Myśl antykomunistyczna w literaturze popularnej. "Do walki z bolszewizmem. W sidłach złudzenia" Stefana Kiedrzyńskiego

Anticommunist thought in popular literature. To combat Bolshevism. Trapped by the illusion by Stefan Kiedrzyński Strong involvement in current political affairs was not only the domain of writers like Żeromski, and popular literature was equally good at dealing with the issue of anti-communism, often not giving way to the topic of highly artistic literature. The purpose of the chapter: Anticommunist thought in popular literature. To combat Bolshevism. Trapped by the illusion by Stefan Kiedrzyński is an attempt to present anti-communist thought in popular literature against the background of high-artistic literature on the example of selected works by Stefan Kiedrzyński, a forgotten and underappreciated writer of the interwar period. To this end, Agata Adamowicz analyzes the brochure To combat Bolshevism (1920), published under the Kiedrzyński's editorship and, above all, his novel Trapped by the illusion (1939) in reference to First Spring (1924) by Stefan Żeromski, drawing attention to the artist's excellent orientation in the current socio-political situation and the awareness of the threat of spreading the idea of Bolshevism. The author tracks similarities between the writers, that undoubtedly comprise their political commitment, as well as presenting readers the real face of the communist movement, searching for a truly Polish idea in the face of powerful threats from outside, and concern for the future of the young generation. The chapter reveals many similarities between Cezary Baryka and the protagonist of Trapped by the illusion – Ryszard Nahorski, which has not been the subject of research so far. The author points to Kiedrzyński's approach to communism not only as a theory, but as a real danger. The analysis of Stefan Kiedrzyński's texts shows that the writer is not free from anti-Semitism, to some extent succumbing to the myth of the Judeo-communism, which is shown by the creation of the protagonists of Jewish communists taken outright from anti-Semitic brochures. The author also indicates the writer's aversion to atheism, which goes hand in hand with his hostility to communism, and Kiedrzyński's thorough conviction about the deep values of Christianity. On the other hand, Kiedrzyński himself, due to his worldview and attitude to communist doctrine, is counted among the writers of the right-hand side of Polish literature