Cenzura wobec tematu drugiej wojny światowej w literaturze polskiej (1958–1980)

Abstract

The book analyses the censorship of World War II in Polish literature between 1958 and 1980, which falls under the remit of literary research on censorship in the People’s Republic of Poland. Its primary purpose is to examine the practices employed by the Main Control Office of Press, Publication and Performances (GUKPPiW) in relation to literary works concerning events from 1939–1945 and the immediate post-war era. This discussion is based on archival research conducted at the Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw. The book is divided into three sections, which correspond to the following sub-periods: 1958–1966; the period around March 1968; and 1971–1980. The first part outlines the research objectives, reviews the existing literature on censorship in the Polish People’s Republic, describes documents from the GUKPPiW collection in the Archives of Modern Records, and details the process of collecting and selecting source materials. The second part provides a typology of censorship interventions and offers a detailed analysis of censorship relating to the subject of war in Polish literature between 1958 and 1980. Using examples of the most common censorship interventions at that time, the author attempts to demonstrate the extent of the censorship of war-related literature and highlight similarities in the strategies employed by the GUKPPiW. The literary texts presented in this section provide an overview of the interference that took place during the specified sub-periods. They share a common theme and were published under similar methods employed by officials. The censorship changes made to the works of authors such as Miron Białoszewski, Tadeusz Borowski, Kazimierz Brandys, Andrzej Brycht, Stanisław Grochowiak, Józef Hen, Jan Kurczab, Tadeusz Nowak, Jerzy Putrament, Artur Sandauer, Tadeusz Słupecki, Bogdan Wojdowski and Joanna Żwirska have been highlighted. The discussion also touched upon lesser-known writers’ texts, as these were equally important to officials. One example is the memoirs of former Home Army (Armia Krajowa) soldiers. Due to their affiliation with the Home Army, the authors’ work was subjected to numerous changes in an attempt to diminish its achievements and emphasise the involvement of the People’s Guard and the People’s Army in armed clashes and the regaining of independence. A notable aspect of the censors’ “corrections” was the inclusion of critical remarks about the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile, portrayed as adversarial to left-wing forces collaborating with the Soviet Army in Poland. The dissertation also includes three subsections entitled In the Margins: Not Only Fiction, which describe the censors’ interference in scientific and popular science texts. These subsections supplement information on the censorship of literary works in the People’s Republic of Poland during World War II. The third part of the dissertation is devoted to cases that are special for various reasons. It focuses on works that were subject to censorship for many years, with the level of intervention becoming increasingly severe depending on the socio-political situation and the author’s position, as well as works that were subject to unusual strategies of controlling speech. It discusses the works of Henryk Grynberg, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz and Kazimierz Moczarski.