Khrushchev’s secret speech – during the session of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, held in Moscow in February 14-21, 1956, Nikita Khrushchev delivered the speech in which he denunciated Stalin. Khrushchev accused the leader of murdering thousands of people. He also criticized Stalin for incompetence during the World War II, enhancement of the cult of personality and distortion of the idea of socialism. The speech triggered de-Stalinization campaign in the Soviet Union – Stalin dictatorship began to be viewed as the time of failures and abuses. The thaw had also an impact on other countries of the Soviet Bloc, Poland among others.
The term was created within the framework of the project Zapisywanie świata żydowskiego w Polsce [recording the Jewish environment in Poland], whose author is Anka Grupińska, a well-known Polish journalist and writer, specializing in the modern history of the Polish Jews. The project, initiated in 2006 by the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, consists in recording interviews with Polish Jews from all generations.
