Removal of the crucifixes in 1958 in north-east counties of Cracow voivodeship resented in the historical documentation of that time

The article depicts how the action of the crucifix removal (so called “decrucification”, Polish dekrucyfikacja) proceeded in Poland in 1958 in north-east counties of Cracow voivodeship. It is one of the least examined aspects of Polish national policy towards the Roman Catholic Church and its followers at the time of Polish People’s Republic (PRL). The goal of the action was to remove the crucifixes from school walls, where they were placed after Polish October 1956. In cities the procedure did not meet serious protests, whereas in small towns and villages it led to significant repercussions. Among the fundamental questions one can ask in this case there are: what was the cause of that phenomenon? What stood behind such a strong opposition against school authorities obedient to the Minister of Education whose ordinance obliged them to remove religious emblems? Why did children from small towns and villages participate in school strikes? Why did their parents stand up against the Prosecutor’s Office, local authorities and even the police? What logic was followed by the state authorities who issued the order of removing the religious symbol from schools? A careful analysis of the documentation gathered by the Central Archives of Modern Records (Archiwum Akt Nowych ) in Warsaw and by the branch offices of the Institute of National Remembrance (Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, IPN) certainly sheds some light on the above questions.