Edward Ochab
Edward Ochab | |
---|---|
Chairman of the Council of State of the People's Republic of Poland | |
In office 12 August 1964 – 10 April 1968 | |
Prime Minister | Józef Cyrankiewicz |
First Secretary | Władysław Gomułka |
Preceded by | Aleksander Zawadzki |
Succeeded by | Marian Spychalski |
Personal details | |
Born | Kraków, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (now Poland) | 16 August 1906
Died | 1 May 1989 Warsaw, Polish People's Republic | (aged 82)
Resting place | Powązki Military Cemetery, Warsaw |
Political party | Communist Party of Poland (1929–1938) Polish Workers' Party (1942–1948) Polish United Workers' Party (1948–1968) |
Spouse | Rachela née Silbiger (1907–96) |
Edward Ochab (Polish: [ˈɛdvart ˈɔxap]; 16 August 1906 – 1 May 1989) was a Polish communist politician and top leader of Poland between March and October 1956.
As a member of the
Between 1949 and 1950, General Ochab was deputy minister of defense and led the political branch of the
During Ochab's rule the process of the post-Stalinist "thaw" was well under way, but the first secretary also played a role in authorizing the violent suppression of the
Edward Ochab resigned all of his party and state offices, and withdrew from politics in 1968, in protest of the anti-Semitic campaign conducted by factions within the communist party with First Secretary Gomułka as its head. In his retirement he remained a dedicated hardline communist, but also a vocal critic of the policies pursued by the regimes of his successors.
Early life and career
Edward Ochab was born in Kraków on 16 August 1906. His father was a clerical official at the central offices of Kraków police. In Kraków Edward completed elementary and in 1925 secondary (the Trade Academy) education. In 1926–1927 he attended and graduated from a higher course in cooperative science at the Agricultural Department of the Jagiellonian University. From September 1925, he was employed in a cooperative rural association in Wieliczka. In 1928 became manager in a cooperative enterprise in Radom.[3]
Ochab was drafted and in June 1928 sent to a military school, but was judged there to be of a subversive attitude, apparently a declared communist, permanently employed in worker cooperatives. The school released him in October. Ochab returned to manage his Radom cooperative until February 1930.[3]
Activist in the Communist Party of Poland
Ochab became a member of the
Ochab married a fellow communist activist, Rachela Silbiger, a nurse from a "poor and simple" Jewish family. They had four daughters, born in the 1930s and 1940s.[4]
On 7 September 1939, the German forces were approaching Warsaw and the guards in the Warsaw prison where Ochab was held fled. Released by fellow inmates he traveled toward Garwolin, but having found out about Warsaw's defense preparations returned to the capital to participate. On 11 September Ochab joined a workers' defense regiment and fought in the poorly armed unit until the city's capitulation.[4]
To continue his party work and to protect his wife Ochab then decided to move into the territories controlled by the Soviet Union. He had met "thousands of comrades" (although many perished in Stalin's purges), was thoroughly familiar with the situation on the Polish Left and was ready to get engaged in the rebuilding of the Polish revolutionary movement. With others who shared their point of view, the Ochabs on 2 October embarked on a trip to Siedlce, and from there went to Lwów.[4]
In the Soviet Union
Ochab lived and worked in Lviv until June 1941. He organized there a small circle of Polish communist sympathizers, but in June approached the Soviet authorities declaring readiness to return to Nazi-occupied Poland for conspiratorial work. However, Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Ochab volunteered for the Red Army and was assigned to an auxiliary unit. In winter his health problems reappeared and caused him to return to civilian work in the Polish section of a Soviet foreign language publishing institute. In May 1943 the enterprise was moved to Moscow. Ochab became active in the newly formed Union of Polish Patriots there, leading its administrative-economic department.[5]
As the pro-Soviet and communist controlled Polish armed forces were being formed in the Soviet Union, in June 1943 Ochab joined the
Party and state official 1944–1956
In July 1944 in Lublin Ochab became an official plenipotentiary of the command of the First Polish Army. In September he was promoted to the post of the Army's deputy commander for political affairs. He claimed having participated in the military struggle for Warsaw and in the drive to push across the Vistula at that time. In November Ochab was discharged from the army and directed to work for the Polish Committee of National Liberation, the nascent communist government, where he became deputy chief of the Public Administration Department. From the beginning of 1945 the PKWN was turned into the Provisional Government and Ochab was an undersecretary in the Ministry of Public Administration, advancing in April to the post of minister.[6] As the plenipotentiary general for the Recovered Territories (previously German lands assumed by Poland), on 25 June 1945 Ochab issued a directive banning and threatening penalties for persecution of Germans still present there or applying repressions like the ones used by the Nazi Germany against Poles.[7] He left the government at the end of June, when it became the Provisional Government of National Unity.[6]
Afterwards Ochab was a member of the Secretariat and held the position of propaganda chief of the PPR (1945–1946) and of first secretary of the regional PPR branch in Katowice (1946–1948). He returned to his cooperative and worker activities, as chief of worker cooperative associations in 1947–1948, and chief of the Central Council of Trade Unions in 1948–1949. In December 1948, the PPR and the Polish Socialist Party became the single Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), which was to rule Poland until 1989. In the new party Ochab became a deputy member of the Politburo (1948–54).[1][6]
In one more turn of Ochab's military career, on 1 April 1949 President Bolesław Bierut named him a general and first deputy minister of defense. Minister Michał Rola-Żymierski was replaced in November 1949 by Konstantin Rokossovsky, a Soviet marshal of Polish origin. From January 1950, at the time of increasing Sovietization of the Polish military, Ochab led the political division of the armed forces. In June Rokossovsky discharged him from active military service and from his assignments at the Ministry of Defense.[6]
In 1950–1952 Ochab chaired the Polish–Soviet Friendship Society. He was secretary of the Central Committee from 1950, responsible for the area of ideology. From 1952 he also led the Central Committee's supervision of the military's political division.[6]
At that time and later in his career Ochab had a tendency to express his views in radical and uncompromising terms. When Cardinal
At the PZPR's Second Congress in March 1954, Ochab finally became a full Politburo member. By many in the party he was considered an "heir apparent" and was ready to take over when First Secretary Bierut died in Moscow in March 1956.[6]
First secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party
First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union attended Bierut's funeral and stayed in Warsaw to participate in the deliberations of the PZPR Central Committee's 6th Plenum, charged with electing a new first secretary. Aleksander Zawadzki was the other major candidate, but in the end Edward Ochab was chosen unanimously on 20 March. Ochab was seen as a compromise candidate by the rival Puławy and Natolin factions of the party. Soon he was perceived as connected with the more liberal Puławy group.[8]
In June 1956 Ochab attended a Comecon gathering of leaders in Moscow. He displayed there his confrontational style when responding to accusations of the supposedly inadequate supplies of coal from Poland. But the encounter also made him doubt his long term suitability as a first secretary.[8]
After the PZPR's 6th Plenum and Ochab's election the processes of de-Stalinization in Poland entered their accelerated phase. The press critically discussed the previously prohibited subjects. The party was split and preoccupied with its internal affairs. The Sejm (national legislature), until then unable to exercise any real influence, used the opportunity and declared wide amnesty, which included in the first place the trespasses of political nature. By 20 May, a half of the 70,000 prisoners nationwide found themselves free. Numerous officials deemed responsible for the Stalinist abuses were removed from their positions, including Berman, who resigned as a Politburo member in early May. Segments of Polish society, including intellectuals, youth (especially academic), and even heavy industry workers were in a state of agitation and reclaiming their inherent and sovereign rights, known in Polish as podmiotowość.[8]
What was happening under Ochab's watch turned out not to be a semi-controlled evolution of the system, because on 28 June workers in
Central Committee's 7th Plenum deliberated in the second half of July. It placed partial blame for the Poznań protests on bureaucratic and economic errors. Liberalization and democratization were discussed and the decision was made to readmit to the party the previously expelled Gomułka, Spychalski and Kliszko. Gomułka's "right-wing nationalist deviation" charge was upheld, but both the Puławy and Natolin factions were promoting the idea of his return to power. Ochab, who in 1948 strongly attacked Gomułka, was now overcoming his personal objections and evolving toward entrusting the former PPR chief a high office. On 31 July, delegated by the Politburo, Ochab and Zawadzki had their initial meeting with Gomułka that lasted several hours. Subsequently, the Polish Radio broadcast the information of Gomułka's return to the party.[8]
In September Ochab told Józef Cyrankiewicz to offer Gomułka a position that Cyrankiewicz would be competent to offer. Cyrankiewicz offered Gomułka his own job, that of prime minister. Gomułka thought the move was premature and rejected the proposition. It became apparent to the PZPR establishment that Gomułka was aiming at replacing Ochab as first secretary. Gomulka was invited to participate in Politburo conferences that took place on 12, 15 and 17 October.[8]
The 8th Plenum was summoned for 19 October. The public was informed of the date and of Gomułka's participation in the Politburo meetings by the Polish Press Agency. A statute Ochab submitted to be presented to the Plenum was criticized by Roman Zambrowski and Zawadzki. The majority of the Politburo members voted to reduce the body to nine members and the proposed list did not include Minister Rokossovsky.[8]
The Soviets were increasingly worried by the plans of the leadership of the PZPR and the Soviet ambassador presented on 17 October Nikita Khrushchev's "invitation" for the Polish leaders to immediately visit Moscow. Ochab objected to the timing and refused to make the trip. The Soviets reacted with the announcement (18 October) of Khrushchev's and the Soviet delegation's arrival in Warsaw on 19 October, the day the 8th Plenum was set to begin its deliberations. On 18 October the Polish Politburo, unhappy with the perspective of Soviet meddling (or the appearance of such meddling) with the Plenum debate, designated Ochab, Cyrankiewicz, Zawadzki and Gomułka to greet the Soviets at the airport.[8]
Their arrival was preceded by ominous military moves. Soviet formations present in Poland were moving toward Warsaw and were stopped less than one hundred kilometers from the capital. Units in
The 8th Plenum conducted some introductory business and suspended deliberations to allow the leadership to attend the separate talks with the Soviet leaders. The negotiations with the Soviets were very difficult and lasted until 1 AM. Khrushchev objected to the planned Politburo changes and the lack of "fraternal consultations", including the removal of Marshal Rokossovsky, noticed the increased activity of anti-Soviet elements in Poland and threatened an active military intervention. Ochab replied that the Soviet leaders themselves would not consult changes in their leadership with the Poles. He, Gomułka, Cyrankiewicz and Zambrowski tried to reassure the Soviets that their interests were not under threat. During a break the Soviet delegation went to its embassy for internal talks and took Minister Rokossovsky with them.[8]
After their return the Soviets displayed a more friendly approach, but Khrushchev was worried that Gomułka, the presumed next Polish communist party leader, might be a social democrat. Gomułka, replied Cyrankiewicz, combined Polish patriotism with loyalty to the Soviet Union. Ochab told Khrushchev that under the circumstances Gomułka was the best choice to lead the country, denying the Soviets the hope of taking advantage of a split within the Polish party. The conciliatory but unyielding attitude displayed by the Polish negotiators and the widespread popular support they were obviously enjoying convinced the Soviet Presidium to cancel the military moves in progress and defer further negotiations to Gomułka's agreed visit in Moscow in November. Early on 20 October the Soviet delegation departed, letting the 8th Plenum continue its business undisturbed.[8]
Ochab decided not to oppose Gomułka's rise to power, because he realized that a divided party would give the Soviets a perfect excuse to intervene. He could have easily allied himself with Marshal Rokossovsky and other discarded Politburo members, but he placed Poland's interests over his own career. In his own mind, Ochab rightfully submitted to the will of the Politburo and the Central Committee. He was no fan of Gomułka and felt that promoting Gomułka as the savior of Poland, unavoidably in the making, would be demeaning to the entire Polish party. But Edward Ochab did all he could to save Poland from tragic events on a mass scale, like the ones that were soon experienced by Hungary.[8]
Work in agriculture and as head of state
Ochab remained a member of the new, reduced in size Politburo. He was seen as close to the factions of Zambrowski and Gomułka in the party. In May 1957, already after the previous collectivization of Polish agriculture had been largely reversed, he became the minister of agriculture. At that time Ochab supported individual farmers and their small associations, not the large cooperatives previously favored by the state. The weaker of the state-owned State Agricultural Farms (PGR) Ochab turned into cooperative units. In October 1959 Ochab gave up his ministerial position, but continued his supervisory role in the same area as a secretary of the Central Committee responsible for agricultural affairs.[9]
In addition, in 1961 Ochab became deputy chairman of the
March 1968
The events in Poland usually described under the March 1968 heading actually began after the Six-Day War between Israel and the Arab countries in June 1967. On 19 June First Secretary Gomułka spoke in Warsaw to a labor union congress and implicitly referred to the Polish Jewish population as the fifth column. Ochab insisted that the term should be deleted from the published transcript of the speech, and it was.[10]
The widely publicized student demonstrations in Warsaw took place on 8 March 1968. On 19 March, Gomułka delivered another major televised speech. Reviewing with other Politburo members its text in advance, Ochab objected to Gomułka's reference to "student youth of Jewish origin". The Jewish youth were justifiably sensitive because of the millions of Jews killed in Poland during World War II, he argued.[10]
Ochab's and Gomułka's wives were Jewish, but unlike Gomułka, Ochab displayed no tolerance for the antisemitic excesses. To protest the policies pursued in 1967–68 in Poland he decided to resign all of his state and party offices, effectively retiring from political life. He wrote appropriate letters to the Politburo and the Sejm and had a final conversation with Gomułka, Cyrankiewicz and Kliszko. He wrote of the "antisemitic campaign organized by the various reactionary elements, yesterday's
In retirement
Ochab first proceeded to safeguard the documents that secured his historical role, the forty years he had been active in the communist movement. He witnessed
He carefully observed the dealings of the new leadership of Edward Gierek. When the Party Guidelines were published before its Sixth Congress and the rank and file was asked to debate them, Ochab took advantage of the opportunity and typed up on 30 September 1971 several pages of Introductory Critical Comments. The letter, which included reformist, revisionist or social democratic ideas, caused an uproar because it was soon published by the Polish émigré Kultura journal in Paris under the title Edward Ochab in the Opposition.[11]
The former first secretary criticized the advancing for managerial party and state jobs of cynical career-oriented people, serving only the autocrat (Gomułka) and his circle. He called for measures preventing such "deformations" now and in the future. He proposed a radical reduction in the scope and budget of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a removal from positions of responsibility of "non-reformable bureaucrats, career-minded people, hooded
From 13 November 1971 to 19 January 1972 Ochab and his wife took a Western Europe coast and Mediterranean Sea cruise on board a Polish merchant ship. During the journey they were closely followed by the Polish secret services, but the government picked up its entire cost.[11]
In October 1977, Ochab was one of the signatories of the letter addressed to First Secretary Gierek and the Politburo. It was signed by a group of intellectuals and former party activists and was highly critical of Gierek team's political and economic record. The letter referred to the protests of the previous year and called for fundamental political and democratizing reforms. Repressions and restrictions would only aggravate the crisis, the authors wrote, and open societal dialog was necessary. Free elections to the Sejm and local councils and especially close partnership with labor unions were urged as prerequisites to any real improvement in the country's precarious internal situation.[11]
In November 1979, as the PZPR's Eighth Congress was approaching, Ochab wrote a ten-page letter To Comrades Communists, which
Edward Ochab died on 1 May 1989, between the conclusion of the
Awards and honors
- Polish People's Republic:
- Order of the Builders of People's Poland
- Order of the Banner of Work(1st class)
- Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari
- Order of the Cross of Grunwald (2nd class)
- Order of the Cross of Grunwald (3rd class)
- Cross of Valour
- Gold Cross of Merit
- Silesian Uprising Cross
- Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
- Medal "For Your and Our Freedom"
- Other countries:
- Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland (Finland)
- Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
- Order of the Red Star (Soviet Union)
- Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
References
- ^ a b c d Wielka Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN [The Great Universal Encyclopedia PWN] vol. 8, Polish Scientific Publishers, Warszawa 1966
- ^ http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media/files/Przeglad_Historyczny/Przeglad_Historyczny-r1994-t85-n1_2/Przeglad_Historyczny-r1994-t85-n1_2-s123-133/Przeglad_Historyczny-r1994-t85-n1_2-s123-133.pdf
- ^ ISBN 978-83-7700-042-7, pp. 103–107
- ^ a b c d Jerzy Eisler, Siedmiu wspaniałych poczet pierwszych sekretarzy KC PZPR [The Magnificent Seven: First Secretaries of KC PZPR], pp. 107–110
- ^ a b Jerzy Eisler, Siedmiu wspaniałych poczet pierwszych sekretarzy KC PZPR [The Magnificent Seven: First Secretaries of KC PZPR], pp. 110–113
- ^ a b c d e f g Jerzy Eisler, Siedmiu wspaniałych poczet pierwszych sekretarzy KC PZPR [The Magnificent Seven: First Secretaries of KC PZPR], pp. 113–116
- ISBN 978-83-63855-61-1, p. 158
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Jerzy Eisler, Siedmiu wspaniałych poczet pierwszych sekretarzy KC PZPR [The Magnificent Seven: First Secretaries of KC PZPR], pp. 116–141
- ^ a b Jerzy Eisler, Siedmiu wspaniałych poczet pierwszych sekretarzy KC PZPR [The Magnificent Seven: First Secretaries of KC PZPR], pp. 141–143
- ^ a b c Jerzy Eisler, Siedmiu wspaniałych poczet pierwszych sekretarzy KC PZPR [The Magnificent Seven: First Secretaries of KC PZPR], pp. 143–150
- ^ a b c d e f g Jerzy Eisler, Siedmiu wspaniałych poczet pierwszych sekretarzy KC PZPR [The Magnificent Seven: First Secretaries of KC PZPR], pp. 150–165
- ^ Barker, Colin. "The rise of Solidarnosc". International Socialism, Issue: 108. Retrieved 10 July 2006.
See also
- Chaim Wolnerman, "Water Carriers" [1]
- The New York Times, 3 May 1989, "Edward Ochab Is Dead; Poland Ex-Official" [2]
- Them: Stalin's Polish Puppets by Teresa Torańska