Post-war Poland Research Articles

Changes in the Agricultural Structure of Pomerania after 1945

The westward shift of the Polish border in 1945 sparked a debate about the reconstruction of agriculture within the so-called Recovered Territories, according to the political and economic policy of post-war Poland. The government was particularly focused on rapidly populating the former German territories with Polish inhabitants and on starting agricultural production. In order to attract the highest possible number of settlers, the authorities planned to parcel out the large, former German estates among immigrants from the central and eastern regions of Poland. Additionally, the government sought to base the agricultural structure on medium-sized peasant farms, which were expected to bring good political and economic benefits. After the first successful years of agricultural reconstruction according to the aforementioned principles (1945-1949), the subsequent decades brought a reversal of the trend, which led to an increasing concentration of large, state-owned agricultural estates. The privatization that occurred after 1990 did not change the size structure of agricultural holdings.

POLITICS OF HISTORICAL MEMORY IN MODERN POLAND

The research investigates different approaches to the policy of historical memory in Poland nowadays. The main focus of the paper is the policy of Law and Justice party that represents a conservative wing in Polish politics. The party gave a response to the activities of those historians, political writers and other thinkers who called to explore and openly discuss the shameful pages of Poland’s history, and to strive for its objective assessment in the name of truth, the triumph of universal moral values, as well as for the purpose of learning lessons from the mistakes of the past. Conservatives reproach their opponents for creating a negative image of Polish history, exaggerating facts that make Poles ashamed of their history and instill a complex of guilt and inferiority for the whole nation. The leaders of Law and Justice party believe that historical policy should strengthen the Polish state and promote a positive image of the national history. They want Polish society to pay more attention to the historical episodes that cause a sense of national pride. Conservatives consider it an important task to preserve the historical memory of the victims and suffering of the Polish people, especially in the twentieth century. They pay great attention to the disclosure of activities of state security agencies during the times of the People's Republic of Poland and struggle against all symbols of Poland’s communistic past. The Law and Justice party attaches special importance to the glorification of the heroes of the national liberation movement and to the fighters against the Communist regime in post-war Poland. Conservatives believe that these people should embody the morale of the Polish nation and serve as an example for present and future generations.

The impact of World War II on the population of Gdańsk

The article discusses the impact of World War II on the fortunes of the population of Gdańsk, which was incorporated into Poland together with eastern parts of Germany. The development of ethnic relationships in the areas described in post-war Poland as the "regained territories" was determined by the national idea. The German population was resettled, whilst the people of the Polish-German borderlands had to prove their ethnic usefulness by means of ethnic vetting. In Gdańsk, this applied mainly to the inhabitants of the pre-war Free City of Danzig.

Prawny status zawodu lekarza. Wybrane zagadnienia

The article deals with a very crucial question of the legal status of physicians in Poland. The question asked is whether a physician who works as a sole practitioner may be recognized as a person performing a liberal profession, a public trust profession (a category specifi c only as far as Polish domestic law concerned), or a regulated profession (according to Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifi cations). Consequently, first the concepts of a liberal, regulated and public trust professions are analysed. Another important question to be answered is if physicians practicing as sole traders are undertakings in the meaning of the EU law and if they are what their status is. The vastest exclusion in terms of the subject and object of the legislation was provided by the Regulation on Industrial Law issued by Poland’s President on 7 June 1927 which excluded the activity conducted by physicians. Under Article 3 of the President’s Regulation the Commercial Code 27 June 1934, all liberal professions were also excluded from activities considered to be a form of entrepreneurship. This attitude changed in postwar Poland and the Act of 23 December 1988 on Economic Activity provided for no exclusion for any liberal profession from being regarded as economic activity. The Act of 19 November 1999 on Economic Activity excluded from its scope only entities that provided legal services (barristers and solicitors) and those rendering services in the area of industrial property. Today, under Polish law physicians are considered to be an undertaking in two situations: when they conduct their activities in the form of so-called ‘private practice’ (one-person undertaking), or when they conduct their practice within so-called ‘collective practice’ (partnership). They are not regarded as undertakings when they are employed by a medical institution or another medical entity on the basis of an employment contract. In such a case they fall under the provisions of the Act of 15 April 2011 on Medical Activities, but still keep the status of liberal profession.

A vision of history in the teachings of Primate Stefan Wyszyński

For Primate Stefan Wyszyński, the past of the nation was an important element creating the identity of the nation, on whose behaviour its future depended. Maintaining the memory of the history of the nation, which, in the primate’s thought, was constituted when Mieszko I was baptised in 966, was one of the priorities of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński’s teaching. For this reason, it was also a part of the world-view dispute between the Primate and the communist authorities of postwar Poland, whose aim was to erase many pages of history from national memory or to give them a different meaning as a condition for creating a „new” society based on the Soviet model. In the evaluation of the past, falsified in the People’s Republic of Poland, the Primate used „his own domestic and national sense” and „proper evaluation of the spirit”. The theological perspective allowed the Primate to look at the painful and tragic pages of history, including the lost national uprisings, as a sacrifice modelled on the sacrifice of Christ, necessary for the resurrection of Poland. According to Primate Wyszyński, the history of the nation was a reservoir of values, co-shaped by faith and the Church, from which future generations could draw in the struggle to regain independence in 1918 and regain sovereignty.

LAW ENFORCEMENT STRUCTURES AS A PART OF NATIONAL POLICY CONCERNING JEWISH POPULATION IN GALICIA IN INTERWAR POLAND

Using the documents of police and attorney departments the author of the article tried to make general analysis of state national policy in Galicia concerning Jewish population of Poland between the two world wars and the participation of law enforcement agencies in this policy. Of all the territories of interwar Poland, Galicia had the largest Jewish population. In 1921, there were 736,000 Jews recorded there, and in the Lviv region there were 313,206 people, and in Lviv in 1921 there were 78,854 Jews, most of all from the cities of Galicia. Before the war, Jews ranked second in terms of population in this city, only being less than the Poles. The Jewish side of the national policy of the Second Polish Republic had its differences in comparison with the relations of the Polish authorities and other peoples who lived in this state. Very often, law enforcement agencies tried not only to limit some anti-Polish sides of the Jewish movement, but also to block anti-Jewish phenomena, which often occurred in this controversial society. After the war, the Jews received some positive acts from the Polish authorities. In response some of the Jewish leaders called on the Jewish population of Poland to move to neutrality, or to support the actions of the authorities. Among the intellectuals in postwar Poland was a large stratum of Jews, also they were among the large and middle bourgeoisie, bankers and financiers, who sponsored significant part of Jewish organized life, including the departure to the historical homeland of Palestine. At the same time, the Lviv Police Department of the State Police actively supervised and observed the activities of all Jewish organizations. Political and social actions of Jews were often banned, and criminal cases against their organizers were opened. As evidenced by archival documents, all Jewish political parties, national-cultural, religious communities and their leaders, in particular, were under the watchful eye of the Polish State Police. In addition, there are a lot of documents in the funds of the State Archives of Lviv Region concerning the persecution of Jews by Polish political groups and organizations. However, law enforcement agencies have often acted against such groups, protecting the Jewish population.

The “Scientific View” of the Intelligentsia: The Literary Roots of Scholarly Public Debates in Post-War Poland (1946–1948)

The “Scientific View” of the Intelligentsia: The Literary Roots of Scholarly Public Debates in Post-War Poland (1946–1948)

Grodków jako ośrodek sądownictwa

The article refers to the history of the judiciary in the town and the county (poviat) of Grodków which is presently located in Opolskie Voivodeship. In the first chapter, a short history of the establishment of the town, description of its owners, the process of creation of the administrative structure and some titbits of the town’s history are presented. In the consecutive parts, the history of the foundation and activity of several courts which operated in the town is presented. An analysis of the files concerning the town and court records preserved in the State Archives in Opole is also made. In the last but one chapter, a list of first people representing a new judiciary system in postwar Poland in the territory of the voivodeship and the poviat is presented. The article ends with a description of the last court operating in the town, that is the county court.

KEY POLICE FORCES IN THE REBORN POLAND – HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND LINGUISTIC COMMENTARY ON THEIR NAMES

The text concerns the names of Polish police forces, their symbols, semantics, etymology and the way they are written down (spelling). The article contains historical and linguistic content. The reconstruction of the Polish state in 1918 made it possible to establish the police as a typical organisation. The Seym passed an act establishing a new, uniform police force (the State Police) on 24 July 1919. It was the fi rst Polish police organisation to survive formally until 1944. In post-war Poland, the traditional functions (tasks) of the police were taken over (performed) by the Citizens’ Militia. Contrary to its own name, the militia did not have the status of civic activism for the common good, but was a state body, centralised, hierarchical, rejecting the principle of nonpoliticality and linked to the security apparatus. The modern police are the heir not only of the State Police, but also of all previous Polish police forces. To sum up, the article brings closer and commemorates the important moments of our history, giving an idea of the changing reality of everyday service and the role of police in the various forms of the political system.

From Socialist Realism to Modernism: Józef Zbigniew Polak - a Forgotten Champion on Poland’s Architectural Post-War Map

The article concerns work by architect Józef Zbigniew Polak, who was the first Pole to win an international architectural competition in the Polish post-war era. As a lecturer, and graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, he continued the design school of Prof. Bohdan Pniewski. Polak’s architectural creativity can be divided into several phases, which are in turn closely connected to various developmental periods of architecture in post-war Poland. His designs and architectural realizations are often overlooked by researchers, which is among others the result of his later long-term activity in other countries.

Sanitary aviation in post-war Poland – historical outline

Objectives<i>The aim of this research paper is to present the history of sanitary aviation in postwar Poland since 1945 up till now. In the course of research the following methods were used: analysis, synthesis, abstraction and generalization. The outcome of the research is presentation of the 74 year history of restoring aviation as an element of medical rescue system in postwar Poland.</i>Methods<i>In the course of research the following theoretical research methods were used: analysis, synthesis, abstraction and generalization.</i>Results<i>It has been proved that due to great involvement of Polish aviators the operational capacity of medical service system was restored in a short period of time benefitting by the pre war experience and that of other dynamically developing countries of Western Europe. The historical facts had crucial influence on the present make up of Aviation Emergency Medical Service.</i>Conclusions<i>Presently the formation owns modern aircraft and equipment compliant with worldwide standards of HEMS Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.</i>

The Plight of German Residents of Post-War Poland and Their Identity Issues

AbstractThis article discusses hardships faced by Germans and groups regarded as Germans in postwar Poland stemming from practices of central and local authorities such as expulsions, forced labor, national verification and rehabilitation procedures, de-Germanization, first and last names changes, etc. Collective and individual fates of the German population in Poland are highlighted by political, legal, and social processes occurring in Poland as well as by international politics. Most importantly, the article emphasizes the impact of ambiguous and inconsistent policies of the Polish communist state, which resulted in mass German emigration from Poland and paradoxical identity choices leaning increasingly toward Germanness away from Polishness.

Persecution and Prejudice Against Roma People in Poland after World War II

Abstract The Roma community in Poland is comprised of about 30,000 people and since 2005, they have been recognized as an ethnic minority. Although they have been present in Poland for centuries, they still arouse ambivalent feelings. On one hand, Roma amaze and fascinate with their dissimilarity, but on the other hand, they create fear and contempt. The latter is caused by their lifestyle and perception of reality, which differ from the dominant, universally recognized norms. Stereotypes and myths about this community have a long history and are deeply rooted in European societies and have been and continue to be the reason for marginalization and persecution of the Roma. The aim of this article is to present the situation of the Roma minority in Poland in the context of anti-Gypsy attitudes and relations with the non-Roma majority in post-war Poland.

Lemkos, Poles, and Operation Vistula: The Suffering of the Lemkos and its Reception among the Poles

Abstract In 1947 the Polish communist regime brutally deported 30,000 Lemkos—a small ethnic group living in Poland, recognized as a part of the Ukrainian nation. This was done as a part of an operation code-named “Vistula”—a special operation of the Polish Army against the Ukrainian underground. In post-war communist Poland it was forbidden to write or talk about the whole truth concerning the fate of the Lemkos. It was only after the collapse of the communist regime that the Lemkos could openly speak of their injustice.

With us or against us?: Nazi collaboration and the dialectics of loyalty and betrayal in postwar Poland, 1944–1946

Given instances of widespread citizen cooperation with political regimes widely perceived as illegitimate, why are some individuals subsequently branded as collaborators who had engaged in “treasonous cooperation” with the enemy whereas others who had been involved in similar or identical forms of cooperation were not? Using the branding and punishment of Nazi collaborators in the postwar Polish criminal court system as a case study, this article excavates how the perceived betrayals undergirding the social construction of collaboration are shaped by the interaction of macro- and micro-level bonds associated with membership in national and local communities. This analysis highlights how highly localized perceptions of betrayal, manifested as individual grievances, became intertwined with larger understandings of loyalty to the nation, thereby selecting who was eligible for membership in the postwar political and social order. In addition to laying the groundwork for a sociological theory of collaboration, this study also contributes to a growing body of scholarship dedicated to “everyday nationhood.”

Ciało zbrodniarza. Wizualne reprezentacje procesu i egzekucji Arthura Greisera

THE BODY OF A WAR CRIMINAL: VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF ARTHUR GREISER’S TRIAL AND EXECUTIONThe essay depicts the representations of the public image of Arthur Greiser, the Governor of Reichsgau Wartheland and a war criminal, tried and sentenced to death in post-war Poland in 1946. The author analyzes visual sources, such as photographs and films. The post-war images of Arthur Greiser suggest a different figure of the Nazi leader who tried to create his own, well-considered public image as a beginner member of the Nazi party, and later — as the leader of an occupied territory. The Polish discourse, as the anti-war and anti-Nazi one, broke the majestic and proud figure of Greiser, presented him as a ruthless war criminal responsible for persecutions and genocide, an unhuman being without compassion and a monster with specific physiological features. Simulta-neously, the official mass media rhetoric and visual narratives strived to take over the body of Greiser, deprived him the right to dispose of it. The author describes and interprets the pictures of the trial and execution where Greiser is considered as the accused and a dead body/corpse. The visual representations uncover the practice of subjugating the perpetrator’s body in public discourse, as well as the social behaviour and attitudes in the liberated communist country.

Witold Reiss – pierwszy dziekan Wydziału Prawno-Ekonomicznego UMK w Toruniu – w świetle akt archiwalnych i przekazów rodzinnych

This year, the Faculty of Law and Administration, previously the Faculty of Law and Economics of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun is celebrating its 70th anniversary. For decades, it has been educating masses of young lawyers who have been creating legal reality and exerting a great influence on the Polish legal thought. One of the founders and the acting Dean, then the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law and Economics at Nicolaus Copernicus University in 1945–1946, was Witold Reiss, M.A. Being a great organizer on one hand, and an academic teacher of ill repute on the other he is a very difficult character to assess. However, together with the Chancellor, Professor Ludwik Kolankowski, he undertook to cre ate one of the best Faculties of Law in the post-war Poland. The focus of this article is to bring the history of Witold Reiss’s life to wider public.

Böhler , Jochen Civil War in Central Europe, 1918–1921: The Reconstruction of Poland (review)

SEER, 97, 2, APRIL 2019 376 historians in the Arkhangel´ region, although she does cite them in footnotes. In footnote 3 of chapter 4, she states that ‘This book’s interpretation differs from those of Soviet and the majority of post-Soviet historians who tend to see the Civil War in the North as first and foremost a product of the foreign intervention’ (p. 252). Ironically, as I began to read the book, I heard, quite independently, about local Arkhangel´ historians being critical of her work. I cannot fully explain their differences, but suspect that they perhaps arise out of both genuine divergences in interpreting events and the almost the inevitable tension between local scholars and an outsider from the capital. Novikova provides an interesting history of a relatively less known area of the revolution and civil war. Ironically, however, she does acknowledge that whatever the local population’s activity and outlook in 1917–1920, ‘it was clear that the future of Archangelsk province would be decided in Moscow rather than in the North’ (p. 154). George Mason University Rex A. Wade Böhler, Jochen. Civil War in Central Europe, 1918–1921: The Reconstruction of Poland. The Greater War, 1912–1923. Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 2018. xiii + 253 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Notes. Archives consulted. Works cited. Travelogue. Glossary. Index. £35.00. This recent study by Jochen Böhler offers an alternative perspective on Poland’s reconstruction following the Great War, and is based on extensive archival research in Poland, Lithuania, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. It includes printed memoirs as well as primary and secondary sources in Czech, French, German, Polish and English. The book focuses on a decisive three-year period in which the modern Polish nation-state’s borders were delineated and constructed through a means of diplomatic negotiation and armed, on-the-ground combat. From the outset this approach may not seem novel. However, Böhler’s investigation shies away from the traditionalist historiographical narrative, questions it and provides a new hypothesis: that the formative process of the Polish people and state stemmed from the throes of civil war and paramilitary violence — a phenomena present in East Central Europe after 1918 and experienced by already war-weary societies. According to the author, paramilitary experiences in state formation are key to better understanding the dynamics and connections between internal and external conflicts faced by the Polish Republic in the first years of its critical, uncertain existence. Böhler’s Polish case study is part of what he refers to as REVIEWS 377 the greater Central European Civil War, or the war of nations. In this context, he claims that the borderland and border struggles Poland engaged in were in fact civil wars, rather than conventional wars between established states. By analysing Poland’s rebirth through the context of civil war, Böhler establishes that, like constructive factors, destructive ones also played a prominent, if not a greater role in state formation. Both appeared in the quintessential problem Poland faced after 1918: the presence of ethnic groups within reconstructing territory. Ethnic minority questions were directly linked to Polish territorial ambitions, since the state was envisioned as being a political project meant for only one titular ethnic group. Approaches towards non-Poles were reflected in two dominant yet paradoxical political leaderships which were split over how to establish Polish supremacy on lands which, for example, hosted large Belarusian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Jewish populations. Józef Piłsudski’s federal concept envisioned cooperation with neighbours in the east under Polish leadership, while Roman Dmowski’s National Democratic ethno-centrist model aimed at their forceful assimilation. These positions also influenced the various military units which formed post-war Poland’s national armed forces and remained present throughout the existence of the Second Republic. As the author shows, the political orientations of militarized forces correlated with the level of vengeance displayed in battle, and that Poland’s ethnic composition after 1921 was determined by armed conflict influenced by these political visions. Böhler presents some interesting facts that, although already well known, have not until now been examined in the context of civil war. He argues...

Undressing for Sleep, and: Minuet

Undressing for Sleep, and: Minuet Stanisław Grochowiak (bio) Undressing for Sleep To Swen Czachorowski We walk togetherthrough this vast interiorshe robed in pitchI in a sky-blue gownshe with a baldinggreenish skull And hereshe sayswill be the firstmost nailhere you will hangthe zither of both hands Could this goldfinchnest in them, perhaps?I ask She is deaf in both black stars And hereshe sayswill be the second nailhere you will hangyour silver veil of lungs And can this roseblossom in them, perhaps?I ask She is blind in both sharp ears [End Page 49] And hereshe saysthis last nail is for your headsuspend it lightlyfacing the floor’s reverse And Idon’t askI stand so whitewith a halo like the Baptistabove a wiry neck [End Page 50] Minuet For Krysia Nepomucka Give me your hand, dear coffin. The small horseChamps at his bit, his whistling nostrils blow.The coachman places skull on crossbones now,Takes up his holey trumpet to rehearse. Upon one wheel, we set off on our path,Beneath a torn-to-nothing baldachin.How festive it is! I have a mandolin,From which we’ll drive out every sightless moth. Somewhere, dear coffin, is the graveside atWhose side we’ll squat with utmost eagernessAnd, while a worn-out raincoat covers us,Will there conduct a chat most intimate. A mouse will visit us, an owl appear,A jackal crawl by with a hanging jaw,A borer faintly drill into the door—As if regretting something, coffin dear—As if regretting . . . [End Page 51] Stanisław Grochowiak Stanislaw Grochowiak (1934–1976) is a representative of a group of poets who came of age during the Thaw period after Stalin’s death. They were attacked for “Turpism,” or their orientation towards the grotesque which was, in part, a response to the climate of political and literary repression in postwar Poland. At twenty-five Grochowiak became the editor-in-chief of the important Thaw journal Współczesność (The Contemporary Era) as well as subsequently working for numerous other publications including Nowa Kultura, Kultura, Poezja, and Miesięcznik Literacki. Copyright © 2019 Middlebury College Publications

Pamięć i (nie)pamięć Kresów Wschodnich w PRL-u. Przykład Lwowa

The article is about the memory of the Kresy Wschodnie (Eastern Borderlands) in post-war Poland. As a result of the settlements of the peace conference in Yalta, Poland lost half its territory in the east. Censorship in PRL prohibited the talk about the history of eastern Polish provinces. Kresowianie couldn’t speak loudly where they came from, in the place of birth, communist wrote them to the USSR. Kresy Wschodnie were considered the cradle of patriotism and traditional values – traits associated with resistance to communist rule. Kresowianie banished from the land inhabited for hundreds of years, they had to find a new reality. The article presents the issue of the memory of the Kresy through the prism of Lviv. Lviv was a particularly important town in the Eastern Borderlands. The city was a very important scientific, cultural and economic center. The city has evolved a unique atmosphere and a specific urban culture. The memory of Lviv in the PRL, was carried by his former inhabitants.