God’s Playground. A History of Poland, Vol. 2. 1795 to the Present

456 POLSKA LUDOWA

Map 23. The Polish People's Repulic (1975)

nothing, and I know it all. That's why I decided to write about it.

XX: And did you write it?

AA: No.

XX: Why not?

AA: I was scared. (Pause).. ,^57

Despite the controls, a great deal of literature of every genre was written, pub-

lished, reviewed, and openly discussed. War stories, tales of the (German)

Occupation, and patriotic history were among the many themes which enjoyed

the encouragement of the Party; but it was not entirely profitable to divide the

Polish literary scene into the official and unofficial sectors. Unlike their counter-

parts elsewhere in the Soviet Bloc, Polish writers often succeeded in blurring the

distinction between approved and unapproved literature; and it would be quite

incorrect to suggest that the Polish Union of Writers (ZLP) was filled exclusively

with time-serving hacks or that eccentric views could only find expression in the

dissident underworld. In Poland, even the Party had to accept that intelligence