Beautiful Twentysomethings

Chapter Six. Two Wardrobe Doors for Sale

C H A P T e R s I x Two wardrobe Doors for sale Despite what you might have read, the brief period of free speech in Poland didn’t begin with Władysław Gomułka’s ascent to power. In fact, that’s when it came to an end, under the guise of “raison d’état.” That was the reason given by Gomułka, the man we had pinned our hopes on. Gomułka didn’t have to use metaphors and figures of speech to underpin his argument: Soviet tanks in the streets of Budapest and fifteen thousand dead Hungarians (if you believe the official figures) served as a serious enough warning. Hungarian flags were flying on the streets of Warsaw, and thousands of people volunteered to donate blood, which was then airlifted to the embattled city. The Hungarian national anthem could be heard; Po Prostu printed a Hungarian poem on page one called “Air”; people mourned and drank. And thus the national feeling of tragedy was placated. Today, it’s not easy to write and talk about October. All of a sudden , it seems like nobody back then really believed in it. It’s not worth dwelling on the topic. I can’t think of a better-known example in world history of when a tyrant tears his robes and declares that, starting tomorrow, he’ll reform. There’s an article by the chief editor in an old issue of Po Prostu, which claims the “Polish October” came about as a result of the revolutionary boiling over of the masses of workers and peasants, and of their healthy instincts and political experience. This led them to demand rule of law and democracy Beautiful Twentysomethings 126 from the leaders of the party and the nation. But it’s doubtful how seriously one can take the proud declaration by the workers of the Żeranie automobile factory: “We won’t let them in!” If you want to know to what extent three thousand people armed with handguns and bayonets were in any condition to stop the Soviet Army, ask the soldiers. In any case, the party pulled off its tactical maneuver faultlessly , in terms of spectacle and coordination. People were made to feel they’d achieved something that would be an important turning point in the nation’s history. On the other hand, it’s hard to assess the whole thing from a humorist ’s point of view. I don’t know how eleven years of experience and proximity to the Soviet border let people harbor different expectations after October. Maybe it can all be chalked up to faith in one man: Władysław Gomułka. Maybe they believed that the man who’d been a prisoner of and had suffered at the hands of his fellow believers (the commies) would lead us without forgetting what he’d gone through and suffered himself. These are the ethical premises of Anne of Green Gables. But from an empirical standpoint, and taking into account what police and prison wardens with years of experience have to say about the subject, suffering has never been known to ennoble. A second entertaining element in this whole canard is the feeling of disappointment in Gomułka, as if the guy ever had a real shot at changing anything for the better in the near future. Shortly after coming to power, Władysław Gomułka stated in one of his speeches that a quick increase in the standard of living was impossible because there was no money to pay for anything. He also discussed the colossal Polish debt and the catastrophic state of the national economy, without failing to mention how the Soviet Union had generously relinquished parts of its claims against the People’s Republic of Poland. But people didn’t listen to his words carefully enough. When he traveled to Moscow , the crowds who had gathered at the train stations cheered joyously at his appearance. At the same time, they told him not to expect afreelunch.Theygavehimgoodadvice:“Wiesiek,holdyourground.” It became a slogan of sorts for the people. Everybody completely forgot the fellow was a communist, probably the most stubborn and hardest of them all. The whole story is perfect for moralizing writers: Marek Hłasko 127 the people were oppressed, a boot up their ass for eleven years. After painful experiences and a lot of suffering, they believed things...