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The Polish Committee of National Liberation (
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the later stage of World War II.. It was officially proclaimed on 22 July 1944 in Chełm, installed on 26 July in
Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
and placed formally under the direction of the State National Council (''Krajowa Rada Narodowa'', KRN). The PKWN was a provisional entity functioning in opposition to the London-based Polish government-in-exile, which was recognized by the Western allies.. The PKWN exercised control over Polish territory retaken from Nazi Germany by the Soviet Red Army and the Polish People's Army. It was sponsored and controlled by the Soviet Union and dominated by Polish communists.


Formation

At the time of the formation of the PKWN, the principal Polish authority in German-occupied Poland was the
Polish Underground State The Polish Underground State ( pl, Polskie Państwo Podziemne, also known as the Polish Secret State) was a single political and military entity formed by the union of resistance organizations in occupied Poland that were loyal to the Gover ...
network of organizations loyal to the Polish government-in-exile, resident in London. As the Red Army, fighting Nazi German forces, entered Polish territory, Joseph Stalin and Polish communists proceeded with the establishment of a rival executive authority, one that they could control. The PKWN was formed in negotiations involving primarily the main Polish communist organizations, the Union of Polish Patriots (ZPP) and the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).. The Polish communist movement had been decimated during the Soviet purges in the 1930s, but revived under Stalin's auspices beginning in 1940.. The PPR was a new party organized in occupied Poland, the ZPP originated during the war in the Soviet Union. The PPR had already established in Warsaw a conspiratorial State National Council (KRN), which they declared to be the wartime national parliament.. Because of war-related obstacles, the communist leaders arriving from Warsaw (the PPR delegation that included Władysław Gomułka and Bolesław Bierut) reached
Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
only on 31 July, and attained full agreement with the group from Moscow (ZPP) on 15 August. The documents they produced were antedated to 21 July to comply with the declarations issued as of 22 July. The PKWN Manifesto, proclaimed on 22 July 1944, was outlined in advance in a Radio Moscow broadcast. The PKWN, located in Lublin, became known as the Lublin Committee. While the administrative authority in Poland was granted to the PKWN, many aspects of wartime governance were determined by the Soviet military surveillance. As the Red Army and the allied Polish Army moved into Polish territory, the PKWN expanded its authority within the liberated areas, except for Kresy (prewar eastern Poland), intended by the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
to be incorporated into the Soviet Union (see Tehran Conference, Yalta Conference).


Membership

Among the members of the PKWN were politicians of various communist and leftist parties accepted by Stalin. Its chairman was Edward Osóbka-Morawski of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). His deputies were Wanda Wasilewska and
Andrzej Witos Andrzej Witos (born 8 November 1878 in Wierzchosławice, died 9 March 1973 in Łódź) was a Polish politician, activist and younger brother of Wincenty Witos. Biography From 1902 he lived in Jasionów (between 1905–1907 in the United State ...
of the Union of Polish Patriots (ZPP); Witos was a younger brother of
Wincenty Witos Wincenty Witos (; 22 January 1874 – 31 October 1945) was a Polish politician, prominent member and leader of the Polish People's Party (PSL), who served three times as the Prime Minister of Poland in the 1920s. He was a member of the Polish Peo ...
, a notable pre-war politician.. Andrzej Witos was later replaced by Stanisław Janusz. The fifteen members included those from the KRN and the ZPP. Officially, three were from the Polish Socialist Workers' Party (RPPS, a left-wing PPS faction), four represented the agrarian People's Party (SL), one the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(SD), five the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) and two were unaffiliated..
Stanisław Radkiewicz Stanisław Radkiewicz (; 19 January 1903 – 13 December 1987) was a Poles, Polish communist activist with Soviet Union, Soviet citizenship, a member of the pre-war Communist Party of Poland and of the post-war Polish United Workers' Party (PZP ...
was responsible for the security department and Michał Rola-Żymierski for the defense department. The Soviet side was represented by Nikolai Bulganin, whose role was to provide support for the PKWN's administration and security apparatus, and who was charged with destruction of political and military groupings representing the Polish government-in-exile. The PKWN presented itself as a broad leftist and democratic coalition, but the major Polish political parties were not officially represented. According to historian
Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a Welsh-Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor at ...
, most of the key positions in the PKWN were given to people who were essentially Soviet employees and not PPR members. Security, propaganda and military affairs departments were controlled by communists.


Policies

The PKWN Manifesto promised radical agrarian reforms, expansion of Polish territory to the west at the expense of Germany, and adherence to the 1921 March Constitution of Poland. It called the Polish government-in-exile an usurper and the 1935 April Constitution of Poland fascist. At the outset, Polish communists had marginal support among the Polish population and the new regime was completely dependent on Moscow. The committee's early decrees authorized the NKVD's control over the Red Army's 'rear areas' (in practice all of Poland) and announced a restoration of the Polish Army under Soviet leadership. The PKWN used a combination of repressive and co-optive measures. It appealed to patriotic sentiment, sponsored cultural activities, and implemented a popular and long-overdue land reform. No revolutionary changes were introduced beyond the land reform. The new Polish army, largely staffed with Soviet officers (most of the Polish officer corps present in the east was eliminated in the Katyn massacre or left the Soviet Union with Anders' Army), retained the appearance of a national army and participated in the Soviet offensive all the way to Berlin.. At the end of December 1944, the PKWN was reconstituted as the
Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland The Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, RTRP) was created by the State National Council () on the night of 31 December 1944. Davies, Norman, 1982 and several reprints. ''God's Playgr ...
(RTRP), which was formally recognized by the Soviet Union in January 1945. The government-in-exile retained for the time being the recognition of the United States and the United Kingdom, but in reality the Western powers no longer considered it relevant as an international settlement on the issue of Poland's government was sought..


See also

* Provisional Government of National Unity


Notes

''a.'' "The new Polish regime began to legislate as early as July, 1944. At that time the only existing Polish government was the Polish Government in Exile in London, which was internationally recognized". ''b.'' "In the summer of 1944 there were therefore two rival centres claiming authority in Poland. On one side, there was the non-communist Underground State with the AK, enjoying the support of most Poles, and owing allegiance to the legitimate Polish government in London, which was still recognized by the Western Allies; and on the other, the Soviet sponsored PKWN which, despite its feeble roots among the Polish population, enjoyed the full material support of the Red Army and of the Soviet security forces in the creation of structures of government behind the Soviet front line."


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* Tadeusz Żenczykowski, ''Polska Lubelska 1944''. Editions Spotkania, Warszawa 1990
Mission to Moscow
'' Time'', 7 August 1944 {{DEFAULTSORT:Polish Committee Of National Liberation 1944 in Poland Cold War Governments in Poland Poland in World War II Poland–Soviet Union relations Political history of Poland Stalinism in Poland