Sport and Polish Society in the Communist Era

Using the history of sport in the small towns and local communities of Poland, this book shines new light on the everyday reality of life under a communist regime in Eastern Europe in the 20th Century.

Marta Kurkowska-Budzan is associate professor at the Institute of History of Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. Marcin Stasiak is assistant professor at the Institute of History of Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland.

Introduction 1 Coming of Age in Rural Poland: Sports and Cultural Shifts in the 1950s 2 Spontaneous Sporting Activity: Vernacular and Temporary Playing Fields 3 The Legacy: Sports Infrastructure in Small Towns and Its Cultural Context in the Inter-War Period 4 Local Dynamics: People's Sports Teams and Sporting Practices in the Polish People's Republic 5 Sport as Social Engineering: Shaping the New Man and Society in Everyday Practice 6 Road Cycling as a Vehicle for Social Mobility: Exploring the Transformative Power of Sports 7 Sport in Rural Areas and Small Towns: Acculturation and Local Social Actors in Late Socialist Poland