The October '56 thaw and "Small Stabilisation"
The people of Poland had to wait until 1956 for the political terror to wane. That was when Stalinism was officially repudiated in the USSR, and after the death of the PZPR leader Bolesław Bierut and workers' strikes and protests in Poznań (28 June), changes occurred in the regime.  | | | | | |  | | | The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, built in 1952 - 1955 as a gift from Stalin. | |
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In October of that year, after a sharp conflict within the Party and difficult negotiations with the USSR, Władysław Gomułka once again became leader of the Party and head of state, initially with the support of the nation. The new First Secretary used the new situation to reduce Poland's dependence on the USSR. Gradually political prisoners were released from jail, the Primate was freed from house arrest. Enforced agricultural collectivisation was dropped; a negligible volume of private business was tolerated. Recovering from the wartime devastation, Poland now entered the "small stabilisation" period. However, Gomułka soon backed out of the liberal course. The PZPR was still the absolute power in Poland. The conflict between the government and society became more and more patent. The clash between State and Church during Poland's millennium celebrations (1966), and student strikes (March 1968), as well as the anti-Semitic campaign started by the Party in 1968 underpinned the nation's disenchantment with the Gomułka government.
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