Identity Statement

Reference Code

HU OSA 300-55-11

Title

Polish Independent Parties

Date(s)

1978 - 1990

Description Level

Series

Extent and medium (processed)

3 Archival boxes, 0.38 linear meters

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Abstract)

The series contains 68 entries on the non-Solidarity political underground in post-Martial Law Poland (1981-1990), especially after 1986.

The bulk of the series consists of the different documents produced by the independent political parties (mostly in Polish, but also in English), referring to their political activity (programs, manifestos etc.), their internal organization (rules, changes in leadership etc.), and their mutual relations (coalitions, splits, joint political declarations etc.). It is complemented by documents produced by RFE: background reports as well as agency releases (both A-wire and B-wire, mostly in English and some in German) and broadcasts. Finally, the series contains xerox copies of clippings from Polish underground periodicals (and, to a lesser extent, from the western media in English, German and French) relating to the activity of the independent parties, including analyses of the underground political scene published in samizdat, and interviews with opposition leaders.

The series documents the growth of the post-1981 political counter-culture in a very detailed, but not entirely comprehensive, way. On the one hand, apart from the main non-Solidarity political groups (Konfederacja Polski Niepodległej, Solidarność Walcząca, or Ruch “Wolność i Pokój”), there are separate dossiers on more ephemeral oppositional phenomena. On the other hand, the files relating to the former are not entirely exhaustive. On the whole, the series is a valuable source of information on the independent political activities in the interim period between Martial Law and the Round Table Agreements, and especially the political mobilization preceding the Revolution of 1989 in Poland.

Accruals

Not Expected

System of arrangement

Arranged alphabetically, by names of political groups.

Conditions of Access and Use

Conditions governing access

Unknown

Languages

English, French, German, Polish

Description Control

Archivist's note

Processed by Piotr Wciślik, December, 2010; revised by Csaba Szilágyi, July, 2012.