Gomulka, Wladyslaw
Gomułka, Władysław
(vwädĭs`wäf gəmo͝o`kə), 1905–82, Polish Communist leader. Long a Communist, he helped establish the Polish Workers' party and was (1943–49) secretary of its central committee. After World War II, he served (1945–49) as deputy premier of Poland. A Polish nationalist, he was purged in 1949 for alleged sympathy with the Yugoslav Communist leader, Josip Broz TitoTito, Josip Broz, 1892–1980, Yugoslav Communist leader, marshal of Yugoslavia. He was originally Josip Broz. Rise to Power
The son of a blacksmith in a Croatian village, Tito fought in Russia with the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I and was captured by
..... Click the link for more information. , and was arrested in 1951. Freed in 1954, he was readmitted (1956) to the United Workers' (Communist) party. In Oct., 1956, on the wave of Polish resentment of USSR domination, Gomułka became first secretary of the party despite Soviet pressures. From this post he dominated the Polish government, continuing close ties with the USSR but establishing greater freedom of action for Poland and bringing some social and economic liberalization. He was replaced as first secretary by Edward GierekGierek, Edward
, 1913–2001, Polish politician, b. Porąbka. His family emigrated to France, where he was raised. He joined the French Communist party in 1931 and was later deported to Poland for organizing a strike. He went to Belgium, joining the Communist party there.
..... Click the link for more information. in Dec., 1970, following widespread rioting by Polish workers in protest against food price increases announced by the government. In 1971 he was suspended from the party's central committee and removed from the council of state.
Gomułka, Władysław
(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.