My Polish Spring
by Heather Campbell
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Pub Date 18 Mar 2015 | Archive Date 30 Apr 2015
Troubador Publishing Ltd | Matador
Description
My Polish Spring is the memoir of Heather Campbell, who lived and worked in post-war communist Poland with her scientist husband, Ian. Ian was raised in a family with communist ideals in the 1930s, their political outlook formed by the suffering of the First World War, the economic mayhem of the Great Depression, and the belief that communism would be the most effective bulwark against the rise of Nazism and Far Right politics.
Heather herself came from a privileged background, but developed the same political stance as her future husband as a result of her work in factories during the Second World War.
After their marriage in 1950, Heather and Ian felt that they should commit to their political beliefs by moving to a communist country, where they would take part in the building of an egalitarian socialist state.
Moving to Poland in 1951, Ian and Heather worked at the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology in Warsaw.
My Polish Spring relates the couple’s experiences, their increasing disillusionment with the injustices perpetrated by a Stalinist state, and their admiration for the courage of the Polish people, before their eventual return to England in 1959.
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Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781784629410 |
| PRICE | £0.99 (GBP) |
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Featured Reviews
Reviewer 205352
“My Polish Spring” is the story of a pair of British Communist idealists who gradually become disillusioned as they realise all within the socialist garden isn’t as rosy as they thought.
The title, "My Polish Spring" refers to a little known piece of Polish history that was overshadowed by the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the Soviet invasion of Hungary. In Poland Władysław Gomułka had replaced the previous hard line Stalinist Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. The Soviets viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would fight if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets stood down.
The writing style is very 1950s but it does add to the authenticity to the book. There’s no mistaking their admiration for the courage of the Polish people, but the distance between the party members privileged lifestyle and the general populace erodes their beliefs.
What I did find disappointing was how short the book was and that it ended very abruptly with no mention of exactly how they managed to return to England in 1959.
Nevertheless “My Polish Spring” is a fascinating piece of 1950’s history and provides a valuable eyewitness account of a little known part of the Cold War.
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