A workers view of Poland from Łódź in 1986 (191)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

Documentary, History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2021

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Evan McGilvray has written a number of books on Poland as well as biographies. He is well versed in Poland and Polish society and away from the usual locations of Krakow and Warsaw. Evan first visited Poland in 1986, 5 years after the declaration of martial law which triggered the suppression of the free trade union Solidarity in December 1981. He visited some friends he had made via correspondence, who lived in the city of Łódź. He provides us with a great insight away from the intelligentsia as his friends were workers. We hear in some detail how the communist party was perceived, life as a worker, as well as views on Lech Walesa and Solidarity. In the 1990s Evan interviewed General Jaruzelski, who as First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party (aka the communist party) gave the martial law order in 1981 and remained head of state until 1989. Extra info, and videos are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode191/ If you are enjoying the podcast please tell your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners. Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved before they are lost. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Peter Ryan is our host today and I am delighted to welcome Evan McGilvray to our Cold War conversation… If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook. 0:00 Introduction 3:00 Interview with Evan McGilvray: His interest in Poland and first impressions 16:45 Life in Poland: The average worker, shopping, self-sufficiency, and popular culture 26:16 Surveillance and influence of the Catholic church in Poland 29:07 Impressions and interactions with the communist regime in Poland 33:05 Impressions of the Soviet Union and Russian forces in Poland 36:21 Impressions of Lech Walesa in Poland and his transition to mainstream 40:19 Contacts with solidarity in Poland and encounters with General Jaruzelski 44:56 General Jaruzelski's efforts to correct the record 49:33 Reminder to check out extra information and videos Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:05.8	Cardinal Vashinsky, he said to the secret police who were about to listen to his sermon,
0:12.5	he just pointed to the two secret police guys and says,
0:15.2	gentlemen, it's a long sermon today. You need two rills.
0:21.6	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:26.0	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War
0:30.7	History accounts. Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app.
0:36.5	Evan Gilvray has written a number of books on Poland as well as biographies.
0:41.7	He's well versed in Poland and Polish society and away from the usual locations of Krakow and Warsaw.
0:49.6	Evan first visited Poland in 1986, five years after the declaration of martial law which
0:57.0	triggered the suppression of the Free Trade Union Solidarity in December 1981. He visited some friends,
1:05.0	he had made via correspondence, who lived in the city of Wudge, the third largest city in Poland and an industrial centre.
1:13.6	He provides us with great insight away from the intelligentsia as his friends were workers.
1:19.6	We hear in some detail how the Communist Party was perceived, life as a worker,
1:25.6	as well as views on Lech Valenza and Solidarity.
1:29.3	In the 1990s Evan interviewed General Yaroselsky who as first Secretary of the Polish United Workers Party,
1:37.3	also known as the Communist Party, gave the martial law order in 1981 and remained head of state until 1989.
1:47.8	If you're enjoying the podcast, please share it with your friends.
1:52.0	It really does help us grow the number of listeners.
1:56.6	Now, I do need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold War
2:01.9	and ensure that they are preserved before they are lost.
2:05.7	If you can spare it, I'm asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month
	...

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