Description
Counter-Revolution Within the Counter-Revolution by Spiro Dede is a valuable contribution to the study of Poland’s political crisis of the 1980s by examining the rise of Wladyslaw Gomulka, his removal, the period of Edward Gierek and the emergence of the “Solidarity” trade-union movement.
Rather than limiting itself to surface explanations, the book carefully outlines the deeper historical roots of Poland’s political trajectory. It highlights how the Polish United Workers’ Party abandoned Marxism-Leninism, how revisionism took hold and how concessions to the West created a crisis of dependency. It therefore makes clear that Poland’s internal difficulties cannot be separated from the wider international pressures of Anglo-American imperialism.
Particularly significant is Dede’s treatment of the role of the Catholic Church, the burden of Western loans and the compromises initiated after the 20th Congress of the CPSU. By tracing these developments step by step, the book shows how errors accumulated one by one, leading to the growth of forces openly hostile to socialism.
Most valuable of all is the book’s examination of the history of the Polish communist movement itself. By analysing its weaknesses before, during and after the Second World War, Dede reveals why the party proved vulnerable and how this shaped the later crisis after the death of Boleslaw Bierut. This historical depth makes the book not only a study of Poland, but an important contribution to understanding the broader challenges faced by communist and patriotic forces at that time.
Counter-Revolution Within the Counter-Revolution is an important text for readers interested in the history of the Polish crisis, the collapse of the people’s democracies and the long-term consequences of revisionism.