Lustration after totalitarianism: Poland’s attempt to reconcile with its Communist past q Matt Killingsworth School of Government, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia article info Article history: Available online 11 August 2010 Keywords: Lustration Poland Totalitarian Post-communism abstract The former Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe have attempted to reconcile their Communist past in different ways. It is in Poland, however, where the issue of dealing with its Communist past through attempts at lustration has been especially fraught. It will be argued here that Poland’s lustration problems are caused primarily by a failure to understand the specific nature of totalitarian dictatorship that existed in Poland under Communist rule. Ó 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Regents of the University of California. Introduction The democratic transitions that many of the former Central and East European Communist states have gone through have occurred on a scale and at a pace without precedent. But the euphoria felt by many following the fall of these Soviet-type regimes has been replaced by a sombre realisation that the road from one-party rule to democracy is not without its obstacles. Perhaps the most controversial and emotional aspect of the transition has involved the question of how the new democratic regimes should deal with those who played an integral role in the maintenance of the ancien regime? More specifically, what should be done with those who either worked for or collaborated with the security apparatus? The former Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe have attempted to reconcile their Communist past in different ways. It is in Poland, however, where the issue of dealing with its Communist past through attempts at lustration has been especially fraught. It will be argued here that Poland’s lustration problems are caused primarily by a failure to under- stand the specific nature of the dictatorship that existed in Poland under Communist rule. Thus, the main aim of this article is to highlight how a failure to acknowledge or even appreciate the particular nature of Poland’s Communist past has lead to misunderstandings about how to deal with its post-communist future. The article is presented in five parts. The first is devoted to a discussion of how best to understand Poland’s Communist dictatorship and more specifically the merits of describing Poland’s Soviet-type system as ‘totalitarian’. Part two provides an historical overview of lustration in Poland. The third and fourth sections present, respectively, the main arguments of lustration advocates and opponents. The fifth and final section is broken up into four ‘lustration problems’. It is argued here that Poland’s ‘lustration angst’ is reflective of and relates directly to a failure to acknowledge or appreciate the specific nature of Poland’s Communist past. q An earlier version of this manuscript was published as a Contemporary European Research Centre Working Paper (‘Lustration in Poland: Coming to Terms with a Totalitarian Past’, Contemporary European Research Centre Working Papers, No.1, 2009). The research for this article was undertaken through the generous support of the Visiting Fellow Program at the National Europe Centre, Australian National University. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Communist and Post-Communist Studies journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/postcomstud 0967-067X/$ – see front matter Ó 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Regents of the University of California. doi:10.1016/j.postcomstud.2010.07.007 Communist and Post-Communist Studies 43 (2010) 275–284