the communists come to power in poland

DidkovskaValeriia

The Communists Come to Power

A Political History

of East Central Europe

Since World War II

Joseph Rothschild

14/11/2012

Table of Contents

Role of CEE countries of the

Soviets external policy.

Specific features in the CEE

communists rising to power.

Conclusions.


Soviet’s Hegemon Policy

According to W. Averell Harriman, US Ambasador to the Soviet Union, after the WWII Stalin was trying to actualize three

alternative police options:

1. Extend the wartime alliance into continued cooperation with the USA and UK;

2. Establish a tight Soviet security zone in East Central Europe (the territory that served as the springboard for Hitler’s recent invasions in Russia);

3. Penetrating Western European societies and subverting their governments through the instrumentality of their communist parties.


Main notions concerning CEE region:

“People’s democracy” - an alternative to social

and political order of Sovietization and

“proletarian dictatorship”.

“Security zone” – Stalin’s aspiration to organize

strong security system (connected with Stalin’s

obsession after military catastrophe in 1941-42).

One could argue that security can be reached

without imposing socioeconomic arrangement

similar to USSR one.


The algorithm of Stalin’s political orientation towards CEE:

These countries were to function as suppliers of capital to facilitate the recovery of the war-devastated Soviet economy

Any potential backsliding from the Soviet Union toward the West could be conveniently voted on ideological grounds

“Peoples democracies” took place in less advanced historico-development niche than the Soviet Union, so there was ideological ground for its less favorable position

The regime “peoples democracies” - a social form transitional between bourgeois democracies (the West) and mature Socialism (the Soviet Union)

Such relations could be reliable only through some structural transformations in the “bourgeois” and “feudal” societies

Hence its regime must be positively supportive of the Soviet Union, rather than merely let alone friendly

The Soviet Union had little chance of resisting any further potential threats


Polish Case Study

Weakness of the Communists:

Communist party was associated with Russia, which was a historical national

foe;

Lack of true ideological conventions (Lots of party members were opportunists

and careerist or politicians, who didn’t know any alternative way to rebuilt

Poland);

Rival of Peasant party (its authentic leader Stanislaw Mikolajczyk was a prime-

minister of Polish government-in-exile. After his return he considered to be the

most popular politician within the peasant masses, and the party itself had

significant grow).


Strength:

Poles believed Russia to be guarantee to preserve postwar territorial acquisition from Germany (though the area gained from Germany was substantially smaller than the area lost to the Soviet Union, it was economically far more valuable);

Any leader of genuine popularity existed;

Intelligentsia was decimated during the war time;

Strong support of Communist party by Soviet Union;

Unsuccessful attempts to return Polish government-in-exile, located in war period in London;

Weak support pro-democratic parties from west (British and American);

Success in postponing free elections to Senate, which eventually were held in 1947;

Communists’ control over the Ministry of Security and Ministry for the Regained territory (they monopolized the states’ instrument of internal force and violence and an extensive patronage apparatus for the distribution of the newly annexed territories);

Establish of homogeneous Polish and Roman-Catholic nation state. This changes caused the rise of patriotism (especially while the assimilation of new territories, which Communist party carried out). That fact partly facilitated national support of Communist party;

Though the Communists formally headed only six of the twenty-one ministries, they controlled most of the others deputy ministers or their splinter-allies.


The Communists and the Peasant party

Clear anti-communists’ position;

High tension between parties;

The Peasants Party elimination (the result of the referendum on 30 June 1946).

The referendum comprised three questions (Three Times Yes):

Abolishment of the prewar Senate;

Nationalization;

Consolidation of the western border.


Referendum result

The result of the vote had been seriously compromised

by the communists and their supporters


Parliamentary elections (19 January 1947)


Democratic Bloc80,1%

Polish Peasant Party10,3%

Labor Party4,7%

Polish People's Party "Nowe Wyzwolenie"

3.5%

The Communists and the Socialists

During the interwar period, the Socialists had been major patriotic power (until early 1947 the Socialists had 800,000 members compared with 500,000 in Communist party) with strong trade-union support;

The Communists had been a small, illegal coterie considered to be a Soviet Union’s ally in its predatory intensions toward Poland;

After war partnership relations took place, though The Socialists demonstrate some discontent with communists dominating position;

Since 1947 The Socialists were under pressure, so they eventually lost large number of their members and finally dissolve their party;

In the end of 1948 The Communists and Socialists firmed The Polish United worker party (PZPR) (In new PZPR Politburo, eight were Communists and three Socialists).


Comparative analyze of Polish and Czechoslovak Communists ways to power

Similarities:

Liberation from the German occupation by the Soviet army;

People who held leading positions in the Ministry of Defense were loyal to The

Communist party;

Internal-security apparatus was tightly monopolized by the Communists;

Expulsion of ethnic Germans from the territory;

Communists headed the process of retribution of property of expelled Germans;

The Soviet Union considered being the only superpower to protect countries

postwar territorial acquisition from Germany (Poland) and further aggression of

German;

Catastrophic events of 1938 and 1939 years and occupation lower the authority

and prestige of the interwar parties and their leaders. That eventually led to their

loss of the self-confidence and their willingness to fight for power.


Differences


PolandCzechoslov

akiaNotes

Considering Russia as a

historical friend- +

Return of the government-in-

exile- +

The return of the government in exile

was activly supported by Moscow

Large popularity of the

Communist party in the

interwar period

- +The Czech Communists consistently

drew more than 10% of popular vote

in free parliament elections.

Support of trade-unions - +

Polish trade unions traditionaly

supported the Soicialists while

Czech trade unions were directed by

the Communists

Dominant position of the

Communists in the

government before elections

+ -

Democratic free elections - +Czechoslovakia Communists

established their government in a

legal way

Harsh policy towards political

rivals+ -

Czechoslovak Communists gain power

After WWII “The National Front” coalition was formed out of 5 parties

including the communist party;

No radical social economic transformations were held beyond the

collective commitment of all “National Front” parties;

Czechoslovak Communists unlike their comrades of different countries-

they didn’t abuse their control of police apparatus;

Communist leader tried to make an impression that they were patriots

first and foremost, evolutionary reformers and reliable partners in the

national coalition government.


Parliamentary elections (May, 1946)


Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

31,2%

Czech National Social Party18,4%

Czechoslovak People's Party15,7%

Democratic Party14,1%

Czechoslovak Social Democracy

12,1%

Communist Party of Slovakia

6,9%

The soft policy changed rapidly in the summer of 1947.

It was caused by:

Soviet delegates blamed Czechoslovak communists for their moderate policy;

The Soviet Union condemned the doctrine of separate national paths to socialism, the people’s democracy was ordered to coordinate their systems and policies with the Soviet model;

Difficult internal situation in the government- unwillingness of the Social Democratic party to cooperate with Communists in conducting a range of reforms;

Reacting to this policy the Communists doubled their efforts in intimidating their rivals in order to gain power;

On February 25th, 1948 the Communists government was established (The question of power was resolved)


HUNGARYInitially Stalin was not sure if Hungary should be a part of Soviet and Communists orbit;

The Communists party wasn’t popular and influential;

Hesitancy and ambivalence of the Soviet and Hungarian Communists toward taking

power persisted for some time after the end of the war;

The Elections in Hungary were organized in three cycles. In elections of 1945 the

Communists won 17% of votes, in 1947 – 22,3%, in 1949 – 95,6 (single “Government

List”);

The President of Hungary the Smallholder leader Zoltan Tidly since February 1, 1946;

The Smallholders welcome policy due to their hope to have soviet support to lighten

Hungary’s reparations burden and retrocession of at least part of Transylvania from

Romania;

The confrontation in Hungary sharpened once the peace treaty with the Allies had

been signed on February 10, 1947;

In July 1948 the President was obliged to resign the presidency of the republic in favor

of the chairman of the Workers party;

As in Czechoslovakia, so in Hungary, 1948 was a year of belated and therefore

accelerated Communist monopolization of power.


Yugoslavia The Communist seizure and consolidation of power had occurred during World

War II;

Communists leader Josip Broz Tito gained large popularity during the war (leader

of the Partisan movement);

Elections held on November 11, 1945 - the process of endorsing the Communist

People’s;

Federal constitution (adopted on January 31, 194) imitated the Soviet pattern

much more closely than people’s democracies at this early date;

In 1947 and 1948 ideological Tito-Stalin rift occurred;

After 1952 period of great economic realism started (rapid reduce of economic

relations with Soviet Union, pro-Western approach);

Yugoslavia became a unique type of Communist-controlled but not Soviet-

modeled society.


Albania

The Communist seizure power during the war;

The elections on December 2, 1945 93,2 % of voters endorsed the uncontested

list of the Communist controlled Democratic Front;

Tights linkages with Yugoslavia lead to Albania’s isolation from other Communist-

dominated countries, including the Soviet Union in the first years after war

Since June 1948 Albania repudiated of Tito gaining more support from Soviet

Union, became loyal part of Soviet’s orbit.


Bulgaria and RomaniaCommunist struggle for proceeded through five chronologically

overlapping phases:

The destruction of the institutional and political pillars of the royal regime,

The emasculation of the non-Communist partners in formed coalitions (In

Bulgaria - Fatherland Front, Romania – National Democratic Front);

The liquidation of the hitherto formally tolerated opposition to the Communists;

The internal purge of the Communist leadership cadres;

Full Stalinization.


Conclusions

Stalin’s statement:

“A freely elected government in any of these countries would be anti-

Soviet, and that we cannot allow”.

Two main generalization:

Great Depression and World War II had destroyed the old political systems and

weakened the old political classes;

Most post war governments were large coalitions that had the communists

parties mostly for numerical advantage, the communists had a hard time being in

a coalition without trying to dominate it so they just used their political aggression

against the opposition and that way not threating their own place in the

government.


the communists come to power in poland

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