Between a Relic of the Past and a Socialist Duty: Child and Adolescent Labour in ‘Comunist Poland’ in the Light of Literary Fiction for Young People (1948–1980)

This paper examines the cultural image of child and adolescent labour performed in the People’s Republic of Poland in the years 1948–1989 as was presented in the literary fiction addressed to the young people. During the Stalinist period, literature officially condemned child labour on individual farms, but affirmed the labour of adolescent workers in state industry and construction. After the 1956 Thaw, the subject matter of labour was receding into the background, for several reasons. Nevertheless, the post-1956 youth literature also featured labour-related themes: community works, school cooperatives, work in family crafts, tutoring, and shady trade.