Władysław Dworakowski (10 September 1908 – 17 November 1976) was a Polish communist politician and statesman.

Biography

Dworakowski was born in to a poor peasant family in the Lublin Governorate. He was a locksmith by profession and was active in the workers's movement. Dworakowski joined the Young Communist League of Poland in 1931 and later the

Communist Party of Poland The interwar Communist Party of Poland (, KPP) was a communist party active in Poland during the Second Polish Republic. It resulted from a December 1918 merger of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL) and the ...

in 1934 and was a member of the party until its dissolution in 1938. In 1941-1942 he was a member of the Association of Friends of the Soviet Union and later joined the

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party (, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 to form the Polish United W ...

shortly after its foundation. He was member of the anti-Nazi resistance in Poland and was a soldier in Gwardia Ludowa and also participated in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

. After World War II he was a high ranking functionary in the PPR and later the Polish United Workers' Party. He was the secretary of the Central Committee and the Party District Committees in

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. From November 1952 to March 1954 Dworakowski was Deputy Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Poland in the government of

Bolesław Bierut Bolesław Bierut (; 18 April 1892 – 12 March 1956) was a Polish communist activist and politician, leader of History of Poland (1945–1989), communist-ruled Poland from 1947 until 1956. He was President of the State National Council from 1944 ...

. At the Second Party Congress in 1954, he became a member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

of the Central Committee and at the same time Secretary of the Central Committee of the PZPR. In 1951 Dworakowski expressed condemnation of

Władysław Gomułka Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish Communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of Polish People's Republic, post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948, and again from 1956 to 1970. Born in 1905 in ...

's "polonization policy", which disregarded communist doctrines, and accused Gomułka: "Full of hatred for the Soviet Union, Gomułka led an action through which our working masses were to be won over to the bourgeoisie and the large bourgeois landowners". He was among the people responsible Gomułka's arrest. In December 1954 the

Ministry of Public Security Ministry of Public Security can refer to: * Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) * Ministry of Public Security of Burundi * Ministry of Public Security (Chile) * Ministry of Public Security (China) * Ministry of Public Security of Co ...

was disbanded and its functions were divided in to two different committees and Dworakowski became the chairman of Committee for Public Security (KdsBP). After the

Polish October The Polish October ( ), also known as the Polish thaw or Gomułka's thaw, also "small stabilization" () was a change in the politics of the Polish People's Republic that occurred in October 1956. Władysław Gomułka was appointed First Secretar ...

, Dworakowski was one of the politicians who were against the Gomułka reforms and eventually created the Natolin faction alongside other party hardliners. Eventually the Natolins lost the power struggle within the PZPR, and Dworakowski who was one of the most outspoken members of the faction was significantly demoted within the party and lost his membership in the Politburo in 1956. In 1959, Dworakowski left the party and returned to his profession as a locksmith. Later he joined Kazimierz Mijal's

and was involved in underground activity for the party. Władysław Dworakowski died in 1971 at the age of 68 and despite his stance against the PZPR received a state funeral. He was buried at the Powązki Military Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dworakowski, Wladyslaw 1908 births 1976 deaths Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party Communist Party of Poland politicians Members of the State National Council Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952 Polish atheists Polish anti-fascists Anti-revisionists Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Hoxhaists