The
People's Republic of Poland or
Polish People's Republic (
Polish Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL;
(Russian) ???????? ???????? ??????????, ???) was the official name of
Poland from 1952 to 1989.
Although the People's Republic of Poland was a sovereign state as defined by international law, its leaders were at the very least approved by Soviet leaders.[citation needed] 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,[citation needed] 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.
At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Stalin was able to present his western allies, 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 Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, 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.[citation needed] 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.
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.[citation needed] Between then and the 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".
