From Resistance to Opportunism – the Writers’ Attitudes toward the Letter of 34

The Letter of 34 was the protest of Polish writers and scientists against the Polish United Worker’ Party cultural politic, which was conveyed to the authorities on March 1964. This document provoked a strong reaction among the authorities and the Polish society within the country’s borders and abroad. In this essay the Letter of 34’ genesis, the process of collecting signatures and publication of the memorial were briefly described. The consequences of signing were also enumerated. The main focus was on the writers’ attitudes toward the Letter of 34.

The writers were divided between three groups – the signers of the document, the Communist Party supporters and those who agreed with the protest, but did not sign the letter. Their attitudes were exemplified by specific events related to the letter, e.g. meetings between the writers and the authorities, the making of the counter-letter and the general assembly of the Warsaw Branch of the Union of Polish Writers. The ambiguous attitude of Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz – the chairman of the aformentioned organization – was also discussed. It is valid to say that the supporters of the letter had an overwhelming majority within the writer community, although some voices of condemnation were certainly heard. The Letter of 34 contributed to the division in the Union of Polish Writers and foreshadowed a bigger protest in 1968.