The
Polish Committee of National Liberation (
PolishPolish is a West Slavic language and the official language of Poland. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet which corresponds basically to the Latin alphabet with a few additions...
Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego,
PKWN), also known as the
Lublin Committee, was a
provisional governmentA provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a previous administration or regime. The early provisional governments were created to prepared for the return of royal rule...
of
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, officially proclaimed 21 July 1944 in Chełm under the direction of
State National CouncilKrajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish was a parliament-like political body formed in the late stages of the Second World War in the Soviet Union, as part of the formation of a new Communist Polish government...
(
Krajowa Rada Narodowa, or KRN) in opposition to the
Polish government in exileThe Polish government-in-exile was the government of Poland after the country had been occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union at the start of World War II...
. It exercised control over Polish territory re-taken from
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
and was fully sponsored and controlled by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
On 22 July 1944 the
Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National LiberationThe Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation known as July or PKWN Manifesto was a political manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation, a Soviet-backed provisional government, which operated in opposition to the London-based Polish government in exile.It was...
was published, announcing radical social, political and economical reform, continuation of the fight against
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
, nationalisation of industry and a "
decent border in the WestThe Oder-Neisse line was drawn in the aftermath of World War II as the eastern border of Germany and the western border of Poland. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście...
".
The
Polish Committee of National Liberation (
PolishPolish is a West Slavic language and the official language of Poland. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet which corresponds basically to the Latin alphabet with a few additions...
Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego,
PKWN), also known as the
Lublin Committee, was a
provisional governmentA provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a previous administration or regime. The early provisional governments were created to prepared for the return of royal rule...
of
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, officially proclaimed 21 July 1944 in Chełm under the direction of
State National CouncilKrajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish was a parliament-like political body formed in the late stages of the Second World War in the Soviet Union, as part of the formation of a new Communist Polish government...
(
Krajowa Rada Narodowa, or KRN) in opposition to the
Polish government in exileThe Polish government-in-exile was the government of Poland after the country had been occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union at the start of World War II...
. It exercised control over Polish territory re-taken from
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
and was fully sponsored and controlled by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
On 22 July 1944 the
Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National LiberationThe Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation known as July or PKWN Manifesto was a political manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation, a Soviet-backed provisional government, which operated in opposition to the London-based Polish government in exile.It was...
was published, announcing radical social, political and economical reform, continuation of the fight against
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
, nationalisation of industry and a "
decent border in the WestThe Oder-Neisse line was drawn in the aftermath of World War II as the eastern border of Germany and the western border of Poland. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście...
". It also proclaimed the PKWN to be "the only legitimate Polish government", thus formally rejecting the Polish government in exile. Soon afterwards, the Soviet Union started to transfer power in the Soviet-controlled areas of Lublin, Białystok, Rzeszów and Warsaw Voivodships to the PKWN. Actual control over those areas remained in the hands of the
NKVDThe People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including...
and the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
, however. Beginning August 1, 1944, the Committee was officially headquartered in
LublinLublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,462 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
.
Nikolai BulganinNikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Prime Minister ....
represented Soviet administration.
Among the members of the PKWN were politicians of various communist and leftist parties accepted by Soviet authorities. Its chairman was
Edward Osóbka-MorawskiEdward Osóbka-Morawski was a Polish politician who served as Prime Minister of the Communist Lublin Committee government , and then of Poland - Provisional Government of Republic of Poland - Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, January-June 1945, and Provisional Government of National Unity -...
(
Polish Socialist PartyThe Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948....
,
Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, or PPS). His deputies were
Wanda WasilewskaWanda Wasilewska was a Polish and Soviet novelist and communist political activist who played an important role in the creation of a Polish division of the Soviet Red Army during World War II and the formation of People's Republic of Poland.She had fled the German attack on Warsaw in September...
(
Union of Polish Patriots Union of Polish Patriots was a political body created by Polish communists and Stalin in Soviet Union in 1943...
,
Związek Patriotów Polskich, or ZPP) and Andrzej Witos (People's Political Party, SL), a younger brother of
Wincenty WitosWincenty Witos was a prominent member of the Polish People's Party from 1895, and leader of its "Piast" faction from 1913. He was a member of parliament in the Galician Sejm from 1908-1914, and an envoy to Reichsrat in Vienna from 1911 to 1918...
, a notable pre-war politician. Andrzej Witos was later replaced by Stanisław Janusz.
Other members included those from KRN, ZPP, Worker's Party of Polish Socialists (
RPPS), SL, Democratic Party (
SD),
Polish Workers' PartyThe Polish Workers' Party was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland, and merged with the Polish Socialist Party in 1948 to form the Polish United Workers' Party.-History:...
(
PPR) and unaffiliated. Most of these organisations and politicians were largely unknown to Polish society.
On 31 December 1944, the PKWN was joined by several members of the
Polish government in exileThe Polish government-in-exile was the government of Poland after the country had been occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union at the start of World War II...
, among them Stanisław Mikołajczyk. In January 1945, after the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
entered
WarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2009 was estimated at 1,709,781, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,785,000...
, it was then transformed into the
Provisional Government of the Republic of PolandThe Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland was created by Krajowa Rada Narodowa on the night of 31 December 1944...
(Polish:
Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, RTRP) that was to govern the areas taken by the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
from
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
until the elections were held.
International reactions
The creation of the Polish Committee of National Liberation was part of Stalin's attempt to create a situation that could not be undone in Eastern Europe before negotiations with
its alliesThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . The involvement of the Allies in World War II was either natural and inevitable they were invaded or under the direct threat of invasion by the Axis or compelled by concerns that the Axis powers...
. This heightened the tension between the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
and the other members of the
United NationsThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . The involvement of the Allies in World War II was either natural and inevitable they were invaded or under the direct threat of invasion by the Axis or compelled by concerns that the Axis powers...
which would eventually lead to the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
.
Similar events took place in many of the other East European states under control of the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
, as, for example, in
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
in March, 1945, where a Communist
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
was elected through a combination of vote manipulation, elimination and forced mergers of competing parties.
The future
Western BlocThe Western Bloc during the Cold War refers to the powers allied with the United States and NATO against the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. The latter were referred to as the Eastern Bloc, a more common term in English than Western Bloc, because the governments and press of the Western Bloc were...
allies saw these events with great distress, especially because Stalin had previously accepted the
Atlantic CharterThe Atlantic Charter was the blueprint for the world after World War II, and is the foundation for many of the international treaties and organizations that currently shape the world...
in principle, signed it at the
Yalta ConferenceThe Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the wartime meeting from 4 February 1945 to 11 February 1945 among the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union—President Franklin D...
, promised to hold
democratic elections in the countries controlled by the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
and signed the
"Declaration about the Liberated Europe"The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the wartime meeting from 4 February 1945 to 11 February 1945 among the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union—President Franklin D...
.
See also
- Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej or RTRP) - 1945
- Provisional Government of National Unity
The Provisional Government of National Unity was a government formed by a decree of the State National Council on 28 June 1945. It was created as a coalition government between Polish Communists and the Polish government-in-exile...
(Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności NarodowejThe Provisional Government of National Unity was a government formed by a decree of the State National Council on 28 June 1945. It was created as a coalition government between Polish Communists and the Polish government-in-exile...
or TRJN)- 1945/47
- Peoples' Army of Poland
Ludowe Wojsko Polskie ; lit: People's Army of Poland, LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East and later the armed force of the Polish communist government of Poland .-Name:The name Ludowe Wojsko Polskie was commonly used by communist propaganda, although...
(Ludowe Wojsko PolskieLudowe Wojsko Polskie ; lit: People's Army of Poland, LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East and later the armed force of the Polish communist government of Poland .-Name:The name Ludowe Wojsko Polskie was commonly used by communist propaganda, although...
or LWP)
- Polish government-in-exile
- Eastern Bloc
The terms Eastern Bloc, Communist Bloc or Soviet Bloc were used to refer to the former Communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, including the countries of the Warsaw Pact, along with Yugoslavia and Albania, which were not aligned with the Soviet Union after 1948 and 1960...