Konstanty Gebert – redaktor i publicysta prasy podziemnej

• Authors: Olaszek Jan

Title variants

EN

Konstanty Gebert – Editor and Publicist of the Underground Press

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

This article discusses the activities of Konstanty Gebert – an editor and publicist of the underground press in the years 1982–1989. In the 1970s, he cooperated with the Workers’ Defence Committee and continued his activity during the ‘Solidarity’ period. Shortly after the introduction of martial law, Gebert became a member of the editorial team of ‘KOS’ – one of the most important underground periodicals. He soon became one of the key figures in that community. He performed editing and typesetting, but was really in his element when writing articles for the press. He wrote articles for ‘KOS’ and other underground periodicals. With time, his pseudonym ‘Dawid Warszawski’ became a well-known brand in the underground press. Gebert was initially in favour of creating an Underground State, similar to the one existing during the Second World War. However, his views on the organization of the underground movement gradually evolved. In 1983, he suggested establishing an ‘independent socjety.’ Even though he was connected with the moderate stream of the ‘Solidarity’ Movement, he was far from being conciliatory. His views changed partly as a result of the policy of the authorities after 1986, when most prisoners were released. He came to the conclusion that the situation was stalemate. He thought that a compromise was possible – due to the economic crisis and changes in the USSR – but not at any price. He was passionately interested in international politics. In underground publications, such issues were only mentioned in connection with the ‘Eastern bloc’ and the USA. ‘Dawid Warszawski,’ however, was also interested in the Middle East and China. He was sometimes fairly critical about the USA and its non-democratic allies. Observing the life of Konstanty Gebert, one may notice certain dilemmas. In his opposition activities, he was always looking for a balance between the aim of making the underground press as attractive as possible for the reader, and that of subordinating it to the objectives of the social opposition movement. Gebert’s biography also shows how important the experience of co-creating the underground press was in the development of the journalistic elites of the Third Republic of Poland.

Keywords

PL

prasa podziemna, opozycja w PRL, Konstanty Gebert, drugi obieg; wydawniczy, podziemny dwutygodnik „KOS”

• Publisher: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu
• Journal: Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość
• Year: 2014
• Issue: 2(24)
• Pages: 191-226

Contributors

author

Olaszek Jan

• IPN