The communists come to power in Poland. Based on "A Political Historyof East Central EuropeSince World War II" Joseph Rothschild

1. Didkovska
Valeriia
The Communists Come to Power
A Political History
of East Central Europe
Since World War II
Joseph Rothschild
14/11/2012

2. Table of Contents
Role of CEE countries of the
Soviets external policy.
Specific features in the CEE
communists rising to power.
Conclusions.
The Communists Come to Power

3. 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.
The Communists Come to Power

4. 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 Communists Come to Power

5. 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
The Communists Come to Power

6. 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).
The Communists Come to Power

7. 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 Come to Power

8. 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.
The Communists Come to Power

9. Referendum result
The result of the vote had been seriously compromised
by the communists and their supporters
The Communists Come to Power

10. Parliamentary elections (19 January 1947)
The Communists Come to Power
Democratic Bloc
80,1%
Polish Peasant Party
10,3%
Labor Party
4,7%
Polish People's Party
"Nowe Wyzwolenie"
3.5%

11. 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).
The Communists Come to Power

12. 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.
The Communists Come to Power

13. Differences
The Communists Come to Power
Poland
Czechoslov
akia
Notes
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
+ -

14. 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.
The Communists Come to Power

15. Parliamentary elections (May, 1946)
The Communists Come to Power
Communist Party of
Czechoslovakia
31,2%
Czech National Social
Party
18,4%
Czechoslovak People's
Party
15,7%
Democratic Party
14,1%
Czechoslovak Social
Democracy
12,1%
Communist Party
of Slovakia
6,9%

16. 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)
The Communists Come to Power

17. HUNGARY
Initially 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.
The Communists Come to Power

18. 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.
The Communists Come to Power

19. 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.
The Communists Come to Power

20. Bulgaria and Romania
Communist 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.
The Communists Come to Power

21. 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