Wladyslaw Gomulka

(party pseudonym. Wiestaw). Born Feb. 6. 1905, in Krosno. Active in the Polish and international workers’ movement.

Gomulka was born into a worker’s family. In 1926 he joined the Communist Party of Poland. From 1926 to 1932 he was a leader of the trade union of chemical workers. In 1932 he was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, from which he was freed in 1934 for reasons of health. From 1934 to 1935 he studied at the Lenin International School in Moscow, after which he returned to Poland to work in the party. In 1936 he was again arrested, and he remained in prison until World War II (1939—45). After the occupation of Poland by fascist German troops he emigrated to the USSR. Early in 1942 he returned to Poland and took part in the organization of the Polish Workers’ Party (PWP). In 1942 he became secretary of the Warsaw Committee of the PWP and in the same year was chosen a member of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers’ Party (CC PWP). From 1943 to 1948 he was general secretary of the CC PWP. After the creation of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PUWP) in 1948. he was elected to the Central Committee (CC PUWP). He was removed from the CC PUWP at its third plenum in November 1949. From October 1956 to December 1970, Gomulka was first secretary of the CC PUWP.