Edward Ochab

Edward Ochab (Polish: [ˈɛdvart ˈɔxap]; 16 August 1906 – 1 May 1989) was a Polish communist politician and top leader of Poland between March and October 1956. As a member of the Communist Party of Poland from 1929, he was repeatedly imprisoned for his activities under the Polish government of the time. In 1939, Ochab participated in the Defense of Warsaw but afterwards moved to the Soviet Union, where he became an early organizer and manager in the Union of Polish Patriots. In 1943, he joined General Berling's Polish Army on the Eastern Front as a political commissar and quickly advanced in its ranks. From 1944 he was a member of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) and a deputy in the State National Council. In 1945, he became minister of public administration and held the successive positions of propaganda chief in the PPR (1945–1946), chief of cooperative associations (1947–1948), and chief of the Association of Trade Unions (ZZZ) (1948–1949). From December 1948, he was a deputy member of the (communist) Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) Politburo, and a full member from 1954. Between 1949 and 1950, General Ochab was deputy minister of defence and led the political branch of the Armed Forces. In Stalinist Poland, he was responsible for enlisting the so-called enemies of the people to forced labour in the mines of southern Poland. These units were called "battalions of labour". After Bolesław Bierut's death, Ochab became First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party and served in that capacity between 20 March and 21 October 1956. During Ochab's rule, the process of the post-Stalinist "thaw" was well under way, but the first secretary also played a role in authorizing the violent suppression of the worker revolt in Poznań in June. In October, Ochab stood...