Emigracja ludności żydowskiej z Polski do Izraela w latach 1956–1959. Przyczyny, przebieg wyjazdu, proces adaptacji w nowej ojczyźnie

EMIGRATION OF THE JEWISH POPULATION FROM POLAND TO ISRAEL IN 1956–1959. REASONS, STAGES AND ASSIMILATION IN THE NEW COUNTRY The present article discusses the reasons for the emigration of Jews from Poland in 1956–1959, the stages of the process as well as the emigrants’ assimilation in Israel. For the purpose of presenting a complete description of the subject, I began with depicting the social and political transformations of the Jewish minority in the aftermath of World War II. In the next section I concentrate on the reasons for emigration and its structure. I also devote special attention to the assimilation process of the Polish Jews in Israeli society and its numerous and various difficulties. The article is concerned with the period of 1956–1959. In October 1956 the Central Committee of the Polish Workers’ United Party (PZPR) appointed Władysław Gomułka as the first secretary. He was the one to issue an emigration permit, while the year 1959 marks the end of the Jewish mass departures for Israel.