Polish Samizdat

Doświadczenie polskie [The Polish Experience].

Cywiński, Bohdan.

Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawnicza „Pokolenie”, 1985. Octavo (21 × 15 cm). Original staple-stitched illustrated wrappers; 54 leaves of text mimeographed to rectos and versos. Illustrations. Very good.

First edition printed in Poland. Written by historian, journalist and activist Bohdan Cywiński (b. 1939), who was one of the founders of Solidarnośc (Solidarity), the first independent, non-governmental union. In this text Cywiński presents a view of post-War Polish history that led to the formation of the union. A member of the Catholic Intelligentsia Club (KIK), Cywiński represented the close ties the union had with the Catholic Church. Cywiński went into exile at the announcement of Martial Law in Poland and was living in Western Europe at the time of writing. The first edition of the text seems to have been published in Paris in 1984 by Editions Spotkania, followed by “Puls” in London, with this underground Polish edition marked as “printed without the knowledge or consent of the author” to rear wrapper.

As of July 2021, this edition not found in KVK, OCLC.

Book ID: 51464

Price: $150.00