The fate of the tiny Fiat is a perfect example of history repeating itself. In the early 1970s, the car was eagerly awaited and then almost universally desired. In the 1980s, the car became commonplace, and in the following decade, when second-hand Western cars began to appear in large numbers in Poland, it became increasingly despised. Today, half a century after its production began, the Maluch is once again an object of desire in Poland, a must-see at all vintage car gatherings, and the prices of well-preserved examples can be staggering on classified ad sites.

Photo 1.

Today, the Maluch cars are the highlight of any vintage car rally. Pictured is a beautiful car in front of ‘Remembrance and Future’ Centre , 11 November 2022.

Photo by Piotr Sroka

Photo 2.

A story in ‘Słowo Polskie’ about those who buy the last Maluch cars.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 29 September 2000, No. 228, supplement entitled ‘Nareszcie piątek’ (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 3.

Although its successor was produced in Tychy from 1991, the Fiat 126p, officially named the Maluch by the manufacturer in 1994, remained in production almost until the end of the century. The last one rolled off the production line in Bielsko-Biała on 22 September 2000.

Photo by Ireneusz Kaźmieczak (FCA Poland Archive)

Photo 4.

‘Gazeta Wrocławska’ of 23–24 September 2000, No. 223, p. 10 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 5.

The Maluch has already seen her biography by Przemysław Semczuk…

Photo 6.

…and a monograph by Zdzisław Podbielski, whose books and articles have inspired generations of Polish motorists.

‘The Flood of the Millennium’ in July 1997 was one of the most tragic events in Wrocław’s post-war history. On Sunday 13 July, about a third of the city was under water. Some 2,500 residential buildings were flooded. Many Wrocław residents lost all their possessions, including their cars, which they were unable to move to safety. Photographs of the flood show how many Maluch cars there were in Wrocław in 1997, and how much their number was reduced by the disaster.

Photo 1.

Wrocław, Tadeusza Rejtana Street, July 1997.

Photo by Andrzej Niedźwiedzki (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 2.

Kozanów, 12 July 1997

Photo by Olga Haus (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 3.

Wrocław, Stanisława Więckowskiego Street, July 1997.

Photo by N.N. (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 4.

Wrocław, Stawowa Street, July 1997.

Photo by Michał Jóźwików (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 1.

Photo by N.N. (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 2, 3.

In the late spring of 1990, Poland’s first municipal elections after the Second World War were held. One of the first decisions taken by the new Wrocław authorities was to close the Market Square to cars for good. The ban took effect on 13 October 1990.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 10 October 1990, No. 237, p. 8 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

 ‘Słowo Polskie’ of 12 October 1990, No. 239, p. 7 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 4.

Photo by N.N. (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 5.

Since 17 October 1990, the cars still parked in the Market Square have been removed at the owners’ expense.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 18 October 1990, No. 244, p. 8 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

The Polish Fiat 126p was a thoroughly socialist enterprise. It was the state that decided to launch production of the popular car, bought the licence and selected the contractor, built the factory and organised the system for selling the finished vehicles. But the Maluch survived the change of regime and was produced for more than a decade under Polish capitalism, eventually returning under the wings of the Western group that designed it.

Photo 1.

On the eve of the contract parliamentary elections, Maluch cars dominated the streets of Wrocław. The number of all cars registered in the city exceeded 100,000 that year. The photo shows the corner of Błogosławionego Czesława and Oławska Streets during the election campaign for the Sejm elections scheduled for 4 June 1989.

Photo by Ireneusz Hasik (collections of the ‘Remembrance and Future’ Centre)

Photo 2.

One of the characteristic phenomena of the early 1990s were Roma children looking for a livelihood. They specialised in washing car windscreens, but usually chose cars better than a Maluch.

Photo by N.N. (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 3.

‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ of 29 May 1992, no. 126, p. 1 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 4.

At the end of the 1980s, the financial situation of the Small-Engine Car Factory deteriorated drastically. Exports of the obsolete Fiat 126p to western markets collapsed. FIAT took an interest in the bankrupt giant. The privatisation agreement – widely criticised for under-valuing FSM’s assets – was signed on 28 May 1992.

‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ of 29 May 1992, no. 126, p. 2 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

In the 1980s, characteristic dwarfs appeared on the walls of buildings in Wrocław. They were the work of the Orange Alternative – probably the most unusual opposition movement in the history of communist Poland. Apart from graffiti, the main form of activity of the Orange Alternative led by Waldemar ‘Major’ Fydrych were happenings in the streets of Wrocław, full of surreal humour, ridiculing the system and its foundations. The ubiquitous Maluch cars were immortalised in numerous photographs of these events.

Photo 1.

Happening of the Orange Alternative: ‘Workers’ Carnival’, Market Square, 16 February 1988

Photo by Mieczysław Michalak (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 2.

Happening of the Orange Alternative: ‘Melon in mayonnaise’, Świdnicka Street, 12 October 1987

Photo by N.N. (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 3.

Happening of the Orange Alternative: ‘Small is Beautiful’, Świdnicka Street, 1 June 1988

Photo by Mieczysław Michalak (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

The small Fiat was the ‘baby’ of Edward Gierek’s team, one of its most important ventures and a symbol of the illusory prosperity of the 1970s. The economic mistakes made by this team led to the crisis and, as a result, its collapse and the emergence of the Solidarity trade union. The hopes of Poles for lasting change were dashed by Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski’s declaration of martial law on 13 December 1981. In the 1980s, Wrocław became a stronghold of the underground Solidarity movement, a place of mass street demonstrations, the cradle of the Fighting Solidarity and Orange Alternative movements. On the streets of the city, among the ubiquitous Maluch cars, the history of social resistance and civil initiatives ignoring the ossified repressive authorities was written.

Photo 1.

On the second anniversary of the August Agreements, i.e. 31 August 1982, the largest mass protest in the history of Wrocław took place. The photo shows a militia line at the then 1 Maja Square (now Jana Pawła II Square).

Photo by N.N. (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 2.

On 3 December 1981, a Fiat 126p belonging to Stanisław Huskowski was used in a daring operation to withdraw and hide 80 million zlotys from an account belonging to the Wrocław Regional Council of the Solidarity trade union. After withdrawing the money from the 5th Branch of the National Bank of Poland in Ofiar Oświęcimskich Street, Józef Pinior, Piotr Bednarz and Tomasz Surowiec drove a Fiat 125p belonging to the latter to the vicinity of the Osobowicki cemetery. There, the money, equivalent to over six hundred Maluch cars, was transferred to Stanisław Huskowski’s Fiat 126p, who took it to Ostrów Tumski and handed it over to Archbishop Henryk Gulbinowicz for safekeeping. The official press reported the removal of union’s money on New Year’s Eve 1981.

‘Gazeta Robotnicza – Magazyn Tygodniowy’ of 31 December 1981 – 1 January 1982, No. 51/241, p. 13 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 3.

Demonstration on the martial law mensiversary, 13 June 1983.

Photo by N.N. (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 4.

Photo by N.N. (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 1.

A common sight on the streets of Wrocław and other Polish cities in the 1980s.

Photo by Wiesław Dębicki (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 2.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 12 March 1984, No. 61, p. 5 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 3.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 12 March 1984, No. 61, p. 1 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 4.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 12 March 1984, No. 61, p. 3 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

From March 1982, petrol station attendants were required to stamp special inserts into the insurance cards of drivers who came to fill up their cars, in order to curb fuel speculation. From 1 April 1984, fuel cards came into force.

Photo 5, 6.

Petrol card blanks issued to the owner of a Fiat 126p registered in Wrocław

(collections of ‘Remembrance and Future’ Centre )

Photo 7.

On 1 July 1988, the sale of petrol at commercial prices (i.e. market prices rather than government-regulated prices) was introduced at dozens of selected petrol stations across Poland.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 27 June 1988, No. 149, p. 1 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 8

With the end of petrol rationing, shortages and queues at petrol stations returned. The photo shows motorists in front of one of Wrocław’s petrol stations in August 1989.

Photo by NAF Dementi (collections of ‘Remembrance and Future’ Centre )

Production of the Polish Fiat 126p began in the same year that the Western world was shaken by the first oil crisis, caused by the embargo imposed by Middle Eastern oil producers following the outbreak of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Poland, which imported this raw material mainly from the USSR, was hardly affected by the first oil crisis. The situation was different during the second crisis in the late 1970s and early 1980s, triggered by the revolution in Iran. The indebted country was unable to import sufficient quantities of the expensive oil for foreign currency, supplies from ‘big brother’ were also dwindling, while the rapidly growing number of cars meant greater demand for fuel. For the best part of a decade, owners of the Maluch and other petrol-powered vehicles had to endure difficulties in buying petrol.

Photo 1.

Queue at a petrol station on the motorway at the Wrocław exit in July 1981.

Photo by Tadeusz Szwed (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 2.

In the summer of 1981, the problems with the supply of petrol intensified.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 4 August 1981, No. 150, p. 1 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 3.

The unfortunate fuel situation was the subject of many jokes.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 6–8 November 1981, No. 216, p. 8 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 4.

Just before martial law, the Voivod of Wrocław introduced petrol rationing.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 8 December 1981, No. 238, p. 4 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 5, 6, 7.

As an April Fool’s joke in 1982, the editors of ‘Słowo Polskie’ wrote about a Maluch with a diesel engine supposedly built in Wrocław (unlike petrol, diesel was not subject to rationing). Interestingly, four years later a prototype Fiat 126p with a Japanese diesel engine was actually built at the FSM Research and Development Centre. ‘Słowo Polskie’ of 1 April 1982, No. 30, p. 1 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

The rapid motorisation of the country in the 1970s necessitated investment in road infrastructure. Wrocław’s transport system had been in place since before the Second World War and remained essentially the same until the reign of comrades Edward Gierek and Ludwik Drożdż. Meanwhile, the number of cars registered in the city grew rapidly – from 16,000 in 1970 to over 72,000 in 1982, and over 100,000 in the last year of the Polish People’s Republic.

Photo 1.

The W-Z route in the mid- 1980s.

Photo by Tadeusz Szwed (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Documents of Social Life Department)

Photo 2.

Even before the mass production of the Fiat 126, the press often wrote about the traffic jams on Wrocław’s roads. By the 1970s, it was clear that the city’s outdated transport system needed to be rebuilt. The photo illustrating an article about traffic jams in Wrocław shows a Fiat 126 – probably one of the first in the city.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 31 October 1973, No. 258, p. 8 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 3.

The flagship road investment in Wrocław in the 1970s was the construction of the W-Z route. It was a highly controversial project, because although it removed car traffic from the Market Square, it disrupted the medieval layout of the Old Town. The photo shows the first section of the W-Z route on the day of its ceremonial opening, 22 July 1974.

Photo by Stanisław Kokurewicz (collections of ‘Remembrance and Future’ Centre )

Photo 4.

The construction of the tunnel along Kazimierza Wielkiego and Oławska Streets lasted until 1978. It was opened on 7 May 1978.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 10 May 1978, No. 105, p. 1 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Photo 5.

A map of the Wrocław’s transport system after the opening of the second section of the W-Z route.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 10 May 1978, No. 105, p. 8 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)

Owning a car was the dream of millions of citizens of the People’s Republic of Poland, as it allowed them to taste the freedom that was so rare in the country, and to feel a bit like a Westerner, if only for a moment. However, the everyday life of car owners in the 1970s and 1980s was not so rosy. They had to contend with problems familiar in capitalist countries, such as traffic jams and parking problems, as well as those typical of socialism, such as a shortage of spare parts and, in the last decade of communist Poland, a shortage of petrol.

Photo 1.

Changing a tyre in a Maluch at the crossroads of Świdnicka and then Gen. Karola Świerczewskiego Streets (currently marsz. Józefa Piłsudskiego Street). The number plate – based on a pre-1976 model – indicates that the unlucky driver came from Legnica Poviat.

Photo by Zbigniew Nowak (collections of ‘Remembrance and Future’ Centre )

Photo 2, 3.

Along with the Fiat 126p, numerous books for its owners have appeared on the market. The work of Zbigniew Klimecki and Roman Podolak Jeżdżę samochodem Polski Fiat 126p (I drive a Polish Fiat 126p) was published in more than a dozen editions.

Covers of books dedicated to Maluch car owners (collection of Piotr Sroka)

Photo 4.

Hand wash…

Photo by Stanisław Kokurewicz (collections of ‘Remembrance and Future’ Centre )

Photo 5.

…or automatic wash?

Photo by Stanisław Kokurewicz (collections of ‘Remembrance and Future’ Centre )

Photo 6.

When Fiat 126p cars filled Polish streets, roads and car parks, many owners tried to give their vehicles a personal touch, like this Maluch owner, photographed next to his car on Kazimierza Wielkiego Street in 1978. The number plate reflected the new administrative division of Poland introduced three years earlier.

Photo by Zbigniew Nowak (collections of ‘Remembrance and Future’ Centre )

Photo 7.

As the number of Fiat 126p cars increased, so did the plague of thefts, both of whole cars and parts. The most important factor was the chronic shortage of spare parts. Polmozbyt offered car owners, among other things, to buy an electronic anti-theft device.

‘Słowo Polskie’ of 3 June 1975, No. 126, p. 4 (collections of the Ossolineum Library / Periodicals Department)