Warsaw 1968On 8 March 1968, students from Warsaw University launched protests that unleashed an anti-Semitic campaign by the communist authorities which resulted in the emigration of approximately 20,000 Polish Jews from the country.
The initial demonstrations pertained to a ban on one of Poland’s most fabled plays, Dziady (Forefathers) by 19th century poet, Adam Mickiewicz, Poland’s national bard.
The communist authorities held that anti-Russian elements in the play were consequently intolerably anti-Soviet.
On March 8, about 1500 students gathered at Warsaw University to call for freedom of speech, but the protest was broken up by riot police.
Some of the protesters were of Jewish background, and as demonstrations rippled across the country, the regime launched an ‘anti-Zionist’ campaign, blaming Jews and Jewish sympathisers for unrest in the country.
The regime had reacted with unease when a large of proportion Poles had cheered Israel’s victory over then Soviet allies (Egypt, Syria and Jordan) during the Six Day War of 1967.
Thousands of Polish citizens with Jewish backgrounds lost their jobs, and pressure was applied to force emigration. All of the 15,000 to 20,000 that did emigrate were given one-way passports.
The campaign also provided the communist government with the opportunity to purge the party of a number of prominent figures of Jewish background, concluding a bitter power struggle.
Following the fall of the Iron Curtain, Poland instituted measures that allowed the 1968-70 emigres to reapply for citizenship. A minority of controversial figures, including Stalinist prosecutor Stefan Michnik, remain beyond the pale, and Poland has called for their extradition. (nh/pg)
Source: PAP