Topic summary
Armia Ludowa
Extracted from the Wikipedia article People's Army (Poland).
Polish People's Army
The Armia Ludowa were hailed as heroes in the Polish People's Republic and often the subject of early communist propaganda in Poland. State media exaggerated its size and role during the war, typically at the expense of the Home Army, who involvement was minimised and criticised. Although its size and actions were much smaller in number than the Home Army, propaganda espoused the myth that the reverse was the case. Since the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, the legacy of the Armia Ludowa has been reconsidered, mainly as its leadership took orders from the Soviet Union and represented Soviet, not Polish, interests. The Polish Institute of National Remembrance, in its official description of the Gwardia Ludowa/Armia Ludowa, goes so far as to declare the organisation as part of the Soviet partisans, rather than the Polish resistance.