Kazimierz Mijal
Encyclopedia
Kazimierz Mijal was a Polish
politician, collaborator of Polish communist leader Bolesław Bierut, next dissident, best known for founding the illegal Communist Party of Poland
in opposition to the Polish United Workers' Party
(PUWP) in 1965. He was born in Wilków Pierwszy
.
, Mijal became active during World War II
, collaborating with Paul Finder, Marcel Nowotko and Bolesław Bierut. He served as Mayor
of Lodz
, chief of the Presidential Chancellery, chief of the Bureau of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Communal Economy, and director of the Investment Bank. He was a long-time member of the CC
of the Polish Workers' Party
and then the PUWP. Following Nikita Khrushchev
's condemnation of former Soviet
leader Joseph Stalin
at the 20th Party Congress in 1956, Mijal aligned with the anti-revisionist
movement then led primarily by Mao Zedong
. He condemned Władysław Gomułka, First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party over his siding with Khrushchev and was an important figure in the so-called Natolin faction of the party. He created various pamphlets condemned by the party as dogmatic and Stalinist, and used a fake passport to leave for Albania, whose leader Enver Hoxha
led the anti-revisionist
movement along with Mao Zedong
.
He founded a new communist party, the Communist Party of Poland (Mijal), declared himself Secretary General of the "Temporary Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland" and took control of Radio Tirana's Polish wing. Mijal's Maoist rhetoric
proved unpopular to both Polish workers and the intelligentsia
, and with the Sino-Albanian Split
in 1978, Mijal gave up on the party and secretly returned to Poland in 1983. He was arrested in 1984 for distributing pamphlets but was released after three months. He attempted to revive the Communist Party in 1997 but lacked backing. He was also accused throughout his political career of anti-Semitic remarks, a charge that continues to this day.
In 2007 he received honorary membership to the Front Narodowo-Robotniczy. He has written for the Fatherland Weekly, a left-nationalist newspaper.
He died in January 2010 in Warsaw, Poland. He was buried on the grounds of Warsaw Reformed Cemetery on Zytnia street.
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
politician, collaborator of Polish communist leader Bolesław Bierut, next dissident, best known for founding the illegal Communist Party of Poland
Communist Party of Poland (Mijal)
The Communist Party of Poland was an illegal anti-revisionist political party founded in 1965 in Albania by Kazimierz Mijal. It was opposed to the Polish United Workers' Party and specifically its leader Władysław Gomułka...
in opposition to the Polish United Workers' Party
Polish United Workers' Party
The Polish United Workers' Party was the Communist party which governed the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1989. Ideologically it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism.- The Party's Program and Goals :...
(PUWP) in 1965. He was born in Wilków Pierwszy
Wilków Pierwszy
Wilków Pierwszy is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Błędów, within Grójec County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Grójec and south-west of Warsaw.The village has a population of 550....
.
Biography
Graduating from a Tradesmen's Association Commercial School in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Mijal became active during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, collaborating with Paul Finder, Marcel Nowotko and Bolesław Bierut. He served as Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Lodz
Lódz
Łódź is the third-largest city in Poland. Located in the central part of the country, it had a population of 742,387 in December 2009. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is approximately south-west of Warsaw...
, chief of the Presidential Chancellery, chief of the Bureau of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Communal Economy, and director of the Investment Bank. He was a long-time member of the CC
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the Polish Workers' Party
Polish Workers' Party
The Polish Workers' Party was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland, and merged with the Polish Socialist Party in 1948 to form the Polish United Workers' Party.-History:...
and then the PUWP. Following Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's condemnation of former Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
leader Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
at the 20th Party Congress in 1956, Mijal aligned with the anti-revisionist
Anti-Revisionist
In the Marxist–Leninist movement, anti-revisionism refers to a doctrine which upholds the line of theory and practice associated with Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, and usually either Mao Zedong or Enver Hoxha as well...
movement then led primarily by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
. He condemned Władysław Gomułka, First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party over his siding with Khrushchev and was an important figure in the so-called Natolin faction of the party. He created various pamphlets condemned by the party as dogmatic and Stalinist, and used a fake passport to leave for Albania, whose leader Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
led the anti-revisionist
Anti-Revisionist
In the Marxist–Leninist movement, anti-revisionism refers to a doctrine which upholds the line of theory and practice associated with Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, and usually either Mao Zedong or Enver Hoxha as well...
movement along with Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
.
He founded a new communist party, the Communist Party of Poland (Mijal), declared himself Secretary General of the "Temporary Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland" and took control of Radio Tirana's Polish wing. Mijal's Maoist rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
proved unpopular to both Polish workers and the intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
, and with the Sino-Albanian Split
Sino-Albanian split
The Sino-Albanian split in 1978 saw the parting of the People's Republic of China and People's Socialist Republic of Albania, which was the only Eastern European nation to side with the PRC in the Sino–Soviet split of the early 1960s.-History:...
in 1978, Mijal gave up on the party and secretly returned to Poland in 1983. He was arrested in 1984 for distributing pamphlets but was released after three months. He attempted to revive the Communist Party in 1997 but lacked backing. He was also accused throughout his political career of anti-Semitic remarks, a charge that continues to this day.
In 2007 he received honorary membership to the Front Narodowo-Robotniczy. He has written for the Fatherland Weekly, a left-nationalist newspaper.
He died in January 2010 in Warsaw, Poland. He was buried on the grounds of Warsaw Reformed Cemetery on Zytnia street.