4. Hallway of the regional headquarters of the Polish United Workers’ Party

The hallway of the Collegium Martineum features mostly the original furnishings (floor, ceilings, stairs, etc.) from the Workers’ Party’s time. During the last renovation, the glass bricks that once illuminated the hallway and added to its special ambience were replaced by window panes. Despite the shifting ownership of the building, the porter’s lodge remains in its original location. The place occupied today by the tills and the Enigma Cipher Centre Shop used to house a newsagent’s with a basic assortment of goods and newspapers, including the local Workers’ Party’s daily Gazeta Poznańska (the place was a bookshop when the premises were used by the AMU Faculty of History). Interestingly, there was a neon on the roof saying Read Gazeta Poznańska. The cloakroom occupies its original place, as are the lift and the restrooms.

Watch Professor Konrad Białecki’s lecture on the Regional Committee of the Polish United Workers’ here.