People's Republic of Poland
355133
225426111
2008-07-13T17:05:59Z
76.179.164.79
{{Cleanup|date=April 2008}}
{{Infobox Former Country
|native_name=''Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa''
|conventional_long_name= People's Republic of Poland
|common_name = Poland
|continent=Europe
|status = Satellite state
|empire = Soviet Union
|p1=Nazi Germany
|flag_p1=Flag of Germany 1933.svg
|p2=Soviet Union
|flag_p2=Flag of the Soviet Union 1923.svg
|p3=Polish Secret State
|flag_p3=Flaga PPP.svg
|s1=Poland
|flag_s1=Flag of Poland.svg
|year_start=1944
|date_start=July 21
|event_start=[[Provisional Government of National Unity|Established]]
|year_end=1989
|date_end=July 19
|event_end = [[Polish Council of State|Abolished]]
|event1=[[Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland|Constitution]]
|date_event1=[[July 22]], 1952
|title_leader=[[List of Polish heads of state since 1918|Head of State]]
|leader1=[[Bolesław Bierut]]
|year_leader1=1944-1952 (first)
|leader2=[[Wojciech Jaruzelski]]
|year_leader2=1981-1989 (last)
|title_deputy=[[Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland|Prime Minister]]
|deputy1=[[Edward Osóbka-Morawski]]
|year_deputy1=1944-1947 (first)
|deputy2=Tadeusz Mazowiecki
|year_deputy2=1989 (last)
|image_flag=Flag of Poland.svg
|image_coat=Herb PRL.svg
|image_map=LocationPROP.png
|symbol=Coat of arms of Poland
|government_type=Socialist state
|common_languages=[[Polish language|Polish]]
|capital=Warsaw
|stat_area1 = 312685
|stat_pop1 = 37970155
|stat_year1 = 1989
|currency= Polish złoty
|national_anthem=[[Mazurek Dąbrowskiego]]
}}
The '''[[People's Republic]] of Poland''' or '''Polish People's Republic''' ([[Polish language|Polish]]: ''Polska [[Rzeczpospolita]] Ludowa'', PRL; [[Russian language|Russian]]: Польская Народная Республика, ПНР) was the official name of [[Poland]] from 1952 to 1989 inclusively.
Although the People's Republic of Poland was a [[sovereignty|sovereign]] state as defined by [[international law]], its leaders were at the very least approved by [[Soviet Union| Soviet]] leaders.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} They aligned their policies with those of [[Moscow]], making the People's Republic of Poland a [[satellite state]] almost entirely subordinate to the [[Soviet Union]]. The Soviets had much influence over [[internal affairs]] and [[foreign affairs]],{{Fact|date=August 2007}} and [[Red Army]] forces were stationed in Poland (1945 - 500,000; until 1955 - 120,000 to 150,000, until 1989 - 60,000 to 80,000).In 1945, Soviet generals and advisors formed 80% of the officer cadre of [[Wojsko Ludowe]], and by 1948, 30 to 40%. The Polish Communist Party soon became the sole legal party, making the PRL an officially [[communist state]].
==History==
{{main|History of Poland (1945-1989)}}
At the [[Yalta Conference]] in February 1945, [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] was able to present his western allies, [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Franklin Roosevelt]] and [[Winston Churchill]], with a ''[[fait accompli]]'' in [[Poland]]. His armed forces were in occupation of the country, and his agents, the communists, were in control of its administration. The [[USSR]] was in the process of incorporating the lands in eastern Poland which it had occupied between 1939 and 1941. In compensation, the USSR awarded Poland all the German territories in [[Pomerania]], [[Silesia]] and [[Brandenburg]] east of the [[Oder-Neisse Line]], plus the southern half of [[East Prussia]]. Stalin was determined that Poland's new government would become his tool towards making a Poland a Soviet puppet state controlled by the communists. He had severed relations with the [[Polish government-in-exile]] in London in 1943, but to appease Roosevelt and Churchill he agreed at Yalta that a coalition government would be formed. The communists held a majority of key posts in this new government, and with Soviet support they soon gained almost total control of the country, rigging all elections. Their opponents, led by [[Stanisław Mikołajczyk]], managed only one victory, but it was a substantial one: Poland preserved its status as an independent state, contrary to the plans of some influential communists such as [[Wanda Wasilewska]], who were in favour of Poland becoming another republic of the Soviet Union. This important victory would be their last, however, as the communists, tightening their grip on power, began political persecution of all opposition.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} Many of their opponents decided to leave the country, and others were put on staged trials and sentenced to many years of imprisonment or execution.
{{Polish statehood}}
In June 1946 the [[3xTAK]] referendum was held on a number of issues--abolition of the [[Senate of Poland]], land reform, and making the [[Oder-Neisse line]] Poland's western border. The communist-controlled Interior Ministry issued results showing that all three questions passed overwhelmingly. Years later, the Communists revealed that the first two questions had passed only by means of massive fraud on their part.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} Between then and the [[Polish legislative elections, 1947|January 1947 general elections]], the opposition was subjected to ruthless persecution, and many opposition candidates were prevented from campaigning. The [[Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe]] (PSL) party in particular suffered harsh persecution; it had opposed the abolition of the Senate as a test of strength against the government. Although it supported the other two questions, the communist-controlled government branded the PSL "traitors".
This massive repression was overseen by the leader of the [[Polish Workers' Party]], [[Władysław Gomułka]]. He was assisted by the provisional president, [[Bolesław Bierut]], nominally neutral but in fact an old-line [[Stalinism|Stalinist]].{{Fact|date=August 2007}} However, Gomułka never supported Stalin's control over the Polish communists, and was soon replaced as party leader by the more pliable Bierut.
Bierut then took advantage of a split in the [[Polish Socialist Party]]. One faction, which included [[Prime Minister of Poland|Prime Minister]] [[Edward Osóbka-Morawski]], wanted to join forces with the Peasant Party and form a united front against the PUWP. Another faction, led by [[Józef Cyrankiewicz]], argued that the Socialists should support the communists in carrying through a socialist program, while opposing the imposition of one-party rule. Pre-war political hostilities continued to influence events, and Mikołajczyk would not agree to form a united front with the Socialists. The communists played on these divisions by dismissing Osóbka-Morawski and making Cyrankiewicz Prime Minister.
The elections produced a parliament with 394 seats for the communist-controlled [[Democratic Bloc (Poland)|Democratic Bloc]] and 28 for the PSL. Mikołajczyk immediately resigned from the government in protest of this blatantly fraudulent result. In 1989, the communists admitted that they, in fact, had engaged in massive fraud.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} In April, facing arrest, he left the country. From this point onward, Poland was a de facto Soviet satellite, though it was not officially transformed into the '''People's Republic of Poland''' until the adoption of the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland|1952 Constitution]].
In 1948, the communists consolidated their power, merging with Cyrankiewicz' faction of the PPS to form the [[Polish United Workers' Party]] (known in Poland as 'the Party'), which would monopolise political power in Poland until 1989. Soviet Marshal [[Konstantin Rokossovsky]] became Polish Minister of National Defence, with the additional title Marshal of Poland, and in 1952 he became Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Over the coming years, private industry was [[nationalisation|nationalised]], the land seized from the pre-war landowners and redistributed to the peasants, and millions of Poles were transferred from the lost eastern territories to the lands acquired from Germany. Poland was now to be brought into line with the Soviet model of a "people's democracy" and a centrally-planned socialist economy. The government also embarked on the [[collectivisation]] of agriculture, although the pace was slower than in other satellites: Poland remained the only Soviet bloc country where individual peasants dominated agriculture. Despite the fact that Polish historians estimate that 200,000 to 400,000 people died during the postwar period,{{Fact|date=August 2007}} .
In June 1956, workers in the industrial city of [[Poznań]] (Posen) went on strike. Voices began to be raised in the Party and among the intellectuals calling for wider reforms of the Stalinist system. Eventually, power shifted towards Gomułka, who replaced Bierut 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 'Stalin Poland'. However, by the mid 1960s Poland was starting to experience economic as well as political difficulties. Gomułka's reformist veil soon fell off.
The next stage of Polish history began in December 1970. Gomułka's government had decided to prop up the failing economy by suddenly announcing massive increases in the prices of basic foodstuffs. The resulting [[Coastal cities events|wide-spread protests]] led to another major change in the government, as Gomułka was replaced by [[Edward Gierek]] as the new First Secretary. Gierek's plan for recovery was centered on massive borrowing, mainly from the [[United States]] and [[Germany|West Germany]], to re-equip and modernise Polish industry, and to import consumer goods to give the workers some incentive to work. While it boosted the Polish economy, and is still remembered as the "Golden Age" of communist Poland, the obvious repercussion in the form of massive debt is still felt in Poland even today. This Golden Age came to an end after the [[1973 energy crisis]]. The failure of the Gierek government, both economically and politically, soon led to the creation of opposition in the form of [[trade union]]s, student groups, clandestine newspapers and publishers, imported books and newspapers, and even a "flying university."
[[Image:Kolejka.jpeg|thumb|thumb|right|200|Queue waiting to enter a store, a typical view in Poland in 1950s and 1960s.]]
At this juncture, on [[16 October]] [[1978]], Poland experienced what many [[Poles]] believed to be literally a miracle. The [[Archbishop]] of [[Kraków]], [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] Karol Wojtyła, was elected [[Pope]], taking the name [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]]. The election of a Polish Pope had an electrifying effect on what was notably one of the most devoutly Catholic nations in Europe. When John Paul toured Poland in June 1979, half a million people heard him speak in Warsaw, and about a quarter of the entire population of the country attended at least one of his outdoor [[mass (liturgy)|masses]].{{Fact|date=August 2007}} Overnight, John Paul became the ''de facto'' leader of Poland,{{Fact|date=August 2007}} leaving the government not so much opposed as ignored. John Paul did not call for rebellion, instead he encouraged the creation of an "alternative Poland" of social institutions independent of the government, so that when the next crisis came, the nation would present a united front.
A new wave of strikes undermined Gierek's government, and in September Gierek, who was in poor health, was finally removed from office and replaced as Party leader by [[Stanisław Kania]]. However Kania was unable to find an answer for the fast-eroding support of communism in Poland. Labour turmoil led to the formation of the independent [[trade union]] [[Solidarity]] (Polish ''Solidarność'') in September 1980, originally led by [[Lech Wałęsa]]. In fact Solidarity became a broad [[anti-communist]] social movement ranging from people associated with the [[Roman Catholic Church]], to members of the anti-communist left. By the end of 1981, Solidarity had nine million members, a quarter of Poland's population and three times as many as the PUWP had.
[[Image:Jaruzelski przemowienie.jpg|thumb|left|240px|[[Wojciech Jaruzelski]] [[Martial law in Poland|declared martial law]] ([[December 13]], [[1981]]).]]
On [[December 13]], 1981, the government leader, [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]], who had become the party's national secretary and prime minister that year, became ''supposedly'' fearful of Soviet intervention and started a crack-down on Solidarity. He declared [[martial law in Poland]], suspended the union, and temporarily imprisoned most of its leaders. The government then banned Solidarity on [[October 8]], [[1982]]. Martial law was formally lifted in July 1983, though many heightened controls on civil liberties and political life, as well as food rationing, remained in place through the mid- to late-1980s.
This did not prevent Solidarity from gaining more support and power. Eventually it eroded the dominance of the PUWP, which in 1981 lost ca. 85,000 of its 3 million members. Throughout the mid-1980s, Solidarity persisted solely as an underground organization, but by the late 1980s was sufficiently strong to frustrate Jaruzelski's attempts at reform, and nationwide [[Strike action|strike]]s in 1988 were one of the factors that forced the government to open a dialogue with Solidarity.
[[Image:Okragly Stol 1989.jpg|thumb|right|Round-table talks.]]
From [[February 6]] to [[April 15]], talks of 13 [[working group]]s in 94 sessions, which became known as the "[[Polish Round Table Agreement|Roundtable Talks]]" (Polish: ''Rozmowy Okrągłego Stołu'') radically altered the shape of the Polish government and society. The semi-free June elections brought a victory for the Solidarity movement that took all contested (35%) seats in the [[Sejm]], the Parliament's lower house, and 99% seats in the fully-free elected [[Senat]]. In August a Solidarity-led coalition government took power with [[Tadeusz Mazowiecki]] as Prime Minister. On December 29 the Parliament changed the Constitution restoring democracy and political freedoms. This began the [[Third Polish Republic]] and effectively ended the Communist Party's hold on the government.
== Government and politics ==
[[Image:POL PZPR logo.svg|thumb|100px|right|PZPR logo.]]
The government and politics of the People's Republic of Poland were dominated by the [[Polish United Workers' Party]] (''Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, PZPR''). In effect, Poland was a [[single-party state]] following a [[communism|communist]] [[ideology]], dependent on the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] to the extent of being its [[satellite state]]. Since 1952 the PRP highest law was the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland]]. [[Polish Council of State]] replaced the [[president of Poland]].
== Economy ==
{{main|Economy of Poland}}
{{Expand-section|date=June 2008}}
<!--See to do list at [[Wikipedia:WikiProject History of Poland/Polish demographics and economy under Communism]]-->
=== Early years ===
Poland suffered tremendous economic losses during World War II. In 1939, Poland had 35.1 million inhabitants, but the census of [[14 February]] [[1946]] showed only 23.9 million inhabitants.(The difference was partially the result of the border revision.) The losses in national resources and infrastructure amounted to 38%. Compared to [[Western Europe]]an nations, including [[Germany]], Poland was still mostly an agricultural country. The implementation of the immense tasks involved with the reconstruction of the country was intertwined with the struggle of the new government for the stabilisation of power, made even more difficult by the fact that a considerable part of society was mistrustful of the communist government. The liberation of Poland by the Red Army and the support the Soviet Union had shown for the Polish communists was decisive in the left gaining the upper hand in the new Polish government. Poland was under direct (Red Army, [[NKVD]], Soviet concentration camps in Poland, deportations to the SU) and indirect (NKVD created the Polish political police UB) Soviet control.
As control of the Polish territories passed from occupying forces of [[Nazi Germany]] to the [[Red Army]], and from the Red Army to Polish communists, Poland's new [[economic system]] began evolving towards a communist [[central planning|centrally- planned]] economy. One of the first major steps in that direction involved the [[agricultural reform]] issued by the [[PKWN]] government on [[6 September]] [[1944]]. All estates over 0.5 km² in pre-war Polish terrotories and all over 1 km² in Regained territories were nationalised without compensation. In total, 31,000 [[km²]] of land were nationalised in Poland and 5 million in the Regained Territories, out of which 12,000 km² were redistributed to peasants and the rest remained in the hands of the government. (Most of this was eventually used in the [[collectivization]] and creation of [[sovkhoz]]-like [[Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne]] (PGR).) However, the collectivization of Polish farming never reached the same extent as it did in the Soviet Union or other countries of the Eastern Bloc. [http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/62528_1.html]
[[Nationalization]] also began in 1944, with the government taking control of German industries in Regained Territories. As nationalization was unpopular, the communists delayed the [[nationalization reform]] until 1946, when after the [[3xTAK]] [[referendum]]s they were fairly certain they had total control of the government and could deal with eventual public protests. However some semi-official nationalisation of various private non-German industries had begun back in 1944.
In 1946, all enterprises with over 50 employees were nationalised, with no compensation to Polish owners. [http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/49495_1.html]
The punishment of Germany for the war was intended to include large-scale reparations to Poland. However, those were truncated into insignificance by the break-up of Germany into east and west. Poland was then to receive her share from the [[GDR]]. Even this was attenuated, however, as the Soviets pressured the Polish Government to cease receiving the reparations far ahead of schedule, as a sign of 'friendship' between the two new communist neighbors and, therefore, now friends.[http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1845450132&id=fHYh1QxFnFwC&pg=PA230&lpg=PA230&ots=Q6ll4YQgwd&dq=working+with+the+enemy+Poland+Soviet+1953&sig=or9CeHXjtgGQAE2JgMnNeP9peGM] [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN041536406X&id=Ea-j1w5Z17kC&pg=RA1-PA56&lpg=RA1-PA56&ots=F9xHYgAhK9&dq=multilateralism+Poland+Soviet+German+reparations+1953&sig=bMZ1ZLXywR9Ntp7Go2fZE2lhFEc] Thus, without the full deserved reparations and without the massive [[Marshall Plan]], Poland's postwar recovery was much harder than it could have been.
=== Late years ===
During the Gierek era, Poland was already becoming increasingly capitalistic due to its Western [[money]] borrowing. The fact that the West would no longer give Poland credit meant that living standards began to sharply fall again as the supply of imported goods dried up, and as Poland was forced to export everything it could, particularly food and coal, to service its massive debt, which would reach US$23 billion by 1980. By 1978, it was therefore obvious that eventually the regime would again have to raise prices and risk another outbreak of labor unrest.
During the chaotic Solidarity years and the imposition of [[Martial law in Poland|martial law]], Poland entered a decade of economic crisis, officially acknowledged as such even by the regime. Rationing and queuing became a way of life, with [[ration card]]s (''Kartki'') necessary to buy even such basic consumer staples as milk and sugar. Access to Western [[luxury good]]s became even more restricted, as Western governments applied [[international sanctions|economic sanction]]s to express their dissatisfaction with the government repression of the opposition, while at the same time the government had to use most of the foreign currency it could obtain to pay the crushing rates on its foreign debt.<ref name="Neier">
{{ cite book
| author = Neier, Aryeh
| title = Taking Liberties: Four Decades in the Struggle for Rights
| publisher = Public Affairs
| year = 2003
| id = ISBN 1891620827
| pages = [http://books.google.com/books?id=Z5_hgLHYUiwC&pg=PA251&lpg=PA251&sig=4wxxUWdD8jgieONsxFO8tDcJPKU p. 251]
}}</ref>
In response to this situation, the government, which controlled all official foreign trade, continued to maintain a highly artificial [[exchange rate]] with Western currencies. The exchange rate worsened distortions in the economy at all levels, resulting in a growing [[black market]] and the development of a [[shortage economy]].<ref name="EKP-Econ">
{{ cite book
| author = Jackson, John E
| coauthors = Jacek Klich, Krystyna Poznanska
| title = The Political Economy of Poland's Transition: New Firms and Reform Governments
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| year = 2005
| id = ISBN 0521838959
| pages = [http://books.google.com/books?id=PfptbHVD20UC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&sig=L2ZFypSPKyVA23BrkjLx6UtK-D4 p. 21]
}}</ref> The only way for an individual to buy most Western goods was to use Western currencies, notably the [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]], which in effect became a parallel currency. However, it could not simply be exchanged at the official banks for Polish [[złoty]]s, since the government exchange rate undervalued the dollar and placed heavy restrictions on the amount that could be exchanged, and so the only practical way to obtain it was from [[remittances]] or work outside the country. An entire illegal industry of street-corner money changers emerged, similar to pimping. The (''[[Cinkciarze]]'') gave clients far better than official exchange rates and became wealthy from their opportunism, albeit at great risk of punishment--which, however, was greatly diminished by widescale bribery of police.
[[Image:Pewex.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A [[Pewex]] shop.]]
As money came into the country by these channels, the government in turn attempted to gather it up by various means, most visibly by establishing a chain of state-run ''[[Pewex]]'' stores in all Polish cities where goods could only be bought with hard [[currency]]. It even introduced its own ''[[ersatz]]'' U.S. currency (''bony'' in Polish). This paralleled the financial practices in the GDR at the time. These trends led to an unhealthy state of affairs where the chief determinant of economic status was access to hard currency. This situation was incompatible with any remaining ideals of socialism, which were soon completely abandoned.
In this desperate situation, all development and growth in the Polish economy slowed to a crawl. Most visibly, work on most of the major investment projects that had begun in the 1970s was stopped. As a result, most Polish cities acquired at least one infamous example of a large unfinished building languishing in a state of limbo. While some of these were eventually finished decades later, most, such as the [[Szkieletor]] [[skyscraper]] in Kraków, were never finished at all, wasting the considerable resources devoted to their construction. Polish investment in economic infrastructure and technological development fell rapidly, ensuring that the country lost whatever ground it had gained relative to Western European economies in the 1970s. To escape the constant economic and political pressures during these years, and the general sense of hopelessness, many family income providers travelled for work in Western Europe, particularly West Germany (''Wyjazd na saksy''). During the era, hundreds of thousands of Poles left the country permanently and settled in the West, few of them returning to Poland even after the end of communism in Poland. Tens of thousands of others went to work in countries that could offer them salaries in hard currency, notably [[Libya]] and [[Iraq]].
After several years of the situation continuing to worsen, during which time the communist government unsuccessfully tried various expedients to improve the performance of the economy—at one point resorting to placing military [[commissar]]s to direct work in the factories — it grudgingly accepted pressures to liberalize the economy. The government introduced a series of small-scale reforms, such as allowing more small-scale private enterprises to function. However, the government also realized that it lacked the legitimacy to carry out any large-scale reforms, which would inevitably cause large-scale social dislocation and economic difficulties for most of the population, accustomed to the limited social safety net that the communist system had provided. For example, when the government proposed to close the [[Gdańsk Shipyard]], a decision in some ways justifiable from an economic point of view but also largely political, there was a wave of public outrage and the government was forced to back down.
The only way to carry out such changes without social upheaval would be to acquire at least some support from the opposition side. The government accepted the idea that some kind of a deal with the opposition would be necessary, and repeatedly attempted to find common ground throughout the 1980s. However, at this point the communists generally still believed that they should retain the reins of power for the near future, and only allowed the opposition limited, advisory participation in the running of the country. They believed that this would be essential to pacifying the Soviet Union, which they felt was not yet ready to accept a non-communist Poland.
== Culture ==
{{main|Culture of Poland}}
{{main|Education in the People's Republic of Poland}}
: Cult tv series:
* [[Czterej Pancerni i Pies]]
* [[Stawka Większa niż Życie]] ([[Kapitan Kloss]])
: Cult movies:
* [[The Cruise (film)|The Cruise]]
* [[Sexmission]]
* [[Teddy Bear (film)|Teddy Bear]]
== Demographics ==
<!--See Wikipedia:WikiProject History of Poland/Polish demographics and economy under Communism-->
* [[History of Poland (1945-1989)#Minorities in Poland after the War|Minorities in Poland after the War]]
* [[History of Poland (1945-1989)#Changes in Polish society|Changes in Polish society between 1945 and 1989]]
* [[Historical demographics of Poland#Post-Second World War (1945-present)|Historical demographics of Poland - after the Second World War]]
== Geography ==
{{main|Voivodeships of Poland}}
[[Image:Map of Poland (1945).png|left|thumb|300px|Poland's old and new borders, 1945.]]
After World War II, Poland lost 77,000 km² of territory in its eastern regions ([[Kresy]]), gaining instead the smaller but much more industrialized so-called "[[Regained Territories]]" [[historical eastern Germany|east of]] the [[Oder-Neisse line]].
The People's Republic of Poland was divided into several [[voivodeship]]s (the Polish unit of administrative division). After World War II, the new administrative divisions were based on the pre-war ones. The areas in the East that were not [[Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union|annexed by the Soviet Union]] had their borders left almost unchanged. [[Recovered Territories|Newly acquired territories]] in the west and north were organised into the voivodeships of [[Szczecin Voivodeship|Szczecin]], [[Wrocław Voivodeship|Wrocław]], [[Olsztyn Voivodeship|Olsztyn]] and partially joined to [[Gdańsk Voivodeship|Gdańsk]], [[Katowice Voivodeship|Katowice]] and [[Poznań Voivodeship|Poznań]] voivodeships. Two cities were granted voivodeship status: [[Warsaw]] and [[Łódź]].
In 1950 new voivodeships were created: [[Koszalin Voivodeship|Koszalin]] - previously part of [[Szczecin Voivodeship|Szczecin]], [[Opole Voivodeship|Opole]] - previously part of [[Katowice Voivodeship|Katowice]], and [[Zielona Góra Voivodeship|Zielona Góra]] - previously part of [[Poznań Voivodeship|Poznań]], [[Wrocław Voivodeship|Wrocław]] and [[Szczecin Voivodeship|Szczecin]] voivodeships. In addition, three other cities were granted the voivodeship status: [[Wrocław]], [[Kraków]] and [[Poznań]].
In 1973, Poland voivodeships were changed again. This reorganization of administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of local government reform acts of 1973 to 1975. In place of three level administrative division (voivodeship, county, commune), new two-level administrative division was introduced (49 small voidships and communes). The three smallest voivodeships: [[Warsaw]], [[Kraków]] and [[Łódź]] had a special status of municipal voivodeship; the city president (mayor) was also province governor.
<center>[[Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Poland]]:<gallery>
Image:Poland administrative division 1957 literki.PNG|Polish voivodeships after 1957).
Image:Poland administrative division 1975 literki.png|Polish voivodeships after 1975).
</gallery></center>
==References==
{{reflist}}
# {{cite book | | coauthors =[[Jacek Kuroń]], [[Jacek Żakowski]] | title =PRL dla początkujących | year =1995 | editor = | pages =348 | publisher =Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie | location =Wrocław | id =ISBN 83-7023-461-5 }}
==Bibliography==
*''Rebellious Poles: Political Crises and Popular Protest Under State Socialism, 1945-89'' by Ekiert, Grzegorz in ''East European Politics And Societies'', vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 299-338, March 1997
== External links ==
* {{pl icon}} [http://www.polskaludowa.com/ Internetowe Muzeum Polski Ludowej]
* {{pl icon}} [http://www.komunizm.eu/index.html Komunizm, socjalizm i czasy PRL-u]
* {{pl icon}} [http://mirrors.sinuspl.net/www.pk.bezuprzedzen.pl/index.shtml Propaganda komunistyczna]
{{commons|People's Republic of Poland symbols}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poland, People's Republic of}}
[[Category:History of Poland (1945–1989)]]
[[Category:Former countries in Europe]]
[[Category:Soviet satellite states]]
[[Category:Communist Poland]]
[[de:Volksrepublik Polen]]
[[es:Historia de Polonia (1945–1989)]]
[[fr:République populaire de Pologne]]
[[it:Repubblica Popolare Polacca]]
[[hu:Lengyel Népköztársaság]]
[[no:Folkerepublikken Polen]]
[[pl:Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa]]
[[ro:Republica Populară Polonia]]
[[vi:Cộng hòa Nhân dân Ba Lan]]
[[zh:波兰人民共和国]]