Endokomuna or , translated as Endo-Communism, is a term used to describe an ideology within the Polish United Workers' Party, the dominant political party of the Polish People's Republic from 1948 to 1989. Initially used to describe a faction, it is now also used to denote the period during which it became the de facto ruling ideology of Poland. The term itself, endokomuna or , is a portmanteau of (National Democracy) and komuna ("commune", in the meaning of "communism"). Described as a "peculiar marriage of authoritarian Communism and chauvinist nationalist tendencies", it represented a dogmatic approach to Marxism–Leninism (i.e.: it opposed de-Stalinization) combined with the ultranationalism and social conservatism of the prewar Endecja movement in Poland. As an ideology, endokomuna was considered a Polish form of national communism that sought to augment real socialism with nationalism; it was known for its embrace of Roman Catholicism, fervent anti-liberalism, and the term "banana left" (used to describe socially liberal, privileged left-wing intellectuals). Similarly to Endecja, it was aggressively anti-Western and Russophilic, arguing that the real danger to Polish sovereignty and to Polish national identity was not the Soviet Union, but the Western capitalist bloc.
The origins of endokomuna date back to 1945, when captured Endecja activists agreed to collaborate with Polish communists; the collaborationist elements of Endecja, led by Bolesław Piasecki (1915–1979), helped authorities appeal to Catholic, nationalist and far-right circles. After the Polish October in 1956, Polish government embraced national communism in a bid to maintain popular support; this led to the emergence of the "Partisans", a faction within the communist party (led by the Minister of the Interior, Mieczysław Moczar) that consolidated Endo-Communism into the dominant ideology. Partisans' dominance culminated in the 1968 Polish political crisis, where they led an "Anti-Zionist" campaign against the Jewish diaspora. In 1982, the ruling communist coalition was reforged into the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth (PRON) that appropriated Endo-Communism and had Jan Dobraczyński, an Endecja activist, as its chairman. Along with PRON, communist authorities also founded the Zjednoczenie Patriotyczne “Grunwald”, which organized National Bolsheviks and functioned between 1981 and 1995. After the fall of the Polish People's Republic in 1989, the endokomuna tendency survived in some parties, such as Samoobrona, Party X, the National Party and the National Party "Fatherland".
History
Background The nationalist Endecja movement, founded by Roman Dmowski in the interwar era, had undergone a radical transformation in the 1940s; during World War II, it was a part of the Polish resistance. At the end of the war, the movement's prominent leaders such as Bolesław Piasecki were captured by the Red Army. While in detention, Piasecki caught the attention of Soviet general Ivan Serov, who praised Piasecki as "genius boy" and held long conversations with him. While in captivity, Piasecki changed his political views, vowing to cooperate with the Polish Committee of National Liberation, endorsing the social and economic reforms of the Polish communists, and declaring his support for their struggle against the "reactionary current in Polish society".
A pre-war Catholic activist, Piasecki proposed that Endecja could assist the communist regime by securing the support of Catholics for the government. After his release in 1945, Piasecki was received by Władysław Gomułka, and put forward his thesis of rapprochement between Polish Marxists and Catholics, which was to benefit both sides and stabilize the communist government. Piasecki discussed his idea of Catholic communism that would consider "God, mankind, nation, and family" its main values while at the same time supporting socialist economic reforms and loyalty towards the Soviet Union. Gomułka was pleased with the proposal, and gave Piasecki green light to founding a Dziś i jutro (Today and Tomorrow) newspaper, organized by numerous Endecja and Catholic writers.
1940s Piasecki's defection prompted other important Endecja figures to approach the communist government. Stanisław Grabski, considered the "nestor of Endecja", became a member of the communist-controlled State National Council, and his enthusiastic appeals for "all patriots to enter the state apparatus and sociocultural organizations" mobilized other endeks (members of Endecja) to join the communist state structures and push for the legalization of the National Party. Despite this, the government never sanctioned legalization of the Endecja party; the fact that Endecja did not found its own party but rather infiltrated state structures directly made them avoid persecution as they were not seen to be contesting the communists in power, unlike the Polish People's Party led by Stanisław Mikołajczyk.
According to Jan C. Behrends, the nationalist turn of Polish communism is rooted in Stalin's reconsiderations of nationalism from 1941; this was reflected in the diary of Georgi Dimitrov, the leader of the Communist International:
Behrends writes that the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) laid the foundations for Endo-Communism in 1940s by using "the neo-Dmowskian nationalism" in order to both appeal to the Polish population and to justify the alliance with the Soviet Union. The Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation from 1944, is considered to have already started the Endo-Communist tradition in that it borrowed ideological slogans from the Polish nationalist extreme right wing in order to win over nationalist support. Behrends argues that Polish communists introduced the traditional terms of Polish nationalism into communist vocabulary, and "the internationalists of the past had been remade into Polish patriots". PPR claimed to be the sole respresentative of Polish national liberation and tried to link other political factions in Polish politics, such as the peasant party and anti-Soviet socialist, to the occupier. Polish national communism was based on the idea that there was an extensive collaboration between German fascists and Polish reactionaries, and pan-Slavism was used to overcome anti-Russian sentiments in Poland. An important part of Polish national communist traditional was Władysław Gomułka who "had long fostered his image as a national communist", he advocated "a national road to socialism", ruled out forced collectivization of agriculture, and internally criticized the conduct of the Red Army in Poland.
After the 1946 Polish people's referendum, Piasecki proposed in August 1946 "the replacement of the existing conditions by a new political configuration" to Gomułka which would include a Catholic party capable of "improving church-state relations, moderating the bishops’ anticommunist stance, securing Catholic support for the communists, and serving as coalition partner". This proposal was rejected, but the Polish president Bolesław Bierut tweaked the communist rhetoric on Catholicism, stating that he "acknowledged that the Catholic Church occupied a vital position in Polish history and argued that the government had no intention of altering this standing". In 1948 Poland had undergone "Stalinization" - Gomułka was accused of "right-wing nationalist deviation" and removed from the post of secretary-general in favor of Bierut, socialist parties were consolidated into the Polish United Workers' Party, and the opposition was clamped down on. Despite this, Endecja collaborationists endorsed the course and focused on promoting Catholic-Marxist dialogue.
In July 1946, Kielce pogrom took place, which was an outbreak of anti-Jewish violence targeting Jewish Holocaust survivors. The official culprit for the pogrom was the anti-communist underground, although Jozef Banáš argues that there was also "complicity of the security organs, interested in creating diversion and in compromising the political opposition". He argues that the communist authorities intentionally refrained from combatting antisemitism in order to attract Polish nationalists into the communist party. In this, Banáš identifies one of the starting points of Endo-Communism.
1950s With Piasecki's help, the government signed an accord with the Church in 1950 - the Church had to support the regime's economic policies, condemn anti-government activities and limit Vatican's authority to doctrinal and canonical domains in exchange for guaranteed freedom of religion, religious instruction in public schools, and allowed existence of Catholic institutions. In 1952, Piasecki registered the PAX Association, which would become the centre of Endecja-affiliated and Catholic supporters of the communist regime. In 1956, Poland was thrown into disarray by Nikita Khrushchev's denouncement of Stalinism, which divided the Polish communists into two camps - the Puławska group which favored rapid de-Stalinization, and the Natolin faction that urged caution. This event gave PAX a lot of influence, as both camps were willing to grant it concessions in exchange for support. Nevertheless, PAX found the de-Stalinization "traumatizing" and warned against "excessive democratization" which would undermine state authority and test Moscow's patience, thus siding with the Natolin faction.
Piasecki's support for the Natolin faction, which was considered to consist of Stalinists and neo-Stalinists, helped entrench Endecja influence in the communist ranks. The Natolins embraced antisemitism and Polish nationalism, and rallied against the anti-Stalin reformists not only by branding them revisionists, but also pointed out the Jewish and intelligentsia background of many reformers. While the Natolin faction was unsuccessful in halting De-Stalinization, many Natolins would later join the Moczarite "police faction" that emerged in the early 1960s. Banáš stated that the Moczarites were "in fact a rejuvenated offshoot of the disintegrated Natolin faction".
As the result of the Polish October, Władysław Gomułka was reinstated as the general-secretary and immediately announced his vision of the "Polish road to socialism", considered "a mishmash of ethnonationalism, populism, and communist orthodoxy". Gomułka's rule marked a "renaissance" for Endecja and gave rise to Endo-Communism - PAX was rapidly expanding its membership, and the government also dissolved the "Patriotic Priests" association and put it directly under PAX's tutelage. Endokomuna as an organized movement then emerged in 1956 after Polish October, which put Władysław Gomułka in power. Gomułka's beliefs contributed to the emergence of Endo-Communism - he was accused of "right-nationalist deviation" in 1948 and spent over 3 years in prison, and after coming to power in 1956, he became a champion of a “Polish road to socialism”. Gomułka promised "a truly national communism" in Poland - his reforms included restoring the autonomy and granting concessions to the Catholic Church as well as dismissing Soviet advisers and military officers from Poland in favor of an exclusively Polish administration. His rhetoric stressed the importance of Polish national autonomy, and he sought to legitimatize the communist rule in Poland through Polish nationalism.
Gomułka's policies