The Seeds of Triumph : Church and State in Gomulka's Poland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Diskin, Hannah.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Church and state--Catholic Church--History--20th century.

Church and state.

Church and state--Poland--History--20th century.

Communism and Christianity--Catholic Church--History.

Communism and Christianity.

Communism and Christianity--Poland--History.

Poland.

Poland--Church history--20th century.

Catholic Church.

Catholic Church--Poland--History--20th century.

Wyszyński, Stefan, 1901-1981.

Gomułka, Władysław, 1905-1982.

Wyszyński, Stefan.

Gomułka, Władysław.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (339 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Budapest : Central European University Press, 2001.

Summary:

The Roman Catholic Church has played a unique role in the history of Poland in the twentieth century: the people and the Church drew closer and closer together during Nazi rule, the Stalinist period and the somewhat milder, though strongly anti-religious and repressive Gomulka regime (1956-1970). The power struggle between the Church and the communist government did in fact play a role in shaping world politics, the Polish Church having been the force behind the opposition movement in Poland. Against this background, a Polish pope appeared and made a major contribution to the collapse of communism. The Seeds of Triumph, the most comprehensive recent book on the opposition of Church and State in post-war Poland, compares the characteristics and consequences of this relationship during three different periods: the first and second periods of Gomulka's rule, and the Stalinist era between the two Gomulka periods. It examines the balance of power, studying to what degree the Church and other factors in the political environment influenced governmental policy-making. The author disproves the common stereotype, held at the time, that domestic conditions played only a marginal role. In examining the regime's policies, she covers the legal background, the general policy characteristics, the specific policies implemented during the period, and the role of the individual actors, most notably the pivotal role of the two main protagonists, Cardinal Wyszynski and Wladislaw Gomulka. In her landmark study, Diskin makes a significant contribution to the study of authoritarian systems and greatly enhances our understanding of the centrality of the Church in recent Polish history.

The book points to the church-state conflict in Gomulka's Poland as the catalyst for events over the following decades, and as paving the way to the dramatic changes that took place in 1989.

Contents:

Frontmatter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables

Preface

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The First Period of Gomulka's Rule

2. The Stalinist Era

3. The Second Period of Gomulka's Rule

4. Conclusion

5. Epilogue: The Post-Gomulka Era

Notes

Bibliography

Interviews (1977-1997)

Index

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9789633864708

9633864704

OCLC:

1268441667