Polish - About Poland - History

On the strength of the agreements in Moscow (21.06.1945) A Temporary Government of National Unity has been established, with the prime minister - E. Osóbka Morawski and vice prime ministers: S. Mikołajczyk and W. Gomułka. In August 1945 the West withdrawn their acceptance of the RP’s government on emigration, Polish military forces have also been eliminated. In the political life the main role was played by the Polish Labor Party (PPR) and the subjected to it (so called licensed) Polish Socialist Party (PPS), People’s Party (SL), Democratic Party (SD) and the Polish People’s Party (PSL) with S. Mikołajczyk. In July 1946, wanting to delay the election, the government conducted a poll of social attitudes (referendum) demanding answers to 3 questions “are you for the elimination of the senate?”,, “Are you for the exercised social and economic reforms?”, “are you for establishing the border on the Oder and Nużycka river?” the results were falsified, probably over 80% said no to the first question. In January 1947 elections to the legislative parliament begun in which PPR and other licensed parties gained 80% of support. B. Bierut became president J. Cyrankiewicz became the prime minister. The victory in the election encouraged the communists to fight the political opponents: PSL has been broken by arrests, S. Mikołajczyk left Poland, W. Gomułka was excluded from PPR. In December 1948 PPS and PPR joined together forming the Unified Polish Labor Party (PZPR). In economy, the following actions were attempted: nationalization of the industry and agricultural reform, the three years plan (1947 - 1949), which assumed eliminating the war damages, unifying the retrieved lands and improving the status of life. The success of this plan was resulted in the great sacrifice of the society in the first years after the war. In 1952 a constitution was enacted, it determined the political system as a peoples democracy and the production sources as ownership of the country. The prospering Stalinization of the country i.e. adopting soviet ideas in political and economic life, was interrupted by the blunders in Poznań in July 1956, they caused the crisis in PZPR and the struggle of fractions over power in the government, which after the visit of N. Chruszczow in Poland (October 1956) was handed to Gomułka. The Polish October caused cardinal S. Wyszyński to be released from prison, formation of the “Sign” - Circle of Catholic Parliament Members, repatriation of 29 thousand Polish from USSR, leaving the plans of collectivizing the farming. Poland suffered from a cycle of political and social crisis. After the so called “little stabilization” during the reign of Gomułka (1957 – 1968), in March 1968 anti-Semitic speeches started to occur as a response to international events (the war of Arabs and Israel). The speeches were inspired by the members of parties related with M. Moczar. As a result of that 20 thousand polish Jews left the country. PZPR removed 8 thousand people. Soon another crisis struck Poland, it was caused by economic difficulties such as: lack of investments in farming and the industry of consumption goods, the attempts of secret collectivization of the agricultural as so called “ agricultural circles”, the costs of expedited industrialization, especially in heavy industry. In December 1970 strikes broke out in Gdańsk as a result of the increasing prices, they were brutally suppressed by militia. As an outcome of the political crisis E. Gierek replaced Gomułka as the I secretary of PZPR. The slogan of his team was: to build a second Poland, it brought: improvements in the standards of life and maintaining the economy with loans from the west, building the giants of heavy industry ("Katowice" foundry, Bełchatów), increasing the prices of purchase in farming and import of food. In 1979 an economic collapse came, it was manifested by the shortages in the market’ price increases and inflation caused by the necessity to pay the debts. Many protest in August 1980 caused the team in power to collapse the independent trade union "Solidarność" with the leader L. Wałęsa was created. This was the beginning of a long road (martial law during 1981 – 1983) to the transformation of the political system, which happened after the election on July 4th 1989. The first president chosen in 1989 by the National Gathering was W. Jaruzelski from PZPR, a year later the general election brought victory to Lech Wałęsa.

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1945-1989