Czytelnik

The Czytelnik Publishing House (Polish: Wydawnictwo "Czytelnik") is a publishing company in Poland.[1] It was established in 1944 behind the Soviet front line as the Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza "Czytelnik" ("Czytelnik" Publishing Cooperative). As of now, it is the oldest post–World War II publisher in Poland.[2] The word czytelnik means "reader" in Polish.

Intended to be located in Warsaw after the Nazi German withdrawal, it was temporarily headquartered in Lublin and Łódź. In July 1945 the headquarters were moved to Warsaw.[2] Initially, the Czytelnik published newspapers, periodicals, as well as books. Since 1951 publishing of newspapers and periodicals was transferred to the Workers' Publishing Cooperative "Prasa" ("Press"), which was reorganized and greatly expanded in 1973 as the Prasa-Książka-Ruch ("Press-Book-Movement") monopoly financing the PZPR until the end of Soviet domination.[3]

In 1945–48 the publishing house was under heavy influence of a committed Stalinist Jerzy Borejsza. It was a publishing monopoly in Communist Poland, described by Czesław Miłosz as Borejsza's "personal state-within-a-state for books and press".[4] Borejsza was removed from his role during the ousting of Władysław Gomułka in 1948, part of the Soviet-led campaign against the so-called "right-wing and nationalist deviation" in Polish Workers' Party. [5]