Pro Memoria, vol. V (1958)

Author: Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński

The year 1958, from which Primate Wyszyński's notes come, was a turning point in Poland between the brief post-October thaw and a return to the tried and tested methods of offensive ideology and communist power. That year brought further disappointments with the unfulfilled promises of the government, which "normalized" relations with the Church when it needed popular support - and then backed down. Primate Wyszynski negotiated with the government on behalf of the Church - or rather, the nation - but realized quite quickly that the government's concessions were temporary, and that the agreement reached in 1956, after Gomułka came to power, was increasingly disregarded by the Communists.