Polish Research on the History of the Comintern: An Overview of Existing Literature and an Outline of Future Perspectives

Abstract

Although Polish research on the Communist International (Comintern) history began in the interwar period, the existing literature does not constitute a highly-developed field. This becomes particularly evident when Polish studies are compared to research produced in Russia, Germany, the United States, and Italy, or even India and Korea. This state of affairs is, to some degree, a result of political conditions that influenced, and continue to influence, access to archival sources. For this reason, interest in the Comintern after 1989 closely resembles the situation in research on the history of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP), which was, after all, one of the sections of the Third International. In both cases – in research on the Comintern and on the KPP – the focus was on shedding light on historical “blind spots” rather than on developing systematic studies of political organisations. Largely thanks to Professor Jerzy W. Borejsza, improvements have become evident over the past two decades in Polish research on the Comintern and related issues. Indeed, many important case studies have emerged, although what Polish research still lacks are wide-ranging monographs and analytical syntheses. This paper offers a review of Polish historiography’s most important contributions to research on the Comintern, covering the period from the interwar era to the present. It also attempts to outline potential future perspectives in the field, including a brief overview of important international works.