The Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation, also known as the July Manifesto () or the PKWN Manifesto (), was a political manifesto of 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 la ...

(PKWN), a Soviet-backed administration, which operated in opposition to the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

-based Polish government in exile. It was officially proclaimed in

Chełm Chełm (; uk, Холм, Kholm; german: Cholm; yi, כעלם, Khelm) is a city in southeastern Poland with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some ...

on 22 July 1944, and shortly after, its text was personally amended by

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 Secretar ...

in Moscow, before being printed there as well. Printing in Poland was staged for the media by the Soviets. The manifesto was addressed to the Polish nation at that time: individuals both within Nazi-occupied Poland, and those in exile abroad due to the ongoing

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was arranged into thirteen main points. Among and within these points: * It declares the legitimacy of the coming

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 wa ...

, a Soviet-backed administration composed of

populists Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

, democrats,

socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and other organisations. It then denounces the London-based Polish government in exile, the one ousted by the Nazi-Soviet military takeover at the outbreak of World War II. * It condemns the

Polish Constitution of 1935 The April Constitution of Poland ( pl, Ustawa konstytucyjna 23 IV 1935 or ''Konstytucja kwietniowa'') was the general law passed by the act of the Polish Sejm on 23 April 1935. It introduced in the Second Polish Republic a presidential sys ...

as unlawful and fascist and claims the Constitution of 1921 is the only current legal constitution. The State National Council will operate on the 1921 Constitution, until a new one can be written by new

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

legislators in future direct,

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

, free,

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

by secret ballot. * It urges support of the Polish people for the People's Army and 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, afte ...

, by capturing and turning in weapons, ammunition and supplies, and providing any intelligence or information, and doing their part in the fight against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. * It acknowledges that for 400 years there has been sustained, mutually-detrimental conflict between

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

and the

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

, Belarusians, and

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

, but their alliance, common cause and side-by-side fighting in the war should solidify a lasting strong, friendly, mutually-beneficial alliance between Poland and the Soviet Union. * It calls for further fight for return to Poland of the

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

, East Prussia and

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

up to the border on the Oder river and for the wide access to the sea. * It calls for negotiation of the Polish-Soviet and Polish-Czechoslovak borders to be reached by mutual agreement, where Polish land will belong to Poland, but Ukrainian, Belorussian and Lithuanian lands to respective Soviet republics. * It calls for continued alliance with the United Kingdom and the United States, based on blood shed against a common enemy, and also maintaining Poland's traditional alliance with France and continued co-operation with the democratic countries of the world. It states that going forward, Polish government policy will be democratic and based on collective security. *

Reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation * Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin History *War reparations **World War I reparations, made from G ...

will be demanded from Germany for Polish losses. * It claims for PKWN authority to extend to all liberated Polish territory, and asks Polish patriots in areas where the PKWN does not exercise authority to democratically elect members to participate in the PKWN. * It calls for the creation of a new police force, the Citizen's Militia, as a solution to lack of order caused by the removal of the Polish Police of the General Government, the so-called Blue Police. * It promises that German war criminals and Polish traitors will receive quick justice in independent courts. * It offers promise of restoration of democratic freedoms, equality of all citizens without distinction of

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, or

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...

, freedom of political organisations, unions,

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

and conscience. Fascist organisations will be repressed to fullest extent of the law. * Property stolen by the Germans will be returned to individual citizens, institutions, and the church. German assets will be confiscated. National assets reclaimed from the German Reich and individual German capitalists will be put under the Interim National Management Board. * To speed up national reconstruction, broad

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

will be enacted in liberated territories. * Minimum wages will be raised, and a

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

will be instituted, based on the principal of democratic self-government * Free,

universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

, compulsory education, and the Polish intelligentsia will be rebuilt. * Steps will be taken to encourage and organise

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

of Poles back to Poland, but the borders will be closed to

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

agents and organisers of the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

(1939). * It places an appeal to national unity, without which it would be impossible to accomplish the monumental task of liberating Poland, winning the war, acquiring a dignified place for Poland among the nations of the world and rebuilding a destroyed country. * It urges the Polish people to do everything possible to liberate the country and defeat the Germans. The manifesto ends with a call to arms: "To the fight! To arms!
Long live the united Polish Army, fighting for the freedom of Poland!
Long live the allied Red Army, carrying out the liberation of Poland!
Long live our great allies - the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States of America!
Long live national unity!
Long live the State National Council - the representation of the fighting people!
Long live free, strong, independent, sovereign and democratic Poland!"

See also