A report on Polish People's Republic, Martial law in Poland, History of Poland (1945–1989) and Polish People's Army

Polish T-55 tanks enter the town of Zbąszyń while moving east towards Poznań, 13 December 1981

Emblem worn by LWP soldiers; the "Piast eagle" without the crown

Map showing the different borders and territories of Poland and Germany during the 20th century, with the current areas of Germany and Poland in dark gray

Poland's fate was heavily discussed at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. Joseph Stalin, whose Red Army occupied the entire country, presented several alternatives which granted Poland industrialized territories in the west whilst the Red Army simultaneously permanently annexed Polish territories in the east, resulting in Poland losing over 20% of its pre-war borders - areas primarily inhabited by ethnic Belarusians or Ukrainians. Soviet-backed Polish communists came to power and oversaw the country's entry into the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

Gierek in the White House with President Gerald Ford, 1974

The Polish First Army on their way to Berlin, 1945

Border changes of Poland after World War II. The eastern territories (Kresy) were annexed by the Soviets. The western territories, referred to as the "Recovered Territories", were granted as war reparations. Despite the western lands being more industrialized, Poland lost 77,035 km2 (29,743 sq mi) and major cities like Lviv and Vilnius.

The PKWN Manifesto, officially issued on 22 July 1944. In reality it was not finished until mid-August, after the Polish communist Moscow group was joined by the late-arriving Warsaw group, led by Gomułka and Bierut.

Polish flag raised on the top of Berlin Victory Column on 2 May 1945

The 1970 Polish protests were put down by the Communist authorities and Citizens' Militia. The riots resulted in the deaths of 42 people and over 1,000 injured.

Edward Gierek (right) with President Jimmy Carter (left) during his state visit to Warsaw, 1977. The loans and Solidarity were among the chief topics discussed

Postwar Polish communist propaganda poster depicting "The giant and the putrid reactionary midget", meaning the communist People's Army soldier and the pro-Western Home Army soldier, respectively

T-55A tanks of the Polish People's Army (Martial law in Poland)

Queues waiting to enter grocery stores in Warsaw and other Polish cities and towns were typical in the late 1980s. The availability of food and goods varied at times, and the most sought after basic item was toilet paper.

General Jaruzelski was determined to suppress any opposition along with the Solidarity Movement

ORMO paramilitary police unit during street parade at the Victory Square, 9 June 1946, Warsaw

The new Warszawa Centralna railway station in Warsaw had automatic doors and escalators. It was a flagship project during the 1970s economic boom and was dubbed the most modern station in Europe at the time of its completion in 1975.

A censored regional newspaper that reported about the Bydgoszcz events, in which the militia abused Solidarity members. The censorship was to prevent the slander of state services

Lech Wałęsa co-founded and headed the Solidarity movement which toppled Communism. He later became the President of Poland.

The Military Council of National Salvation (WRON), which was founded on 13 December and presided over the military junta. Its Polish abbreviation "WRONa" means a crow bird, and members of the council were known to the opposition as evil "Crows"

The show trial of Captain Witold Pilecki, sentenced to death and executed May 1948

The 1980 Gdańsk Shipyard Strike and subsequent Summer 1981 Hunger Demonstrations were instrumental in strengthening the Solidarity movement's influence.

ZOMO squads with police batons preparing to disperse and beat protesters. The sarcastic caption reads "outstretched hands of understanding" or "outstretched hands for agreement", with batons ironically symbolizing hands

The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, initially called the Stalin's Palace, was a controversial gift from Soviet leader Joseph Stalin

The former PZPR headquarters in Gdańsk (right). ZOMO machine-gunned demonstrators from the rooftop

Władysław Gomułka and Leonid Brezhnev in East Berlin, 1967

1951 East German stamp commemorative of the Treaty of Zgorzelec establishing the Oder–Neisse line as a "border of peace", featuring the presidents Wilhelm Pieck (GDR) and Bolesław Bierut (Poland)

An abandoned State Agricultural Farm in south-eastern Poland. State farms were a form of collective farming created in 1949.

Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, Primate of Poland

Łódź was Poland's largest city after the destruction of Warsaw during World War II. It was also a major industrial centre in Europe and served as the temporary capital due to its economic significance in the 1940s.

Food, alcohol, and cigarettes rationing card

Female textile workers in a state-run factory, Łódź, 1950s

Students in Edinburgh, Scotland collecting signatures for a petition in support of Solidarity in 1981

The Fourth Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party, held in 1963

Supersam Warsaw, the first self-serve shopping centre in Poland, 1969

Jaruzelski in a TV studio announcing the introduction of martial law

The Polski Fiat 125p, produced in Poland from the late 1960s, was based on technology purchased from Fiat

Pewex, a chain of hard currency stores which sold unobtainable Western goods and items

Units of the Citizens' Militia and ZOMO race to disperse crowds of protesters

Standard-bearers of the 27 Tank Regiment, mid-1960s

Dziady, a theatrical event that spawned nationwide protests

Bar mleczny, a former milk bar in Gdynia. These canteens offered value meals to citizens throughout Communist Poland.

Demonstrators in Gdynia carry the body of Zbigniew Godlewski, who was shot and killed during the protests of 1970

Trybuna Ludu (People's Tribune) was a government-sponsored newspaper and propaganda outlet

Andrzej Wajda was a key figure in Polish cinematography during and after the fall of communism

Queue line, a frequent scene at times of shortages of consumer goods in the 1970s and 1980s

Allegory of communist censorship, Poland, 1989. Newspapers visible are from all Eastern Bloc countries including East Germany, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia

Millions cheer Pope John Paul II in his first visit to Poland as pontiff in 1979

The 237-meter Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, constructed in 1955. At the time of its completion it was one of the tallest buildings in Europe

Lech Wałęsa speaks during the strike at the Gdańsk Shipyard, August 1980

25th anniversary of Solidarity, summer 2005 in Gdańsk

Polish university students during lecture, 1964

General Wojciech Jaruzelski led the People's Republic during its final decade and became one of the key players in the systemic transition of 1989–90

One of many schools constructed in central Warsaw in the 1960s

Apartment block residences built in People's Poland loom over the urban landscape of the entire country. In the past administratively distributed for permanent use, after 1989 most were sold to residents at discounted prices.

Jerzy Popiełuszko was a Roman Catholic priest who supported the anti-communist opposition. He was murdered by the Security Services "SB" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Adam Michnik, an influential leader in the transformation of Poland

A demographics graph illustrating population growth between 1900 and 2010. The highest birth rate was during the Second Polish Republic and consequently under the Polish People's Republic.

A typical socialist apartment building in Warsaw representing the style of functionalism, built due to the ever-growing population and high birth rate at the time

Konstantin Rokossovsky, pictured in a Polish uniform, was Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland until being deposed during the Polish October in 1956.

The history of Poland from 1945 to 1989 spans the period of communist rule imposed over Poland after the end of World War II.

- History of Poland (1945–1989)

The Polish People's Army (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie, LWP) constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state (from 1952, the Polish People's Republic), ruled by the Polish Workers' Party and then the Polish United Workers' Party.

- Polish People's Army

The government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an attempt to counter political opposition, in particular the Solidarity movement.

- Martial law in Poland

The Polish People's Army, Citizens' Militia (MO), ZOMO special paramilitary units, and tanks were deployed on the streets to demoralize demonstrators, begin regular patrols, control strategic enterprises, and maintain curfew.

- Martial law in Poland

The Polish People's Republic maintained a large standing army.

- Polish People's Republic

The growing strength and activity of the opposition caused the government of Wojciech Jaruzelski to declare martial law in December 1981.

- History of Poland (1945–1989)

Martial law in Poland (13 December 1981 – 22 July 1983)

- Polish People's Army

On 13 December 1981, Jaruzelski proclaimed martial law, suspended Solidarity, and temporarily imprisoned most of its leaders.

- Polish People's Republic

During the Gierek era, Poland borrowed large sums from Western creditors in exchange for promise of social and economic reforms.

- Polish People's Republic

After the fall of Communism in Poland in 1989, members of a parliamentary commission determined that martial law had been imposed in clear violation of the country's constitution, which had authorized the executive to declare martial law only between parliamentary sessions (at other times the decision was to be taken by the Sejm).

- Martial law in Poland

Many Soviet officers serving in the Polish Armed Forces were dismissed, but very few Stalinist officials were put on trial for the repressions of the Bierut period.

- History of Poland (1945–1989)

A report on Polish People's Republic, Martial law in Poland, History of Poland (1945–1989) and Polish People's Army

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