Immediately after the war, the agrarian policy favored individual agriculture, which was related to the attempt to neutralize the countryside in the conditions of a struggle for power and the urgent need to provide food for the population. From the end of the 1940s, ideological aspects began to dominate, emphasizing the necessity of socialization of rural areas and agriculture. As a consequence of the long-term policy towards agriculture, in which the immediate goals (improvement of the living conditions of the population) did not match the strategic ones (socialization of agriculture), agricultural production in the years 1950–1990 grew insufficiently. The problems of agriculture, generating a food shortage throughout the entire period of the People’s Poland, became an important cause of the numerous socio-political crises and the fall of the communist regime in 1989.

The aim of the article was to evaluate the legal provisions on the management of agricultural real estate in terms of establishing and enlarging farms in the years 1918– 2020, as well as to indicate their impact on the agrarian structure in Poland. First, the rules for land real estate in the interwar period were presented, especially legal acts regulating the implementation of the land reform of 1920 and 1925. Then, the considerations focused on the land reform of 6 September 1944, including the transfer of land real estate by law to state, establishment of the State Land Fund and the way real estate was managed. Subsequently, the principles of managing agricultural land from the Agricultural Property Stock of the State Treasury and the restrictions in trade in private agricultural land under the Act on shaping the agricultural system were discussed. In summary the author stated, inter alia, that the shaping of the agrarian structure and the establishment and enlargement of agricultural farms in Poland were significantly influenced by land reform and the agricultural system, which changed in the 20th century. She also emphasized economic instruments since they largely contrib-uted to the improvement of the area structure of farms after Poland’s accession to the European Union (e.g. structural pensions, bonuses for young farmers, the possibility of using preferential loans for land and tax preferences in the agricultural tax related to the enlargement).

The subject of the study is the management and clerical staff (white-collar workers) of banks in the period of the Second Polish Republic and the Polish People’s Republic (until 1970). The purpose of the analysis is to identify the characteristics of these groups (their education, origin, professional competences and social roles). Regarding the continuity of the staff, the time under discussion can be divided into two subperiods, the turning point of which was the years 1947–1953, during which the banking environment was restructured for social engineering reasons. Until 1948, the same personnel from the interwar period continued to serve the banking community. The changes after 1945 only affected the most senior positions, although other employees from the interwar period still remained at senior levels. The processes that took place after 1948 resulted in the expansion of the banking environment, the mass employment of low-skilled workers, and a fall in the average level of education and qualifications. The banking environment became much more diverse, both socially and in terms of income. In both periods, the most senior employees and the majority of office clerks were white-collar workers, and thus, it could be said, members of the Polish intelligentsia.

The author demonstrates that the consistent actions of, first, the Tsarist regime and then the Stalinist repressions, whether more or less distant in time, led to the creation of a completely new ethnic situation in the former Borderlands. These actions transformed a large part of the once numerous Polish Borderlandspopulation into a purely historical category of nationality. The author begins his deliberations with the October 1917 Revolution and the rebirth of Polish state, the events of which clearly revived and reinforced the stereotype of the Polish Borderlandsnobility. The author shows that the process of destroying the Polish gentry in the Soviet Union can be conventionally divided into several periods: 1. The period 1925–1927: the period of displacement and confiscation of land for the purposes of the Soviet Bolsheviks’social experiments. The landed gentry was abolished as a social class. 2. The period 1928–1936:the period of the so-called Soviet Polish experiment, related to the establishment of numerous districts of Polish national autonomy. Under these conditions, the repressions against the Polish nobility initially eased somewhat, but soon intensified again in connection with the general drive to collectivisation. 3. The period 1937–1939: this time saw mass displacements of the Polish population and the genocide of Poles during the so-called Polish Operation. The last representatives of the Polish Borderlands nobility were destroyed. The Poles were the first national group to be collectively repressed in the years 1935–1938 solely because of their national affiliation, and not – as had so far been the case – their class affiliation or the allegedly ‘reactionary’ ideological views resulting from this affiliation.

The aim of this article is to trace the social changes in the Michałowice commune near Cracow in the so-called ‘long duration’, from the end of the Poland’s Partitions (1918) to 1945. The author is interested not only in portraying selected opinions held by the local population, but above all in depicting the social and demographic changes from the fall of the partitioning powers, through the interwar period, to the end of World War II and the Communist takeover. The key is not only to show the losses, in the form of the disappearance from the social landscape of the three population groups present in this society, but also to emphasise how important this was for the local population. The author also wonders whether these changes really led to the impoverishment of the local population in any area. Perhaps they were expecting these changes, or they were not of significant importance. The analysis of the collected material allows us to conclude that the boundaries between the partitions during the years of captivity, and then historically within a single commune in the interwar period, remained in the collective memory. They were not erased by political, social or demographic changes, despite the social revolution brought about by the Communist authorities.

This article was written on the occasion of the conference ‘The extermination of the Polish gentry in the former eastern territories of the Republic of Poland in 1939- 1945’. It is the first attempt to recreate the history of the four eastern settlements of the Zanfamily of landowners, and the architecture and interiors of their possessions, based on the published memoirs of Tomasz Zan and his sister, Helena Stankiewicz née Zan, the great-grandchildren of the member of ‘Promieniści’ circle Tomasz Zan, a friend of Adam Mickiewicz. The publication also uses previously unpublished photographs and plans from the family collection. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, many mansions in Classical style were built in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, some of them similar to Dukszty (Dūkšteliai), a one-story manor house with a two-story central part and a portico in giant order. The manor house in Dukszty was built in the first quarter of the 19th century, and could have been designed by an architect from the circle of Wawrzyniec Gucewicz. Gierkany (Gerkonys) is a small wooden, plastered, one-story mansion on a rectangular plan, built at the end of the 19th century, resembling the larger manor house in Hryszkowszczyzna (Griškiškė), which probably dates back to the 18th century. In Poniemuń (Žemoji Panemunė), next to the ruins of the palace, the Gothic cellars of the former castle have survived. After World War II the Zan familylost their property, which then found itself in the Soviet Union. The manors in Dukszty and Gierkany were devastated and stripped of their furnishings,but survived. The wooden manor house in Hryszkowszyzna was burned down, as was the chapel. The manor house in Poniemuń, which was lost in 1923, remained, however as ruin, and the entire property was returned to the pre-war Lithuanian owner.

Antoniny, with the residence build up in the second half of the eighteenth century and expanded in the nineteenth/early twentieth century, was the main seat of the Volyn estate of Sanguszko and Potocki family. Brought to its flourish before the First World War by Józef Mikołaj Potocki, after the revolution of 1917 and the Treaty of Riga of 1921, remained within the borders of Soviet Russia. Started with the burning of the palace in 1919, the destruction of the urban and park layout in Antoniny continued. It was a result of the nationalization of the property transformed into a “model” farm on the rights of a state reserve. The property was divided into small collective farms and state-owned enterprises. Despite the post-revolution neglect and destruction, the scale of investments made by the Potocki family in Antoniny is clear and visible to this day.It still remains a testimony to the former power and the presence of Polish and European culture in the former borderlands of the First Polish Republic. While researching Antoniny from the 90s of the 20th century, the author of the text and her husband contributed to their commemoration by establishing the Potocki Museum in Antoniny in 1918.

The Wysłouch family of the Odyniec coat of armswas one of the oldest Polish families in Polesie. Its family tree dates back to the 16th century. In the following centuries, the Wysłouchfamily was known in Polesie for its patriotic attitude, which did not prevent it from maintaining verygood relations with the local Belarusian peasants. The military turmoil and social revolts also painfully affected the Wysłouch family. The war wreaked havoc on Pirkowice, and the Bolshevik Revolution broke up this large family (eight sons and a daughter). One part (with the matriarch Seweryna) sat out the Bolshevik coup in Kiev, where they went to as part of the evacuation carried out by the Tsarist army. One brother (the eldest, Witold) stayed in ‘red’ Russia and never returned to Poland. The author focuses his reflections on the person of Seweryn Wysłouch, whom he considers to be one of the family’s outstanding representatives. This Polesie family was distinguished by a spirit of multiculturalism and an intellectual atmosphere at home, permeated with the spirit of Polish patriotism, religious and national tolerance. These and other noble qualities of this family were the main causes of its tragedy in 1939–1941; the Soviet authorities saw these features as posing a threat to the Stalinist totalitarian system. At the same time, the same features helped some members of this family to survive the red onslaught and to inscribe themselves permanently in the history of the Polish nation around the world. The new generation of the Wysłouch family is successfully continuing this beautiful tradition.

The article discusses the history of the landed estates of Szczytno in the 19th and 20th centuries until 1945, when on the basis of the Decree of 6 September 1944 on land reform imposed by the Polish Communist authority , they were confiscated from the owner and divided among the inhabitants of the village. The article presents the changes in the property’s administrative affiliation, which were related to successive decrees and laws on administrative division both during the period of Partitions and after 1918. It presents the successive owners of the property, the Dąmbski vel Dąbski, Popowski, Rybiński and Byszewski families (among others). It shows how the structure of the property and its area was changed and later reduced by the enfranchisement of the peasants and the abolishment of servitudes (corvées). The sketch shows that in addition to the activities of the owners themselves, their landowning status was also influenced by state edicts or statutes that regulated the relationship between the manor and the inhabitants of the village, e.g. the issue of their servitudes and their abolishment. The article was mainly written on the basis of archival records, mostly those gathered in the Toruń State Archives’branch in Włocławek. They are mainly mortgage registers and files from the head of the Włocławek district 1808–1866 [1888]. The query was supplemented with literature on the subject, and also with articles from the daily press of the time.

The results of scientific research presented in this article focus on the characteristics of the most important factors that had the greatest impact on the development of air defense in Poland in 1945–1970. In this respect, the most important external conditions were identified, in particular political and military conditions, as well as internal conditions that determined organizational and technical changes in the Polish Army, including the air defense of the country. The presented results of scientific considerations generally refer to the three stages of development of the Polish air defense system adopted by the author, which were implemented to varying degrees in the years 1945–1970.

The article describes the social moods and attitudes as well as the attitude of the inhabitants of Grudziądz and the Grudziądz poviat towards the Communist regime in 1945. From the first moments after the end of the German occupation, the population vigorously began to rebuild its socio-economic and political life. Work was undertaken in state administration and public institutions. Also prevalent at that time were anti-German attitudes, an attachment to religion, and an aversion to displaced people, among others. The inhabitants adopted a passive and expectant attitude, but were generally hostile to Communism. This was mainly due to the deepening problems of everyday life and the deeply rooted awareness of moral principles – which still had deep roots in the period of the Second Polish Republic.

The Communist authorities’ search for a way out of the permanent crisis of the late 1980s prompted them to start talks with some of the opposition circles existing at the time, and to make related legal, social and political changes. Contributions to the changes taking place in the provinces of Białystok, Łomża and Suwałki were also made by the clergy and lay members of the Roman Catholic Church. This was the institution which was perceived most negatively by the government of the time. In the situation after the military coup of 13 December 1981, the Church turned out to be a true asylum of freedom for believers and non-believers. By making the churches available, it became the main patron of culture and art, as well as a major philanthropist. Charitable aid was organised in parishes and monasteries all over Poland for the interned and arrested activists of the Solidarity trade union. The turn of 1989 undoubtedly influenced the changes, and above all the activation of the activities carried out by the Roman Catholic Church. From its position as a limited mediator between the opposition and the Communist authorities, it was faced with the task of calming the dissatisfaction expressed by part of society and explaining the purpose of the ongoing talks to the rest. This was not easy, especially as many clergymen did not believe in the sincere intentions of the authorities; they correctly assumed that the Communists were making another attempt to strengthen their position in the whole process. However, many priests saw even the semi-democratic electionsas an opportunity to reduce the scope of control which the government exercised over society.

The article presents the subject of rock music explored in the newspaper “Nowa Wieś”, which was published in the years 1948–2000. While doing research on “Nowa Wieś”, I noticed that it is not a popular source material in historical studies, and I have not met with a situation in which the subject concerning Polish rock music was analysed on the basis of “Nowa Wieś”. The newspaper was aimed at young people from the rural environment and it was initiated by ZMP (Polish Youth Union). The features in “Nowa Wieś” were not only about political and agricultural issues, but also about typical topics for young people like love and music. Rock music was something new both in the USA and in Europe, although it was created from various musical trends such as rock & roll and jazz. At that time, Poland was ruled by the Communists and the press was also controlled by them. The article focuses on Polish rock music in the last decades of the twentieth century referring to well-known bands, artists, songs, musical events,and musical styles. The subject is so vast that I only show some examples of it, and each of them is analysed as it was presented in the newspaper. The most popular journalist who used to write articles for “Nowa Wieś” was Jerzy J. Kaczmarek so I have chosen mainly his texts to work on the subject. Rock music itself is still popular. Even many old songs are known nowadays. It is constantly changing, and we can see how and why these changes are taking place. “Nowa Wieś” has showed me an unknown view of Polish rock music from the perspective of the newspaper issued to a particular reader in the Communist times.