Seweryn Bialer
Encyclopedia
Seweryn Bialer is an emeritus professor of political science at Columbia University
and an expert on the Communist parties of the Soviet Union
and Poland
. He was the Director of Columbia's Research Institute on International Change.
, Germany, Bialer joined the underground anti-fascist movement
in Lodz, Poland in 1942. Between February 1944 and May 1945 he was a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp
.
From May 1945 to June 1951 he was member of the Polish communist police force (Milicja Obywatelska
). He also held various positions in the Polish Communist Party (PZPR). He was a political officer of the State Police in Warsaw and a member of the Central Committee
of the Polish Worker's Party. Subsequently, beginning in June 1951, he became a Professor at the Institute of Sociology and political editor of the newspaper Trybuna Ludu
. He was also a researcher in economics at the Polish Academy of Sciences
. During this time he authored several political science textbooks.
In January, 1956 Bialer defected to West Berlin and gave an almost one-year long interview for RFE/RL in New York, which was broadcast to Poland by the Radio in the same year.
He moved to New York, eventually receiving a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia. He was appointed Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of Political Science. In 1983 he was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship
. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1984.
In May 1981, after President Reagan at Notre Dame University dismissed
communism as “a sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages
are even now being written,” Bialer confidently contradicted
Reagan in Foreign Affairs: “The Soviet Union is not now nor will
it be during the next decade in the throes of a true systemic crisis, for it
boasts enormous unused reserves of political and social stability that
suffice to endure the deepest difficulties.” The Soviet Union collapsed 8
years later. [source: David Ramsey Steele, From Marx to Mises (1992)]
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and an expert on the Communist parties of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
and Poland
Polish United Workers' Party
The Polish United Workers' Party was the Communist party which governed the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1989. Ideologically it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism.- The Party's Program and Goals :...
. He was the Director of Columbia's Research Institute on International Change.
Biography
Born in in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany, Bialer joined the underground anti-fascist movement
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
in Lodz, Poland in 1942. Between February 1944 and May 1945 he was a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
.
From May 1945 to June 1951 he was member of the Polish communist police force (Milicja Obywatelska
Milicja Obywatelska
Milicja Obywatelska was a state police institution in the People's Republic of Poland. It was created in 1944 by Soviet-sponsored PKWN, effectively replacing the pre-war police force. In 1990 it was transformed back into Policja....
). He also held various positions in the Polish Communist Party (PZPR). He was a political officer of the State Police in Warsaw and a member of the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the Polish Worker's Party. Subsequently, beginning in June 1951, he became a Professor at the Institute of Sociology and political editor of the newspaper Trybuna Ludu
Trybuna Ludu
Trybuna Ludu was one of the largest newspapers in communist Poland. It was the official media outlet of the Polish United Workers' Party and one of its main propaganda outlets.-Creation:...
. He was also a researcher in economics at the Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
. During this time he authored several political science textbooks.
In January, 1956 Bialer defected to West Berlin and gave an almost one-year long interview for RFE/RL in New York, which was broadcast to Poland by the Radio in the same year.
He moved to New York, eventually receiving a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia. He was appointed Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of Political Science. In 1983 he was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1984.
In May 1981, after President Reagan at Notre Dame University dismissed
communism as “a sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages
are even now being written,” Bialer confidently contradicted
Reagan in Foreign Affairs: “The Soviet Union is not now nor will
it be during the next decade in the throes of a true systemic crisis, for it
boasts enormous unused reserves of political and social stability that
suffice to endure the deepest difficulties.” The Soviet Union collapsed 8
years later. [source: David Ramsey Steele, From Marx to Mises (1992)]
Books
- The Domestic Context of Soviet Foreign Policy (ed., 1981)
- Stalin's Successors: Leadership, Stability and Change in the Soviet Union (1982)
- Soviet Paradox: External Expansion, Internal Decline (1986)
- Gorbachev's Russia and American Foreign Policy (ed. with Michael MandelbaumMichael MandelbaumMichael Mandelbaum is the Christian A. Herter Professor and Director of the American Foreign Policy program at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies. He is also Director of the SAIS American Foreign Policy program. He has written 10 books on American foreign policy...
, 1988) - Stalin and His Generals: Soviet Military Memoirs of World War II (ed.) (1983)
Essay
- Domestic and International Factors in the Formation of Gorbachev's Reforms, in: Alexander DallinAlexander DallinProfessor Alexander Dallin served as Raymond A. Spruance Professor of International History, in the Center for Russian and East European Studies at Stanford University...
/Gail W. Lapidus (eds.): The Soviet System. From Crisis to Collapse, 2nd revised edition; Westview Press, Boulder/San Francisco/Oxford 1995 ISBN 0-8133-1876-9