Funkcjonowanie opozycyjnych partii politycznych w realiach Polski Ludowej. Wybrane przykłady

Abstract

The article discusses the functioning of selected organizations that described themselves as political parties in the Polish People’s Republic. In the introduction, it sketches the picture of “closing” the political system in Poland after World War II. It shows the initiatives aiming at reconstruction of the political parties that worked legally in the period of the Second Polish Republic and the outcome of their activities. Then, it discusses the history of the Confederation of Independent Poland, the first party since Mikołajczyk’s Polish People’s Party that defined itself as a political party. The next element is presentation of selected examples of initiatives undertaken during the existence of the Independent Self-governing Trade Union “Solidarity” that aimed at the creation of political parties. Then, the article discusses organizations that were created after the imposition of the martial law, such as the Polish Independence Party or the Polish Socialist Party. In all cases, the programme goals are described and the leaders of the created “parties” are presented. The article ends with a short attempt of summing up the activities of the discussed organizations and bitter ascertainment that none of them participated in the government after 1989.