Polish People's Republic

• 1. Soviet Occupation And Border Shifts

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  In February 1945, the Red Army occupied the entire country of Poland. Joseph Stalin presented his Western allies with a fait accompli at the Yalta Conference. His armed forces controlled the administration while he demanded territorial changes. The Soviet Union annexed Polish territories in the east permanently. In compensation, Poland received German-populated lands in Pomerania and Silesia. These actions resulted in Poland losing over 20% of its pre-war borders. The Potsdam Conference confirmed these border shifts in August 1945. Over 77,035 square kilometers of land were lost to the Soviet Union. Millions of Poles were forced to leave their homes in the eastern Kresy region. They settled instead in the western former German territories. This massive population transfer reshaped the nation's demographics forever.

• 2. Establishment Of Communist Rule

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  The communist-controlled Interior Ministry issued results for the June 1946 referendum showing all three questions passed overwhelmingly. Years later evidence showed the referendum had been tainted by large-scale fraud. Only the third question actually passed according to historical records. Between that referendum and the January 1947 general elections opposition faced severe persecution. Mikołajczyk's Polish People's Party suffered persecution because it opposed abolishing the Senate. The official election results showed the Democratic Bloc won 80.1 percent of the vote. The bloc secured 394 seats while the Polish People's Party got only 28. Mikołajczyk resigned to protest this implausible result and fled to the United Kingdom in April 1947. Government officials did not count real votes in many areas. They simply filled documents according to instructions from the communists. In other areas ballot boxes were destroyed or replaced with prefilled ballots. The 1947 election marked the beginning of undisguised communist rule in Poland.

• 3. Stalinism And The Polish October

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  Bierut died in March 1956 and was replaced with Edward Ochab who held the position for seven months. Workers in the industrial city of Poznań went on strike in June 1956. This event became known as the 1956 Poznań protests. Voices began to be raised in the Party calling for wider reforms of the Stalinist system. Power shifted towards Gomułka who replaced Ochab as party leader. Hardline Stalinists were removed from power and many Soviet officers serving in the Polish Army were dismissed. This marked the end of the Stalinist era. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński maintained the church through a series of failed government leaders. He was put under house arrest from 1953 to 1956 for failing to punish priests involved in anti-government activity. The Polish People's Republic remained one of the most liberal communist nations despite these events. It was the only communist country without communist symbols like red stars on its flag.

• 4. Economic Boom And Debt Crisis

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  In 1970 Gierek's government decided to adopt massive increases in prices of basic goods including food. Widespread violent protests erupted in December that same year resulting in deaths and injuries. They forced another major change in the government as Gomułka was replaced by Edward Gierek. Gierek's plan centered on massive borrowing mainly from the United States and West Germany. This strategy re-equipped Polish industry and imported consumer goods to incentivize workers. While it boosted the economy it left the country vulnerable to global economic fluctuations. The Golden Age ended after the 1973 energy crisis. Poland's debt reached US$23 billion by 1980. In 1981 Poland notified Club de Paris of its insolvency. Living standards fell sharply as supply of imported goods dried up. Rationing became a way of life with cards necessary to buy milk and sugar. Access to Western luxury goods became even more restricted due to sanctions.

• 5. Solidarity Movement And Martial Law

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  Labour turmoil led to the formation of the independent trade union Solidarity in September 1980. It was originally led by Lech Wałęsa. By the end of 1981 Solidarity had nine million members representing a quarter of Poland's population. Kania resigned under Soviet pressure in October and was succeeded by Wojciech Jaruzelski. On the 13th of December 1981 Jaruzelski proclaimed martial law and suspended Solidarity. He temporarily imprisoned most of its leaders out of fear of Soviet intervention. The government disallowed Solidarity on the 8th of October 1982. Martial law was formally lifted in July 1983 though many controls remained through the mid-to-late-1980s. Food rationing continued during this period. On the night of the 19th of October 1984 Jerzy Popiełuszko a 37-year-old Roman Catholic priest was kidnapped and murdered by three secret police agents. His body was thrown into the Vistula River and discovered ten days later at the reservoir. This assassination sparked outrage among Poles who attended Mass.

• 6. The Roundtable Talks And Fall Of Communism

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  From the 6th of February to the 15th of April 1989 talks of 13 working groups in 94 sessions became known as the Roundtable Talks. These negotiations saw the PUWP abandon power and radically alter the shape of the country. In June shortly after the Tiananmen Square protests in China the 1989 Polish legislative election took place. Solidarity took all contested seats in the Sejm and all but one seat in the elected Senate. Solidarity persuaded allied parties to switch their support to them. This forced Jaruzelski to appoint a Solidarity member as prime minister. He appointed Tadeusz Mazowiecki as the country's first non-communist prime minister since 1948. On the 10th of December 1989 the statue of Vladimir Lenin was removed in Warsaw by Polish authorities. The Parliament amended the Constitution on the 29th of December 1989 to formally rescind the PUWP's constitutionally guaranteed power. This began the Third Polish Republic and served as a prelude to democratic elections of 1991. The last post-Soviet troops left Poland on the 18th of September 1993.

• 7. Cultural Propaganda And Resistance

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  The first prime state television corporation Telewizja Polska was founded after the war in 1952. Its foundation date corresponds to the time of the first regularly televised broadcast at 7:00 p.m CET on the 25th of October 1952. The chief newscast Dziennik Telewizyjny aired from 1958 to 1989 and was utilized as a propaganda tool. It provided more information on world news particularly bad events or scandals in the West. Throughout the 1970s Dziennik Telewizyjny was regularly watched by over 11 million viewers. Under martial law from December 1981 it was presented by officers in military uniforms and broadcast 24 hours a day. In November 1945 the communist government founded Film Polski placing Aleksander Ford in charge. Only thirteen features were released between 1947 and its dissolution in 1952 concentrating on Polish suffering under Nazis. Independent filmmakers like Andrzej Wajda directed films that were political satire aimed at stultifying authorities. The Hourglass Sanatorium won the Jury Prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival despite being banned domestically for ten years.