Lysenkoism in Poland

Abstract

This article describes the impact of, and response to, Trofim D. Lysenko's anti-genetics campaign in Poland between the years 1949 and 1956. It focuses particularly upon the response of three individuals - Teodor Marchlewski, Wacław Gajewski, and Aleksandra Putrament - who were central figures in the controversy in Poland. In addition to examining the responses and motivations of these individuals, the article also addresses the question of why the Lysenko-era in Poland ended relatively earlier than in neighboring Soviet-allied states such as Hungary, East Germany or Czechoslovakia, as well as 9years before Lysenko was forced from power in the USSR. I argue that conditions specific to Polish politics and Poland's relationship with the Soviet Union, during the Thaw after Stalin's death, provided the opponents of "Lysenkoism" in Poland with an opportunity to criticize Lysenko, and restore Polish genetics. These conditions are linked to the near-revolution in Poland following the strike in Poznan in June, 1956, and successful transition of power between Edward Ochab and Władysław Gomułka the following October.