysis of the reviews written by censors of the Main Office of Control of Press, Publications and Shows indicates that after 1945 the reception of Henryk Sienkiewicz's writings was manipulated at different levels. Among the many methods used by the censors the most extreme seems the deletion of political commentaries on Tsarist Russia from the collected edition of Sienkiewicz's Works edited by Julian Krzyżanowski. The anti-Russian and Christian purport of his writings was carefully concealed by the censorship in the profile of the Trilagy [Trylogia] author, whereas the works with predominantIy anti-German, anti-American or class-conflict (most of all between the peasantry and the gentry) purport would be eagerly publicised.