La otra Polonia

La otra Polonia apareció publicado en The New York Rewiew ofBooks en junio de 2007, pero el texto íntegro (que es el que aquí reproducimos) fue editado en la revista digital Project Syndicate. © Project Syndicate, 2007

Letters from freedom: post-cold war realities and perspectives

A hero to many, Polish writer Adam Michnik ranks among today's most fearless and persuasive public figures. His imprisonment by Poland's military regime in the 1980s did nothing to quench his outpouring of writings, many of which were published in English as Letters from Prison . Beginning where that volume ended, Letters from Freedom finds Michnik briefly in prison at the height of the "cold civil war" between authorities and citizens in Poland, then released. Through his continuing essays, articles, and interviews, the reader can follow all the momentous changes of the last decade in Poland and East-Central Europe. Some of the writings have appeared in English in various publications; most are translated here for the first time.Michnik is never detached. His belief that people can get what they want without hatred and violence has always translated into action, and his actions, particularly the activity of writing, have required his contemporaries to think seriously about what it is they want. His commitment to freedom is absolute, but neither wild-eyed nor humorless; with a characteristic combination of idealism and pragmatism, Michnik says, "In the end, politics is the art of foreseeing and implementing the possible."Michnik's blend of conviction and political acumen is perhaps most vividly revealed in the interviews transcribed in the book, whether he is the subject of the interview or is conducting a conversation with Czeslaw Milosz, Vacláv Havel, or Wojciech Jaruzelski. These face-to-face exchanges tell more about the forces at work in contemporary Eastern Europe than could any textbook. Sharing Michnik's intellectual journey through a tumultuous era, we touch on all the subjects important to him in this wide-ranging collection and find they have importance for everyone who values conscience and responsibility. In the words of Jonathan Schell, "Michnik is one of those who bring honor to the last two decades of the twentieth century.

Pologne et Ukraine : Un nouveau dialogue

Adam Michnik, Poland and Ukraine: a new dialogue. The article analyzes the relatioaship between Poland and Ukraine, which is viewed differently, depending on whether a multiethnic or monoethnic Poland is at stake. The collective memory of both peoples is divided, distressed, and tries to dodge dramatic events such as the anti-Ukrainian repression in pre-war Poland.Adam Michnik, Pologne et Ukraine: un nouveau dialogue. L'article analyse les rapports entre Pologne et Ukraine, lesquels sont pensés différemment selon qu'il s'agit d'une Pologne multiethnique ou monoethnique. La mémoire collective des deux peuples est divisée, douloureuse, et cherche à censurer des épisodes dramatiques comme la répression anti-ukrainienne dans la Pologne de l'immédiat avant-guerre.Michnik Adam. Pologne et Ukraine : Un nouveau dialogue. In: Cahiers du monde russe : Russie, Empire russe, Union soviétique, États indépendants, vol. 36, n°4, Octobre-décembre 1995. L'Ukraine ancienne et nouvelle Réflexions sur le passé culturel et le présent politique de l'Ukraine. pp. 463-469

Od polskiej rewolucji do polskiej gościnności refleksje nieuporządkowane na temat biografii Karola Modzelewskiego

From Polish revolution to Polish hospitality: Some reflections on the biography of Karol Modzelewski Article is of more personal character. Being a close friend ever since the early nineteen–sixties, at times, closest collaborator, Michnik relies chiefly on his own personal recollections. He demonstrates that when Karol Modzelewski and Jacek Kuroń started their political activity defying the system in communist Poland, there existed no behavioural models of an oppositionist. In the course of their struggles, but also during court trials and subsequent prison terms, Modzelewski and Kuroń created standards of what is, and what is not permissible, later on followed by other dissidents. Another political novelty, which should be ascribed to Modzelewski, was putting democratic postulates into wording understandable by the communists, a language which acknowledged the interests of the opponents. This new type of bargain–communication is visible in the 1976 letter to Edward Gierek. In 1980, the same language was taken up by the “Solidarity” movement in the negotiations with the communist regime.Michnik also points to the graduate change in Modzelewski’s stance: from an advocate of attitude of a careful activist who demonstrated to his younger colleagues potential consequences of their conflict with the authorities around 1968, to the advocate of compromise negotiations ever since the nineteen–seventies. In spite of this evolution Modzelewski remained acutely sensitive to social problems; hence his disagreement with the liberalisation of the economy introduced by the so called Balcerowicz Plan in 1989.From Polish revolution to Polish hospitality: Some reflections on the biography of Karol Modzelewski Article is of more personal character. Being a close friend ever since the early nineteen–sixties, at times, closest collaborator, Michnik relies chiefly on his own personal recollections. He demonstrates that when Karol Modzelewski and Jacek Kuroń started their political activity defying the system in communist Poland, there existed no behavioural models of an oppositionist. In the course of their struggles, but also during court trials and subsequent prison terms, Modzelewski and Kuroń created standards of what is, and what is not permissible, later on followed by other dissidents. Another political novelty, which should be ascribed to Modzelewski, was putting democratic postulates into wording understandable by the communists, a language which acknowledged the interests of the opponents. This new type of bargain–communication is visible in the 1976 letter to Edward Gierek. In 1980, the same language was taken up by the “Solidarity” movement in the negotiations with the communist regime.Michnik also points to the graduate change in Modzelewski’s stance: from an advocate of attitude of a careful activist who demonstrated to his younger colleagues potential consequences of their conflict with the authorities around 1968, to the advocate of compromise negotiations ever since the nineteen–seventies. In spite of this evolution Modzelewski remained acutely sensitive to social problems; hence his disagreement with the liberalisation of the economy introduced by the so called Balcerowicz Plan in 1989

6. Independence Reborn and the Demons of the Velvet Revolution

I. To understand the history of Poland is to believe in miracles. Consider this: If you supposed in 1984 that in five years time Poland would regain its liberty and independence, you would really have had to believe in miracles. However, the Polish nation, Catholic and God-fearing, didn’t really have faith in this miracle. After all, who among us at Gazeta Wyborcza thought back then that soon enough we would come to work in a large and important daily newspaper, respected both in Poland and a..