Kraków Uprising of 1923

an uprising of the workers of Kraków on Nov. 6, 1923, during an upsurge in the workers’ movement in Poland. On October 31 the Polish government decided to introduce a state of emergency and institute field court-martial. The Communist Party called the workers to a decisive struggle, and on November 5 a political strike began throughout the country. The Kraków authorities forbade the rally planned for November 6 at the Workers’ House (Trade Unions Building). They ordered police and troops to the meeting place, and the troops opened fire on the workers. After disarming the soldiers, the workers pushed back the police, repelled the attacks of three squadrons of uhlans, and seized an armored car. Toward the evening of November 6, the city’s working-class section was controlled by the insurgents. The leaders of the Polish Socialist Party, after concluding an agreement with the authorities, disarmed the insurgents by a ruse on November 7. The uprising was the culmination of the workers’ movement in Poland at that time.