A Polish-born Soviet general who commanded the suppression of the Poznań uprising
On 28 June 1956, arriving in Poznań around 2 p.m., he at once ordered troops to take control of the situation before the security headquarters.
Born into a Polish peasant family in Podolia, Ukraine, and illiterate until eighteen, he was drafted into the Red Army and rose to become a Soviet general. At the end of the Second World War he commanded the Polish First Army in the battle for Berlin and was made a Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war he stayed on in the high command of the Polish army as a Soviet overseer, and in June 1956, as deputy defence minister, directed the military suppression of the Poznań workers' protest on the ground.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1923Drafted into the Red Army
- 1935–1938Frunze Military Academy
- 1944–1945Commanded the Polish First Army, Battle of Berlin
- 1945Hero of the Soviet Union
- 1949–1956Deputy Minister of National Defence, Poland
- 1956Commanded the suppression of the Poznań June protest
- 1956–1963Returned to the Soviet Defence Ministry, retired as army general
Related historical events
Suppression of the Poznań June uprising, 1956
In June 1956, workers’ protests in Poznań escalated into street fighting, and the Political Bureau of the Polish United Workers’ Party decided to use the army to pacify the city. Deputy minister of national defence General Stanisław Popławski was entrusted with command of the operation. He arrived in Poznań on the afternoon of 28 June and ordered troops to take control of the situation outside the Public Security Office; armoured and infantry divisions were subsequently sent into the city centre. The army, the security service, the Citizens’ Militia and the Internal Security Corps all took part in the suppression. The last fighting ended on the morning of 30 June; at least 79 people were killed and more than 600 injured. His command responsibility is a significant aspect of his postwar senior role in the Polish military.