Mieczysław Moczar

Mieczysław Moczar (Polish pronunciation: [mjɛˈt͡ʂɨswaf ˈmɔt͡ʂar]; original name Mikołaj Diomko, pseudonym Mietek, December 25, 1913 in Łódź – November 1, 1986) was a Polish communist who played a prominent role in the history of the Polish People's Republic. He is known for his ultranationalist, xenophobic and antisemitic attitude which influenced Polish United Workers' Party politics in the late 1960s. During this time, General Moczar and his supporters challenged Władysław Gomułka’s authority.

Moczar was a member of the Communist Party before World War II. During the occupation, Moczar organized communist guerillas in the Lublin and Kielce regions. His active role in the Communist underground during the resistance allowed him to become known as "the leader of Poland's 'Partisans'" in the 1960s. Immediately following World War II, Moczar became secret police chief in Łódź, but was dismissed from his position in 1952 on charges of "nationalist deviation." During this "period of widespread suspicion against the self-made Communist veterans of the Communist resistance," Moczar was briefly held in detention. When Władysław Gomułka returned to power as the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party in 1956, Moczar started to work for the Interior Ministry.

In the early 1960s, Moczar served as Vice Minister of the Interior. In December 1964, he was named the Minister of the Interior, a position he maintained until 1968. Moczar was a highly placed member of the Polish United Workers Party, a member of its Central Committee from 1965 to 1981 (one of its secretaries in 1968-1971) a candidate member of the Politburo in 1968-1970 and full member from 1970-1971 and 1980-1981. He was a general in the Polish People's Army and held many high level posts in the government, serving as Minister of the Interior (1964-1968) and chairman of The Supreme Chamber of Control of Poland (1971-1983). He is best known for his role in the so-called March 1968 events in Poland, in which he led the faction of hardliners inside the Communist Party.

Moczar as Minister of the Interior

Moczar's position as Minister of the Interior put him in charge of the police. When Moczar was appointed to this position in 1964, it was perceived to be "a reaction to recent liberalizing trends in Poland." Gomułka, who was known for his centralist approach, was seen as trying to balance contending factions in the party and Government by appointing Moczar. Moczar was known for favoring stricter police controls and discouraging Poles from all foreign contacts. According to a New York Times article from the time, "General Moczar’s promotion is... regarded by many Poles as symbolic of the increased police activity that has occurred since the great liberalization at the end of the Stalinist period in 1956." Lajos Lederer, a correspondent for the London Observer, called Moczar "a De Gaulle-type figure who is both an authoritarian Communist and a strong Polish nationalist.”

A popular joke in Poland from the time period illustrates how the average citizen viewed Moczar. "What do you get when you take away the 'czar' from Moczar?" (Czar is pronounced like Char and means charm in Polish). The answer is "Mo," which were the initials for the Polish police, "Milicja Obywatelska".

Moczar and the "Partisan" faction

Moczar's main power base was the communist party faction called the "Partisans". Most of the "Partisans" were men in their 40s and 50s, who were veterans of the Communist underground like Moczar himself. Moczar tended to play down the significance of the role of the Home Army while glorifying smaller pro-Communist resistance movements. The "Partisans" used Polish nationalism to gain support. Within the party, the enemy of the "Partisans" was the "Muscovite" faction: Poles who had escaped to the Soviet Union during World War II and then returned with the Red Army. Many of the "Muscovites" were Jewish and held important roles in the party and the secret police during the period of Stalinist terror. Moczar took advantage of this in his campaign and in mid-1960s, the nationalism of some of the "Partisans" began to take on anti-Semitic tones.

Moczar's role in the March 1968 Events

When student protests erupted in March 1968, Moczar wanted to suppress them by brute force. It was widely believed that Gomułka's reliance on Moczar during the 1968 events made Moczar "become too strong for [Gomułka's] safety." Moczar used the student uprising to initiate an anti-Semitic campaign, and he soon became a driving force in the 1968 purging of Jews from important posts. He accused Jewish students of having instigated the demonstrations. J. Anthony Lukas observed two chief purposes for Moczar's anti-Semitic campaign: "to clear Jews out of responsible positions so those can be filled by General Moczar's supporters, and to fix responsibility on non-Jewish leaders, probably including Mr. Gomułka, for failure to act more decisively against [what Moczar called] 'the Zionist Infiltration’". The Moczar-driven campaign of anti-Semitism caused a mass emigration of Polish Jews in 1968, many of whom were distinguished doctors, professors, lawyers, engineers, etc.

Gomułka versus Moczar

In 1968, Gomułka was re-elected First Secretary and thus prevented Moczar from gaining more power. Gomułka began to isolate Moczar by removing anti-Semitic propagandists close to Moczar and by removing his supporters from key positions. A report from Radio Free Europe in 1971 refers to Gomułka's campaign as an attempt to "de-Moczarize" the security service and mass media. By 1969, Moczar was no longer Gomułka's main rival but remained a member of the Central Committee and a member of its Politburo. However, Moczar had a hand in the December 1970 shootings in Gdynia, which resulted from Grzegorz Korczyński's assessment of the situation and recommendations in the striking Gdansk region.The bloody December strikes brought down Gomułka and replaced him with Edward Gierek, a technocrat who emphasized economic progress. The Russians, who suspected Moczar of plotting, preferred Gierek rather than an ardent nationalist communist with wartime past. Moczar was eliminated from power by Gierek to return briefly in 1980 as a possible replacement for Stanisław Kania when he was eased out by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.

He wrote Barwy walki (The colours of a fight or Colors of Struggle or Color of Battle, first released in 1962) (1963, 1979, 1988) Published by Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza.

This book is a personal memoir by General Moczar. It was made into a movie in 1965 and is viewed as an effort to strengthen the "Partisans" as it "depicts the Partisans as the spearhead of Polish resistance".