Socialist Realism, 1949 - Statue Of A Communist Worker - Coal

Imposing charcoal statue, on wooden base.
76 x 49 cm.
A Polish worker is shown shirtless, brandishing a hammer.
The following inscription reads:
"To the World Federation of Trade Unions on the occasion of the II/VIII Congress of Polish Trade Unions from June 1 to 5, 1949 in Warsaw. Federation of Miners Central Committee".

Very imposing work representative of Soviet-influenced art, honoring the revolutionary worker, idealized and heroic. Socialist Realism would be promoted by the Soviet Union in the cultural battle and in propaganda. This movement is still visible in many territories of the former USSR (Kiev, Berlin, Warsaw, Riga...).

Created in France in 1945, the Fédération Syndicale Mondiale became a very powerful international organization thanks to its large membership. French (the language of diplomacy at the time) was widely spoken. And at the time, the global union played a major role in diplomatic relations. In 1945, it took part in the agreement between France and Poland to encourage the return of the many Polish miners who had settled in northern France.
This statue is probably a diplomatic gift from the Central Committee to the World Federation of Trade Unions.

From 1945 onwards, the Western unions would leave the World Union one by one, the result of Cold War differences.