Poznań 1956 protests

The Poznań protests of June 1956 began as a strike by workers at the Cegielski factory over wages, taxes and working conditions, and grew into a large demonstration in the city's streets, with calls for bread and freedom. Protesters attacked the offices of the security service and the local prison, and the government sent troops and tanks. Dozens of people were killed in the fighting. It was the first mass uprising against the communist regime in Poland, and the authorities blamed foreign provocateurs, though the trials that followed were relatively mild. In October 1956 the crisis helped bring Władysław Gomułka back to power in the so-called Polish October.

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