Public Knowledge in Cold War Poland : Scholarly Battles and the Clash of Virtues, 1945–1956

This book explores the public debates among scholars that took place in Early Cold War Poland. The author challenges the traditional narrative on the ‘Sovietisation'of Central and Eastern European countries and proposes to see this process not as a spread of Marxist ideology or a Soviet institutional model, but as an attempt to force scholars to rapidly adopt new academic and civic virtues. This book argues that this project failed to succeed in Poland and shows how the struggle against these new virtues united both Marxist and non-Marxist scholars. While covering the arc of Polish scholarly debates, the author invites the reader to go beyond Poland and to use ‘virtues'as a framework for reflections on both the foundations of scholarly practice and the ‘nature'of authoritarian regimes with their ambition to teach scholars how to be ‘virtuous.' Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Introduction What the book is about How the history of post-war Poland has been written How ‘virtues’ can open a new perspective on the history of public knowledge What is new in this book? Structure of the book 1. From the War to the ‘Gentle Revolution’ Stalin’s ‘Polish Project’ and ‘Missionary-Intellectuals’ The ‘gentle revolution’ project and the virtue of ‘progressiveness’ Łódź as an intellectual oasis of ‘new Poland’ ‘Kuźnica’ and the ‘radical cultural programme’ ‘Scientific’ anti-authoritarianism and political ambitions of Polish sociology Trying to avoid isolation: Catholic groups in the intellectual landscape of Poland Bolesław Piasecki and ‘progressive Catholics’ 2. The Many Faces of the Soviet Union The ‘guidelines’ of propaganda ‘Discovering’ Russian culture in a non-Stalinist way Soviet scholarship as a foreign world The ‘friend’ and the ‘argument’: The use of the ‘Soviet Union’ 3. The Teachers of Virtues: The French and the Early Post-War Project How are we seen? Representing Poland in France The French teach the Poles and vice versa French heroes of the Polish Catholic agenda Catholics ‘should’ adopt the French example 4. The Polish Intelligentsia and an Anti-Authoritarian Vision of Society The treason against ‘progressiveness' Between nation and academia The anti-authoritarian vision of the ‘new’ intelligentsia 5. Between ‘Outdated’ Marxism and ‘Updated’ Catholicism Uncertain steps of Marxism ‘Quasi-religion’ and ‘anti-progressive’ Marxism The Marxian response Unequal opponents: Catholics vs. Marxists The fragile ‘compromise’ on ‘non-reactionary’ Catholicism 6. The ‘Failed’ Quest for Unity The Cold War context and the tightening of the regime Disciplining ‘public discussions’: All roads lead to the Soviet Union The Wrocław Congress and the defeat of the ‘gentle revolution’ Reshaping the public life An unfortunate quest for ‘concordia’ 7. The School of ‘New Virtues’ The power and powerlessness of institutions The missionaries of new virtues Fighting the ‘stubbornness’ of non-Marxist scholars Can a ‘non-virtuous’ scholar write a textbook? The headstrong ‘students’ and failed teaching 8. ‘1956’ as a ‘Diagnosis’ and ‘Prognosis’ Losing the control over the public sphere The quest for honesty Between France and the Soviet Union, there is ... Poland Polish academics and the fiasco of Stalinisation Adam Schaff and his good conscience Schaff’s students against Stalinist virtues Epilogue:The Concept of Virtues as a Lens Virtuous battles in post-war Poland Looking beyond Poland Bibliography Index