''Letter of 34'' – two-sentence protest letter of Polish intellectuals against

censorship in Communist Poland Censorship in Communist Poland was primarily performed by the Polish ' (''Główny Urząd Kontroli Prasy, Publikacji i Widowisk''), a governmental institution created in 1946 by the pro-Soviet Provisional Government of National Unity with Stalin's ...

, addressed to the Prime Minister

Józef Cyrankiewicz Józef Adam Zygmunt Cyrankiewicz (; 23 April 1911 – 20 January 1989) was a Polish Socialist (PPS) and after 1948 Communist politician. He served as premier of the Polish People's Republic between 1947 and 1952, and again for 16 years between ...

, delivered on 14 March 1964 to by

Antoni Słonimski Antoni Słonimski (15 November 1895 – 4 July 1976) was a Polish poet, artist, journalist, playwright and prose writer, president of the Union of Polish Writers in 1956–1959 during the Polish October, known for his devotion to social justic ...

. The name refers to the number of signatories.

The letter

Original

Do Prezesa Rady Ministrów
Józefa Cyrankiewicza ''Ograniczenia przydziału papieru na druk książek i czasopism oraz zaostrzenie cenzury prasowej stwarza sytuację zagrażającą rozwojowi kultury narodowej. Niżej podpisani, uznając istnienie opinii publicznej, prawa do krytyki, swobodnej dyskusji i rzetelnej informacji za konieczny element postępu, powodowani troską obywatelską, domagają się zmiany polskiej polityki kulturalnej w duchu praw zagwarantowanych przez konstytucję państwa polskiego i zgodnych z dobrem narodu.''

Translation to English

To the Prime Minister
Józef Cyrankiewicz ''Restrictions on the allocation of paper for printing books and magazines and the tightening of press censorship create a situation that threatens the development of national culture. The undersigned, recognizing the existence of public opinion, the right to criticism, free discussion and reliable information as a necessary element of progress, driven by civic concern, demand a change in Polish cultural policy in the spirit of rights guaranteed by the constitution of the Polish state and compatible with the good of the nation.''

Signatories

Jerzy Andrzejewski Jerzy Andrzejewski (; 19 August 1909 – 19 April 1983) was a prolific Polish writer. His works confront controversial moral issues such as betrayal, the Jews and Auschwitz in the wartime. His novels, ''Ashes and Diamonds'' (about the immediate ...

# Maria Dąbrowska # Stanisław Dygat # Karol Estreicher # #

Aleksander Gieysztor Aleksander Gieysztor (17 July 1916 – 9 February 1999) was a Polish medievalist historian. Life Aleksander Gieysztor was born to a Polish family in Moscow, Russia, where his father worked as a railwayman. In 1921, the family relocated to Po ...

# # Paweł Hertz #

Leopold Infeld Leopold Infeld (20 August 1898 – 15 January 1968) was a Polish physicist who worked mainly in Poland and Canada (1938–1950). He was a Rockefeller fellow at Cambridge University (1933–1934) and a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Ea ...

Paweł Jasienica Paweł Jasienica was the pen name of Leon Lech Beynar (10 November 1909 – 19 August 1970), a Poles, Polish historian, journalist, essayist and soldier. During World War II, Jasienica (then, Leon Beynar) fought in the Polish Army, and later, ...

Mieczysław Jastrun Mieczysław Jastrun born ''Mojsze Agatstein'' (29 October 1903 – 22 February 1983) was a Polish poet and essayist of Jewish origin. The main themes of his poetry are philosophy and morality. He translated French, Russian, and German poet ...

Stefan Kisielewski Stefan Kisielewski (7 March 1911 in Warsaw – 27 September 1991 in Warsaw, Poland), nicknames Kisiel, Julia Hołyńska, Teodor Klon, Tomasz Staliński, was a Polish writer, publicist, composer and politician, and one of the members of Znak, one ...

Zofia Kossak-Szczucka Zofia Kossak-Szczucka ( (also Kossak-Szatkowska); 10 August 1889 – 9 April 1968) was a Polish writer and World War II resistance fighter. She co-founded two wartime Polish organizations: Front for the Rebirth of Poland and Żegota, set up t ...

Tadeusz Kotarbiński Tadeusz Marian Kotarbiński (; 31 March 1886 – 3 October 1981) was a Polish philosopher, logician and ethicist. A pupil of Kazimierz Twardowski, he was one of the most representative figures of the Lwów–Warsaw School, and a member of the Po ...

Jan Kott Jan Kott (October 27, 1914 – December 22, 2001) was a Polish political activist, critic and theoretician of the theatre. A leading proponent of Stalinism in Poland for nearly a decade after the Soviet takeover, Kott renounced his Communist P ...

# Anna Kowalska #

Julian Krzyżanowski Julian Krzyżanowski (4 July 1892 – 19 May 1976) was a Polish literature and folklore scholar, best known for his study of Polish proverbs. Participant of the Warsaw Uprising. Professor at the Warsaw University and others. Recipient of Order of ...

# # Edward Lipiński #

Maria Ossowska Maria Ossowska (''née'' Maria Niedźwiecka, 16 January 1896, Warsaw – 13 August 1974, Warsaw) was a Polish sociologist and social philosopher. Life A student of the philosopher Tadeusz Kotarbiński, she originally in 1925 received a doctorat ...

# Stanisław Cat Mackiewicz #

Jan Parandowski __NOTOC__ Jan Parandowski (11 May 1895 – 26 September 1978) was a Polish writer, essayist, and translator. Best known for his works relating to classical antiquity, he was also the president of the Polish International PEN, PEN Club between ...

# #

Adolf Rudnicki Adolf Rudnicki, born Aron Hirschhorn (February 19, 1912, Żabno − November 14, 1990, Warsaw) was a Polish author and essayist, best known for his works about The Holocaust and the Jewish resistance in Poland during World War II. Biography He w ...

# Artur Sandauer #

Wacław Sierpiński Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński (; 14 March 1882 – 21 October 1969) was a Polish mathematician. He was known for contributions to set theory (research on the axiom of choice and the continuum hypothesis), number theory, theory of functions, and t ...

# Jan Szczepański #

Władysław Tatarkiewicz Władysław Tatarkiewicz (; 3 April 1886, Warsaw – 4 April 1980, Warsaw) was a Polish philosopher, historian of philosophy, historian of art, esthetician, and ethicist. Early life and education Tatarkiewicz began his higher education at War ...

# Jerzy Turowicz #

Melchior Wańkowicz Melchior Wańkowicz (10 January 1892 – 10 September 1974) was a Polish army officer, popular writer, political journalist and publisher. He is most famous for his reporting for the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II and writing ...

Adam Ważyk Adam Ważyk born Ajzyk Wagman (November 17, 1905 – August 13, 1982) was a Polish poet, essayist and writer born to a Jewish family in Warsaw. In his early career, he was associated with the Kraków avant-garde led by Tadeusz Peiper who published ...

Kazimierz Wyka Kazimierz Wyka (19 March 1910 – 19 January 1975) was a Polish literary historian, literary critic, and professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków following World War II. He was a deputy to the Polish parliament (Sejm) from 1952 to 1956 ...

Jerzy Zagórski Jerzy Zagórski (3 December 1907 – 5 August 1984) was a Polish poet, essayist and translator. Member of literary group Żagary. Awarded the Righteous Among the Nations together with his wife Maria (Maryna) Zagórska, translator of belles-lettr ...

. The author of the text was

Jan Józef Lipski Jan Józef Lipski (26 May 1926 in Warsaw – 10 September 1991 in Kraków) was a Polish critic, literature historian, politician and freemason. As a soldier of the Home Army ( Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. Editor of collected w ...

co-organized signing the letter.

Reception

The letter caused a reaction in the West. The Times published a letter criticizing the authorities of the Polish People's Republic, signed by 21 British writers and artists, including

Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler, (, ; ; hu, Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931, Koestler join ...

and

Alan Bullock Alan Louis Charles Bullock, Baron Bullock, (13 December 1914 – 2 February 2004) was a British historian. He is best known for his book '' Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'' (1952), the first comprehensive biography of Adolf Hitler, which influence ...

. In addition, 15 Italian intellectuals including

Alberto Moravia Alberto Moravia ( , ; born Alberto Pincherle ; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990) was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia is best known for his d ...

and 13 Harvard professors defended the signatories. The letter caused a harassment and repression of its signatories and Tygodnik Powszechny by the authorities. Melchior Wańkowicz, was the most severely repressed - he was arrested and was accused of preparing and forwarding a text containing "false information slandering People's Poland". The writer was convicted and sentenced to serving an absolute prison sentence. Communist authorities, wanting to avoid discredit, did not allow the execution of the sentence (first, in fact, later the execution of the ruling was formally suspended). From 34 signatories of the Letter Konrad Górski withdrew his signature, after which he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Cyrankiewicz, in which he blamed Jerzy Turowicz on drawing him into the matter. This letter was read by Zenon Kliszko at a meeting of the Writers' Union. Ten of the signatories of Letter 34 then signed another letter addressed to The Times, stating that Letter 34 was to be internal and discrediting

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

. The letter was signed by:

, Konrad Górski,

, Kazimierz Kumaniecki, Edward Lipiński,

, Jan Szczepański,

and

. Despite this, Polish intellectuals were supported by intellectuals from other countries and the letters of support were published in the Italian "Il Mondo" and the French "Le Figaro Littéraire". 13 Harvard professors signed a letter to the ambassador of the Polish People's Republic, and Berkeley professors did the same.

Bibliography

Jerzy Eisler Jerzy Krzysztof Eisler (born 12 June 1952 in Warsaw) is a Polish historian, focusing mostly on the history of Poland during the communist era. He is a professor at the History Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and member of the Institut ...

, ''List 34'',

Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i ...

, Warszawa 1993, . * Aleksandra Ziółkowska ''Proces Melchiora Wańkowicza 1964'', Nowe Wydawnictwo Polskie, Warszawa 1990, . * Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm ''Na tropach Wańkowicza po latach'', Prószyński i S-ka, Warszawa 1999, 2 wydanie 2009, , . * Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm ''Melchior Wańkowicz Poland’s Master of the Written Word'', Rozdział: The Trial of Melchior Wańkowicz: 1964 (strony: 29-103), Lexington Books, USA 2013, {{ISBN, 978-0-7391-7590-3. 1964 in Poland 1964 documents Open letters