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Lessons from the elections

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An initiative of the PZPR
Jan Józef Lipski Social activist
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However, the situation with PZPR [Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza (Polish United Workers' Party)] isn't entirely clear as far as I'm concerned. PZPR found itself being harried, somewhat by the situation in the Soviet Union but mainly by what was going on in Poland, by the fact that they hadn't managed to smash Solidarity and destroy the opposition and so they were faced with the need to make big changes. What do I find unclear? It's the fact that the proposal of the Round Table was made at a time when it looked as if the wave of strikes that began in August was dying out. This wasn't the end of that wave of strikes but there wasn't much hope of it suddenly expanding. In view of this, I don't fully know exactly what could have motivated the inner circle of the PZPR to make this move. Nevertheless, I believe that this solution was sensible both from the point of view of the country's interests as, I believe, from the point of view of the party itself. I think this decision to make concessions, compromises and to negotiate significantly extended the political life and political role of this party. Every political force had to take into account one thing: the need to aim for a compromise in order to avoid the worst scenario, that is, an explosion that would remove everything including the PZPR, or would make the party its first target, so I think the party leaders realised that it was better to come out with this kind of a proposal before it was too late, and it was a rational proposal.

Natomiast z PZPR-em dla mnie sytuacja nie jest zupełnie do końca jasna. PZPR znalazł się w sytuacji poganianej trochę przez sytuację w Związku Sowieckim, ale jeszcze bardziej przez sytuację w kraju, przez ten fakt, że nie udało mu się rozbić jednak „Solidarności”, zniszczyć opozycji, PZPR stał przed koniecznością dużych zmian. Co jest dla mnie niejasne? To, że propozycja Okrągłego Stołu pojawiła się w momencie, kiedy wyglądało na to, że fala sierpniowych strajków raczej przygasa. Nie był to koniec tej fali strajkowej, ale było mało nadziei na jej gwałtowne rozwinięcie się. W związku z tym ja nie wiem do końca i zupełnie, jakie mogły być motywy dla których najściślejsze kierownictwo PZPR-u zdecydowało się na ten manewr. No, niemniej jednak uważam, że rozwiązanie było rozsądne zarówno z punktu widzenia interesów kraju, jak myślę, że i z punktu widzenia również interesów samej partii. Myślę, że to przedłużyło znacznie życie polityczne i rolę polityczną tej partii – ta decyzja ustępstw, kompromisu, negocjacji. Każda siła polityczna musiała brać pod uwagę jedną rzecz – że trzeba dążyć do zawarcia kompromisu, by uniknąć najgorszego, to znaczy takiej eksplozji, która by zmiotła wszystko z PZPR-em, oczywiście, włącznie, albo na pierwszym miejscu właściwie; i myślę, że kierownictwo partii zdawało sobie z tego sprawę, że lepiej wystąpić z taką inicjatywą nim jest już za późno, ale inicjatywa była rozumna.

Jan Józef Lipski (1926-1991) was one of Poland's best known political activists. He was also a writer and a literary critic. As a soldier in the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. In 1976, following worker protests, he co-founded the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR). His active opposition to Poland's communist authorities led to his arrest and imprisonment on several occasions. In 1987, he re-established and headed the Polish Socialist Party. Two years later, he was elected to the Polish Senate. He died in 1991 while still in office. For his significant work, Lipski was honoured with the Cross of the Valorous (Krzyż Walecznych), posthumously with the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1991) and with the highest Polish decoration, the Order of the White Eagle (2006).

Listeners: Jacek Petrycki Marcel Łoziński

Cinematographer Jacek Petrycki was born in Poznań, Poland in 1948. He has worked extensively in Poland and throughout the world. His credits include, for Agniezka Holland, Provincial Actors (1979), Europe, Europe (1990), Shot in the Heart (2001) and Julie Walking Home (2002), for Krysztof Kieslowski numerous short films including Camera Buff (1980) and No End (1985). Other credits include Journey to the Sun (1998), directed by Jesim Ustaoglu, which won the Golden Camera 300 award at the International Film Camera Festival, Shooters (2000) and The Valley (1999), both directed by Dan Reed, Unforgiving (1993) and Betrayed (1995) by Clive Gordon both of which won the BAFTA for best factual photography. Jacek Petrycki is also a teacher and a filmmaker.

Film director Marcel Łoziński was born in Paris in 1940. He graduated from the Film Directing Department of the National School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź in 1971. In 1994, he was nominated for an American Academy Award and a European Film Academy Award for the documentary, 89 mm from Europe. Since 1995, he has been a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science awarding Oscars. He lectured at the FEMIS film school and the School of Polish Culture of Warsaw University. He ran documentary film workshops in Marseilles. Marcel Łoziński currently lectures at Andrzej Wajda’s Master School for Film Directors. He also runs the Dragon Forum, a European documentary film workshop.

Tags: PZPR, Polish United Workers' Party, Soviet Union, Round Table, Poland, Solidarity

Duration: 2 minutes, 10 seconds

Date story recorded: October 1989

Date story went live: 15 March 2011