# March 1968 (1968)

URL: https://poland-history.com/timeline/1968-march-1968
Location: Warsaw
Categories: main-event

The banning of Mickiewicz's play Forefathers' Eve sparked student protests that were brutally suppressed. The party used an 'anti-Zionist' campaign to purge opponents, forcing about 13,000 Jews to emigrate. Within the broader People'S Republic period: Shifted westward and placed under communist rule, Poland rebuilt from the war but repeatedly rose against the regime, until the Solidarity movement forced a negotiated transition in 1989. At this point in the timeline (1968), the governing authority was Marian Spychalski (Chairman of the Council of State), together with Władysław Gomułka (First Secretary of the PZPR). Marshal of Poland and former defence minister. March 1968 mattered because collective action by ordinary people challenged those in power and changed Polish society. The event is placed here so readers can follow it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion and culture across Polish history.

## Why it matters
March 1968 mattered because collective action by ordinary people challenged those in power and changed Polish society.

Ruler at the time: [August Zaleski](https://poland-history.com/rulers/august-zaleski)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 1968 Polish political crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Polish_political_crisis)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — March 1968](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=March+1968)
- [Wikipedia — Polish People's Republic (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_People's_Republic)