Overview

In this study of the relationship of nationalism, communism, authoritarianism, and religion in twentieth-century Poland, Mikolaj Kunicki shows how the country's communist rulers tried to adapt communism to local traditions, particularly ethnocentric nationalism and Catholicism. Focusing on the political career of Boleslaw Piasecki, a Polish nationalist politician who started his journey as a fascist before the war and ended it as a procommunist activist, Kunicki demonstrates that Polish Communists reinforced the ethnocentric self-definition of Polishness and-as Piasecki's case proves-prolonged the existence of the nationalist Right. Between the Brown and the Red captures the multifaceted nature of church-state relations in Communist Poland, relations that oscillated between mutual confrontation, accommodation, and dialogue rather than stagnating in a state of constant struggle. Contrary to assumptions, under Communism the bond between religion and nation in Poland grew stronger. Between the Brown and the Red also introduces to the reader one of the most fascinating figures in the history of twentieth-century Poland and the Communist world.

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Kunicki provides a concise political history of Poland and its significant leaders. Piasecki, while not a major leader, contributed from the very beginnings of Poland's turbulent times with a taste of freedom following World War I up to his death in 1979.... This biography, one of the few in English, will be a welcome addition to Polish American historians. Polish American Journal

Employing excellent archival research and deft writing, Kunicki weaves the complex saga [of Boleslaw Piasecki's career] into an analysis of the relationship between authoritarianism, nationalism, communism, and religion in Poland over the decades to the present postcommunist nation... Summing Up: Highly recommended. - Choice This is an original, thought provoking, often deliberately provocative book, based on a wealth of archival and published sources. It is, as well, a pleasure to read. Between the Brown and the Red takes its place as one of the best studies of the complex relationship of Catholicism and politics in recent Polish history. - Cosmopolitan Review Kunicki provides a concise political history of Poland and its significant leaders. Piasecki, while not a major leader, contributed from the very beginnings of Poland's turbulent times with a taste of freedom following World War I up to his death in 1979... This biography, one of the few in English, will be a welcome addition to Polish American historians. - Polish American Journal Mikolaj Stanislaw Kunicki has written a magnificent political biography of Boleslaw Piasecki... This book will be required reading for any historian of modern Poland and should also appeal to anyone interested in nationalism, communism, the political Right in the twentieth century, the nature of totalitarianism in postwar Eastern Europe, and the persistence of prewar fascist strands in the communist East (hence the book's title)... This is an extremely well-researched, wellconceptualized, and original work. - American Historical Review

Employing excellent archival research and deft writing, Kunicki weaves the complex saga [of Boleslaw Piasecki's career] into an analysis of the relationship between authoritarianism, nationalism, communism, and religion in Poland over the decades to the present postcommunist nation…. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Choice This is an original, thought provoking, often deliberately provocative book, based on a wealth of archival and published sources. It is, as well, a pleasure to read. Between the Brown and the Red takes its place as one of the best studies of the complex relationship of Catholicism and politics in recent Polish history. Cosmopolitan Review Kunicki provides a concise political history of Poland and its significant leaders. Piasecki, while not a major leader, contributed from the very beginnings of Poland's turbulent times with a taste of freedom following World War I up to his death in 1979…. This biography, one of the few in English, will be a welcome addition to Polish American historians. Polish American Journal

Employing excellent archival research and deft writing, Kunicki weaves the complex saga [of Boleslaw Piasecki's career] into an analysis of the relationship between authoritarianism, nationalism, communism, and religion in Poland over the decades to the present postcommunist nation... Summing Up: Highly recommended. -- Choice This is an original, thought provoking, often deliberately provocative book, based on a wealth of archival and published sources. It is, as well, a pleasure to read. Between the Brown and the Red takes its place as one of the best studies of the complex relationship of Catholicism and politics in recent Polish history. -- Cosmopolitan Review Kunicki provides a concise political history of Poland and its significant leaders. Piasecki, while not a major leader, contributed from the very beginnings of Poland's turbulent times with a taste of freedom following World War I up to his death in 1979... This biography, one of the few in English, will be a welcome addition to Polish American historians. -- Polish American Journal Mikolaj Stanislaw Kunicki has written a magnificent political biography of Boleslaw Piasecki... This book will be required reading for any historian of modern Poland and should also appeal to anyone interested in nationalism, communism, the political Right in the twentieth century, the nature of totalitarianism in postwar Eastern Europe, and the persistence of prewar fascist strands in the communist East (hence the book's title)... This is an extremely well-researched, wellconceptualized, and original work. -- American Historical Review

Author Information

Mikołaj Stanisław Kunicki is Senior Research Fellow in Modern Polish Studies and Director of the Programme on Modern Poland at St Antony’s College, Oxford.

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