Kazimierz Romuald Mijal (September 15, 1910 – January 28, 2010) was a Polish

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

politician and dissident, best known for founding the illegal

Communist Party of Poland (Mijal) The Communist Party of Poland (Mijal, sometimes called Marxist–Leninist) was an illegal anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party founded in 1965 in Albania by Kazimierz Mijal. It was opposed to the Polish United Workers' Party and ...

in opposition to the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parti ...

(PUWP) in 1965. He was born in Wilków Pierwszy.

Biography

Born in to a poor peasant family, he Graduated from a Tradesmen's Association Commercial School in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. He was a sympathizer of the communist movement in Poland however did not join the Communist Party. After marrying the communist activist and painter Jadwiga Gniewkowska, Mijal became politically active during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and joined the

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party (, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 to form the Polish United W ...

, collaborating with Paweł Finder, Marceli Nowotko and

Bolesław Bierut Bolesław Bierut (; 18 April 1892 – 12 March 1956) was a Polish communist activist and politician, leader of History of Poland (1945–1989), communist-ruled Poland from 1947 until 1956. He was President of the State National Council from 1944 ...

. After the end of the war and the creation of the Polish People's Republic Mijal held various positions in the party and the state. He served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, chief of the Presidential Chancellery, chief of the Bureau of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Communal Economy, and director of the Investment Bank. He was a long-time member of the CC of the Polish Workers' Party and then the PUWP. Following

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

's condemnation of former

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

leader

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956, Mijal aligned with the anti-revisionist movement then led primarily by

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

. He condemned

Władysław Gomułka Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish Communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of Polish People's Republic, post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948, and again from 1956 to 1970. Born in 1905 in ...

First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party (, ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led List of political parties in Poland, two other legall ...

over his siding with Khrushchev and was an important figure in the so-called Natolin faction of the party. He created various pamphlets condemned by the party as "dogmatic and

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

", and used a fake passport to leave for

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, whose leader

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

led the anti-revisionist movement along with

. He founded a new communist party, the

, declared himself Secretary General of the "Temporary Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland" and took control of Radio Tirana's Polish wing. With the

Sino-Albanian split The Sino-Albanian split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the People's Republic of China in the period 1972–1978. Both countries had supported each other in the Albanian–Soviet and ...

in 1978, Mijal gave up on the party and secretly returned to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1983. He was arrested in 1984 for distributing pamphlets but was released after three months. He attempted to revive the Communist Party in 1997 but lacked backing. In 2007 he received honorary membership to the Front Narodowo-Robotniczy. He wrote for the ''Fatherland Weekly'', a left-nationalist newspaper. Mijal was an opponent of the EU. He died in January 2010 in Warsaw, Poland. He was buried on the grounds of Protestant Reformed Cemetery, Warsaw.

References

''Kazimierz Mijal - Dogmatic Diehard or Political Adventurer?'', Radio Free Europe Research, Poland, 26 June 1967
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mijal, Kazimierz 1910 births 2010 deaths People from Grójec County Politicians from Warsaw Governorate Polish Workers' Party politicians Members of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party Government ministers of Poland Members of the State National Council Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952 Members of the Polish Sejm 1952–1956 Mayors of Łódź Natolin faction Anti-revisionists Polish Maoists Hoxhaists Polish dissidents Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 2nd class Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland)