Western Esotericism and Parapsychology in Socialist Poland: Between Censorship and the Official Culture

This article addresses the development dynamics of paranormal beliefs and practices in the Polish press and book market under socialism. 1989/1990 witnessed an explosion of New Age Thought, but the ground for this change had been laid during the previous two decades. The first part of the article provides an introduction to the issue of the occult and the paranormal in socialist Poland. The second part outlines the specificity of censoring practices, while the third examines the early efforts to integrate occult ideas and practices into the official culture and to receive support from scholars. The last two sections reveal that from the early 1970s onwards, more and more books, press articles, and magazines dealing with these subjects were released with the approval of officials. This was due both to the system’s interrupted and uneven liberalization, and the milieu’s willingness to become part of the official culture and to get entrenched in scientific organizations. Furthermore, it is likely that paranormal issues were considered relatively harmless and even a useful safety valve by the authorities.