Krakow Crisis

The **Krakow Crisis**, also known as the **Polish Crisis of 1959,** was a week long (January 1–7 1959) confrontation between the Democratic Alliance and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet military action in the Polish Democratic Republic that quickly escalated to the Soviets stationing ballistic missiles along the Polish-Soviet Border and the Democratic Alliance stationing ballistic missiles along the Polish-German border in response. The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.

In response to the July 26th, 1953 Cuban Communist Revolution, Georgy Malenkov begins to reinstate Stalinist policies within the Soviet Union. Following a 1956 crackdown on Polish worker's rights by Malenkov policy massive pro-democracy protests erupt
in the Polish Democratic Republic on June 28th, 1956. These riots mainly in the city of Poznań were supported by the far-right Mieszko insurgents and Polish nationalists. These protests were violently crushed by Soviet military action only days later. In response to this violence, Mieczysław Moczar creates the Polski Sojusz (Polish
Alliance) between right-wing Mieszko Insurgents, left-wing Polish Socialists (who were anti-Soviet) and the centrist Polish Nationalists. They united against
the Soviet government.

The Hungarian nationalists inspired by Poland begin rioting against the Pro-Soviet government of the Hungarian People's Republic on October 23rd, 1956. However, the Hungarian revolt was utterly
crushed by Soviet forces only days later. Malenkov was unwilling to budge on the issue and
wanted to set an example and as such had Soviet soldiers open fire on crowds of
protesters. This becomes known as the Budapest Massacre. The League of Nations
denounces this and begins funding anti-communist movements in Poland, Hungary
and Romania.

On December 31st, 1958, Polish forces led by Mieczysław
Moczar and the Polski Sojusz in the city of Krakow revolt against the Polish
communist government. They received funding from the British, French and
Germans. They hoped with the Soviets focused on Kurdistan during the Kurdish War of Independence they
would be less focused on the Polish Democratic Republic.

## Timeline of the Krakow Crisis

January 1st, 1959: Malenkov responds to the Krakow
revolts by sending tanks to the border of Poland. The Democratic Alliance
responds by sending their own tanks to reinforce western Poland. This begins the so-called Krakow Crisis.

January 3rd, 1959: The Soviets station missiles in the Galitsyanish Arbeterepublik aimed at Poland.

January 5th, 1959: The Democratic Alliance responds by
stationing missiles in eastern Germany and western Poland.

January 6th, 1959: A Polish nationalist is shot by a Polish communist, this leads to a heated incident where both the Soviets and the Democratic Alliance were close to firing their missiles.

January 7th, 1959: British Prime Minister Maurice
Harold Macmillan meets with Soviet General Secretary Georgy Malenkov and Polish
Resistance Leader Mieczysław Moczar. While Moczar had originally been an ardent
socialist he had grown disillusioned with socialism following the Soviet crimes
against the Polish people and the creation of the Galitsyanish Arbeterepublik.
German Chancellor Henning von Tresckow stood as the mediator in the city of
Krakow.

January 10th, 1959: Discussions
concerning Poland had grown heated. The Soviets wanted to partition Poland into
Eastern Poland and Western Poland with Eastern Poland remaining communist and
Western Poland becoming democratic. The Poles in turn wanted a fully democratic
Poland with the inclusion of the Galitsyanish Arbeterepublik. Poland argued for
the independence of Kresowia, containing the territories of the originally
Polish Kresy. They cited the Kresy as a land of cultural, linguistic and
religious equality that had been destroyed by the Soviets and Jewish
colonization of Galitsia. They cited the Kresowiaks/Kresowians as an
independent culture that represented a fusion of Eastern Slavs and Western
Slavs and deserved their own independent nation. Other Poles cited this as
false and called for the total annexation of Galitsia and the Kresy region.

January 11th, 1959: The Polish
Democratic Republic is dissolved and is replaced by the democratically aligned Republic of Poland. Mieczysław Moczar is elected as
Prime Minister and Stanisław Mikołajczyk is elected as President. Rather than
continue to use the red and white stripe flag which they viewed as representing
the Jagiellon Concept of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, they adopt the
flag of the Piast Dynasty, a red flag with a white Polish eagle on it. This was
meant to represent their political embrace of the Piast Concept. To represent the new Piast centered Polish state, Kraków is selected as the new Polish capital city. While Warsaw remained the largest city, it had been razed during the Versailles War as well as represented Jagiellonism. Kraków would become a Polish city for the Polish people.

## Aftermath

Riots take place in the Masovian Frayshtat among Poles who wanted
the region to be annexed to the newly democratic Poland. They are violently put
down. This leads to many Poles fleeing the Galitsyanish Arbeterepublik. In
response the Polish government creates the Kresowian Liberation Organization
which supports a unique Kresowian identity and highlights the history of the
Kresy and violence towards the Kresowians. They begin funding propaganda to
support the liberation of the Kresowian People who lived under the thumb of
Jewish and Soviet tyranny.

The stationing of Soviet missiles in the Galitsyanish Arbeterepublik increased the already extremly high tensions between Poland and Galitsia which following the Shtreimel Rebellion and Galitsia's independence, led to the Polish-Galitsian War.