Topic summary
1956 Poznań protests
Support:
Polish dissidents
Prominent character:
Romek Strzałkowski†
Stanislav Poplavsky
- 10,000
- 390 tanks
- 57–100 killed
- 600 wounded
The first of several massive protests against the communist government of the Polish People's Republic took place in Poznań from 28 to 30 June 1956. Demonstrations by workers demanding better working conditions began at Poznań's Cegielski Factories and were met with violent repression.
A crowd of approximately 100,000 people gathered in the city centre near the local Ministry of Public Security building. About 400 tanks and 10,000 soldiers of the Polish People's Army and the Internal Security Corps under the command of the Polish-Soviet general Stanislav Poplavsky were ordered to suppress the demonstration and during the pacification fired at the protesting civilians.
The death toll is estimated from 57 to over a hundred people, including a 13-year-old boy, Romek Strzałkowski. Hundreds of people sustained injuries. The Poznań protests were an important milestone on the way to the Polish October and the installation of a less Soviet-controlled government.