In December 1970 there was a workers' rebellion in Gdansk and Gdynia on the Polish Baltic Coast. The thesis of this paper is that one of the reasons for the outburst of social discontent was an intensified state of relative deprivation, especially among the young workers. The author proves his thesis in two stages. First, he describes the economic and demographic situation in Poland in 1956-1970. Subsequently, on the basis of the analysis of workers' statements, he demonstrates the existence of a state of relative deprivation. The historical sources consist of the reports of the Secret Police and the Organizational Department of the Central Committee of the PUWP, as well as letters sent by the workers to the Polish Radio and TV.
The article is an attempt to reconstruct the views of the outstanding Polish sociologist on the role of peasants in the latest Polish history, i.e. after World War II. It is based mostly on the following works: 'Chlopi i kultura chlopska w spoleczenstwie polskim' (1988) (Peasants and the Peasant Culture in Polish Society), 'Rola chlopów w rozwoju spoleczenstwa polskiego' (1966) (The Role of Peasants in the Development of Polish Society) and 'Zmiany spoleczenstwa polskiego w procesie uprzemyslowienia' (1973) (Changes in the Polish Society in the Process of Industrialization). Although all the theses were made by Professor Szczepanski in the communist period, they have not lost their validity nowadays.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.