The Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, RTRP) was created by the
State National Council
Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish (translated as State National Council or Homeland National Council, abbreviated to KRN) was a parliament-like political body created during the later stages of World War II in German-occupied Warsaw, Poland. It was ...
() on the night of 31 December 1944.
[ Davies, Norman, 1982 and several reprints. ''God's Playground''. 2 vols. New York: Columbia Univ. Press. and ]
Background
The Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland was created to take the place of the previous governmental body, the
Polish Committee of National Liberation
The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: ''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 lat ...
(''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'' or PKWN). Because of its location 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 ...
, the PKWN was also known as the "Lublin Committee". The establishment of the RTRP was an important step in strengthening the control of the
Polish Workers' Party and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
History
Creation
On 1 January 1945, the Polish Committee of National Liberation became the Provisional Government of Republic of Poland. In
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, the
Polish government-in-exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
protested. They issued a declaration that the Soviet Union had "taken over the sovereign political rights of the Polish nation." The governments of
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
and
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
also issued formal protest, but they took
no further action.
The Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland did not recognize the
Polish government-in-exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
and proclaimed itself to be the legitimate government of Poland. Initially, the RTRP was only officially recognized by the Soviet Union. But before the
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
,
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
conveyed his intention to the
Western Allies that Poland was under the control of the Soviet Union and that he intended for it to stay that way. The RTRP was given control of the Polish territories seized by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
as it advanced westward.
The RTRP was chaired by the previous Prime Minister of PKWN,
Edward Osóbka-Morawski. The Deputy Prime Ministers of the RTRP were
Władysław Gomułka of the
Polish Workers' Party (PPR, for ''Polska Partia Robotnicza'') and
Stanisław Janusz Stanislav and variants may refer to:
People
*Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.)
Places
* Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine
* Stanislaus County, Cali ...
from
People's Party. The Minister of defense was
Michał Rola-Żymierski. The Minister of Security was
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 ...
.
The Polish Workers' Party declared that the RTRP was to be a
coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
, but in practice all key posts were controlled by PPR. Semi-official control of the RTRP was exercised by Soviet General
Ivan Serov. Some
Polish Communists, like Władysław Gomułka and
Edward Ochab
Edward Ochab (; 16 August 1906 – 1 May 1989) was a Polish Communism, communist politician and top leader of Poland between March and October 1956.
As a member of the Communist Party of Poland from 1929, he was repeatedly imprisoned for his ac ...
, were opposed to this excessive Soviet control. However, they could do little to change the existing status quo.
On 18 January, the RTRP was relocated from
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 ...
to
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
.
From 30 January to 2 February, the heads of government of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States— Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, respectively — attended preliminary discussions on the Yalta Conference in Malta.
From 4 February to 12 February, the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union attended the Yalta Conference in the Crimea. At Yalta, the following "Joint Allied Declaration on Poland" was developed:
The three heads of governments consider that the Eastern frontier of Poland should follow the Curzon line, with digressions from it in some regions of five to eight kilometers in favor of Poland. They recognize that Poland must receive substantial of accessions of territory in the north and west. They feel that the opinion of the new Polish Provisional Government of National Unity should be sought in due course on the extent of these accessions, and that the final delimitation
Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities. of the Western frontier of Poland should thereafter await the Peace Conference.[ age 158, "The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan", Hans Dollinger, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047/ref> ]
On 7 February, Churchill documented the following discussion while at Yalta:
On 23 April, Soviet diplomat
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. ; (;. 9 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._25_February.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 25 February">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dat ...
was in Washington, DC. President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
and the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
appealed to Molotov for a compromise on the "Polish question". On the same day, Prime Minister Edward Osóbka-Morawski of the RTRP announced the following at a press conference:
We need people who agree with our foreign policy and with our social reforms. Only such a government can do its work properly. We need the collaboration of men who accept the Yalta decisions, not only formally, but in fact. We are making every effort to contact such people. What we do not want are Fascists . . .
Provisional Government of National Unity replaces the RTRP
On 28 June 1945, the Provisional Government of Republic of Poland (''Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej'') was transformed into the more coalition-like
Provisional Government of National Unity (''Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej''). This was promised by Stalin at Yalta and done by him as gesture of good will towards the Western Allies and
Polish government-in-exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
in London.
See also
*
Polish Committee of National Liberation
The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: ''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 lat ...
(; PKWN) - 1944 and 1945
*
Provisional Government of National Unity (; TRJN)- 1945 to 1947
* People's Army of Poland (; LWP)
*
Polish government-in-exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Provisional Government Of The Republic Of Poland
1944 establishments in Poland
Government of Poland
Poland in World War II
Poland–Soviet Union relations
Political history of Poland
Provisional governments
Stalinism in Poland