Between the defence of freedom and the road to revolution. The teacher's strike of 1937

Abstract

In March 1936, a Soviet edition of the youth periodical „Płomyk" was pub- lished. Some papers of that time denounced it as a part of the Soviet prop­aganda. To defend their good name, the publishers of the periodical sued one of such newspapers, but they lost the case. A year and a half later, in September 1937, the government suspended the Executive Board of Polish Teachers' Union (ZNP) and appointed an administrator. One of the charg­es, along with financial inaccuracies, was that the organization harboured pro-communist political sympathies.

In response to the government's actions, some of the members of the Executive Board organized a sit-in, soon followed by teachers and many trade unions as well political organizations. The strike proved successful. First, the government pulled out on the previous appointment and assigned a new administrator. Subsequently, the Polish Teacher's Union convention appointed a new Executive Board, composed of key pre-strike activists.

For activists closely connected with the ZNP, government's activities constituted an attempt to curb trade union liberties, and the industrial ac- tion was merely an act of defence of freedom and civil liberties. However, one can find traces of the Polish Communist Party's direct contacts with strike initiators can and their aspirations, at least in the case of certain ac- tivists such as Wanda Wasilewska and Janina Broniewska, to escalate the conflict and call a general strike.