Natolinians

Natolinians
Natolińczycy
LeaderZenon Nowak
Aleksander Zawadzki
Stefan Jędrychowski
Mieczysław Moczar
Kazimierz Mijal
FoundedFebruary 1956; 70 years ago (1956-02)
DissolvedOctober 1956; 70 years ago (1956-10)
Ideology
Political positionFar-left
National affiliationPZPR
Natolin Palace, meeting-place of the Natolinians

The Natolinians, or the Natolinian faction (Polish: Natolińczycy, frakcja natolińska), were a grouping within the leadership of the communist Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR). Formed around 1956, shortly after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, it was named after the palace where its meetings were held, in Warsaw's Natolin district.

The main opposition to the Natolinians were the reformist Puławians, who included many PZPR members of Jewish extraction.

The Natolinians opposed the post-Stalinist liberalization program (the Polish October "thaw") and, as part of their strategy to seek power, voiced simplistic nationalist and pro-Soviet slogans. The best-known Natolinians included Franciszek Jóźwiak, Wiktor Kłosiewicz [pl], Zenon Nowak, Aleksander Zawadzki, Franciszek Mazur, Władysław Kruczek [pl], Kazimierz Mijal, Władysław Dworakowski, and Hilary Chełchowski. The Natolinian faction was also supported by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev because of their pro-Soviet stance.

After the 8th Plenum of the Central Committee of the PZPR, in October 1956, the Natolinians suffered a major setback when the First Secretary of the PZPR, Władysław Gomułka, chose to back (and be backed by) the Puławians.

Both factions, the Natolinians and the Puławians, disappeared from the political scene in the late 1950s.

Witold Jedlicki described the struggle between the Natolinians and the Puławians in his booklet, Simpletons and Yids (Chamy i Żydy).

Ideology

Natolinians have been described as ideologically Stalinist and conservative. They were also described as being characterized by right-wing nationalism, antisemitism, and chauvinistic nationalism. They denounced de-Stalinisation and attacked the reformist Pulawian factions, accusing them of being Jewish and unpatriotic. Natolinians included anti-revisionist currents of the PZPR, including followers of Hoxhaism. After the 1950s, many Natolinians would become the members of the national communist faction of Mieczysław Moczar, the Partisans. Moczar himself previously led the Natolinian faction.

References

  1. ↑ Rowiński, Jan [pl], Jaskułowski, Tytus (2007). The Polish October 1956 in World Politics. Polish Institute of International Affairs. p. 22. ISBN 978-83-89607-21-8.
  2. ↑ Stasiński, Maciej (26 February 2018). "Natolińczycy, puławianie, partyzanci. Frakcje polityczne w PZPR" [Natolians, Puławians, Partisans: Political Factions in the PZPR]. wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  3. ↑ "Natolińczycy | Wirtualny Sztetl". sztetl.org.pl. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  4. ↑ Pisze, Realan (7 April 2018). "Natolińczycy, puławianie, komandosi, rewizjoniści, syjoniści, Dziady / Jacek Jadacki, "Wielkopolski Kurier WNET" 46/2018". WNET.fm (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  5. ↑ Komunizm w Polsce: zdrada, zbrodnia, zakłamanie, zniewolenie (in Polish). Kluszczyński. 2005. ISBN 9788374470292.
  6. ↑ Bryk, Andrzej (2008-01-16). Krakowskie Studia Międzynarodowe 2008/1: The United States, the European Union and Modernity. Oficyna Wydawnicza AFM Krakowskie Towarzystwo Edukacyjne Sp. z o.o.
  7. ↑ Zblewski, Zdzisław (2001). Leksykon PRL-u (in Polish). Wydawn. Znak. ISBN 978-83-240-0010-4.
  8. ↑ "Poland: The Party and the Jews". Commentary Magazine. 1968-09-01. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
  9. ↑ Jedlicki, Witold (1981). Chamy i Żydy (in Polish). Studenckie Wydawnictwo "Vacat" przy NZS Politechniki Gdańskiej.
  10. ↑ Jedlicki, Witold (1980). "Chamy" i "Żydy" (in Polish). Wydawnictwo Krąg.
  11. 1 2 Szelegieniec, Paweł (2021). "The Rise and Fall of the Revolutionary Left in 'People's Poland': Kuroń, Modzelewski and the Struggle for Workers' Socialism under Post-Stalinism (1956–89)". Historical Materialism. 29 (2). Leiden: Brill: 149. doi:10.1163/1569206X-00001559.
  12. ↑ Mazurczak, Filip (2023). "Why we stayed: Polish Jews' reasons for remaining in Poland during two waves of postwar emigration". Wrocławski Rocznik Historii Mówionej. 13 (1). Central and Eastern European Online Library: 124. doi:10.26774/wrhm.366. ISSN 2084-0578. In 1964, Mieczysław Moczar, the head of the Natolin group, became the minister of the interior. Moczar was known to be an antisemite, and he opposed the Puławy group, believing it had an agenda inimical to Polish interests.