The Communist Party of Poland (Mijal, sometimes called Marxist–Leninist) was an illegal

anti-revisionist Anti-revisionism is a position within Marxism–Leninism which emerged in the 1950s in opposition to the reforms of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Where Khrushchev pursued an interpretation that differed from his predecessor Joseph Stalin, ...

Marxist-Leninist communist party founded in 1965 in Albania by

Kazimierz Mijal Kazimierz Romuald Mijal (September 15, 1910 – January 28, 2010) was a Polish communist politician and dissident, best known for founding the illegal Communist Party of Poland (Mijal) in opposition to the Polish United Workers' Party (PUWP) ...

. It was opposed to the Polish United Workers' Party and specifically its leader Władysław Gomułka. It upheld Joseph Stalin against Nikita Khrushchev's criticisms at the 20th Party Congress, instead favoring Maoism and a more hardline stance against the

Catholic clergy The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing order of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy" means "set apart for a sa ...

, which was opposed by Gomułka. Mijal declared himself Secretary General of the "Temporary Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland" and took control of

Radio Tirana Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (; en, "Albanian Radio and Television"; mostly called RTSH ) is an Albanian public broadcasting radio and television company. Founded in 1938, it operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmi ...

's Polish wing. Mijal's

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

proved unpopular to both Polish workers and the

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...

, and calls for workers to strike against the government failed to gain support. The Party was supported by

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, which helped smuggle pamphlets in Poland, and also had support from the Belgian Maoist ''La voix du peuple'' (''The Voice of the People''), which helped in pamphleteering. Among other prominent members were other Polish communists removed by Gomułka from positions of power such as

Hilary Chełchowski Hilary or Hillary may refer to: * Hillary Clinton, American politician * Hillary Coast, Antarctica * Hilary (name), or Hilarie or Hillary, a given name and surname * Hilary term, the spring term at the Universities of Oxford and Dublin * ''Hikari ...

and

Władysław Dworakowski Władysław Dworakowski (10 September 1908 in Oblasy – 17 November 1976 in Warsaw) 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 pr ...

. With the Sino-Albanian Split in 1978, Mijal had a conflict with Enver Hoxha and moved to China in 1978. In 1983 he returned illegally to Poland and started criticizing the Jaruzelski regime. Since its inception, the

Polish government The Government of Poland takes the form of a Unitary state, unitary Parliamentary republic, parliamentary Representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Poland, President is the head of state and the Prime ...

claimed the Polish Communist Party was a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party and had no support in Poland. The party for all practical purposes if not in intent ceased existence after his return.

References

''Kazimierz Mijal -- Dogmatic Diehard or Political Adventurer?'', Radio Free Europe Research, Poland, 26 June 1967.
1965 establishments in Albania Banned communist parties Defunct communist parties in Poland Anti-revisionist organizations Stalinist parties Maoism in Poland Maoist organizations in Europe Polish dissident organisations Political parties established in 1965 Political parties with year of disestablishment missing China–Poland relations Albania–Poland relations {{Poland-party-stub