Women in Poland, 1945–1989

Women in Poland 1945–1989: Modernity, Equality, Communism offers a compelling and deeply researched exploration of women’s lives under state socialism in Poland. The book reveals how communist promises of emancipation intersected with everyday reality – shaping work, family life, political participation, and personal identity. It examines women’s political engagement, experiences of work in both urban factories and rural fields, the management of household and family life, childhood and education, as well as biopolitics and the evolving culture of beauty. Juxtaposing the Polish experience with developments across Europe in the second half of the twentieth century, this insightful study uncovers the ambitions, contradictions, and lived realities of communist projects directed at women.