Zarejestruj Zaloguj
 
  Język Polski   English   Русский   Italiano   Français (France)   Deutsch   Українська   Čeština
logo czasopisma Komunizm
okladka

Nr 8 (2019)

ISSN:
2545-3424
eISSN:
2299-890X

Data publikacji:
2019-03-23

Okładka

Działy

Studia

Varia

Recenzje

Wspomnienia

Sprawozdania z konferencji

In memoriam

Nr 8 (2019)


Studia

  • Stosunek rządu Tadeusza Mazowieckiego do problemu tzw. uwłaszczenia nomenklatury i afery alkoholowej

    Antoni Dudek

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 15-34

    Abstrakt

    The article discusses Tadeusz Mazowiecki’s government’s reactions to two pathological phenomena that stirred up intense social emotions. The phenomena were a consequence of the actions taken by the last communist government of the Polish People’s Republic led by Mieczysław Rakowski. First of all, the analysis focuses on actions directed at people from the apparatus of the Polish People’s Republic, who acquired part of the assets of state enterprises and institutions using the new legal regulations. The remainder of the article discusses attempts at counteracting the mass import of alcohol from abroad, which was causing considerable losses to the state budget.

  • Nierolniczy sektor prywatny gospodarki w polityce ekonomicznej władz komunistycznych po 1980 roku

    Janusz Kaliński

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 33-50

    Abstrakt

    In the early 1980s, following the rapidly growing economic imbalance, substantial foreign debt, and the strength of social protest in the summer of 1980, communist authorities in Poland started working on structural changes in the planned economy. As the decision-makers emphasized, the proposed reforms would not undermine the principles of the state’s political and governmental system; the assent to the limited development of the non-agricultural private sector stemmed from believing in its beneficial influence on the victualing of the population. At the beginning of the 1980s, certain legal conditions were introduced to enable the creation of hybrid enterprises with the participation of foreign economic entities and enterprises belonging to foreign natural and legal persons. More extensive opportunities for the development of domestic and foreign entrepreneurship appeared in 1988 with the passing of the Act on Economic Activity and the Act on Economic Activity with the Participation of Foreign Parties. Facilitating the development of the private small-business sector did not coincide with an intent to privatize state-owned enterprises. What it indicated was a desire to create, in the fashion of the Soviet perestroika, a hybrid economic system, one generating numer-ous pathologies. Compared to the so-called socialized sector, the dynamics of private companies were higher, according to official statistics. As a result, there was a limited increase in the GDP contribution of private ownership. However, the non-agricultural private sector worked under conditions of strong dependence on state-owned and pseudo-cooperative enterprises that dominated the economy.

  • Kierunki działalności kontrolnej NIK wobec przedsiębiorstw polonijno-zagranicznych w latach osiemdziesiątych XX wieku

    Krzysztof Lesiakowski

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 51-72

    Abstrakt

    At the end of the 1970s, the authorities of the Polish People’s Republic decided to allow the activity of foreign companies in Poland. In the first instance, they expected the inflow of the capital from the Polish expatriate community, which is the capital belonging to the western countries’ citizens with Polish origins. New companies became part of the Polish economy and the Polish legal order; as a result, they came under the control of the Supreme Audit Office (Najwyższa Izba Kontroli, NIK). At first, there were a few of the so-called expatriate capital companies, and their economic activity was slight. Therefore, they did not draw the attention of the NIK inspectors. However, as a consequence of a sudden increase in the amount of Polish expatriate capital companies, the situation changed at the end of 1981. The control verified that these companies did not start the activity defined in their permits, did not accomplish announced business investments financed in convertible currency, did not import modern technologies or machines from the western countries, depleted Polish raw materials resources, and poached the best professionals from state-owned enterprises. Additionally, controllers noticed that these companies focused on profit maximization while evading taxes. NIK was critical of the participation of Polish expatriate capital companies in the Polish business life of the 1980s. However, the process of system liberalization, expressed by the opening of the Polish People’s Republic to foreign capital, was unstoppable.

  • Kontrwywiadowcza ochrona kapitalizmu. Rozpracowanie Oddziału Warszawskiego „Interpolcomu” w latach 1983–1990

    Patryk Pleskot

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 73-88

    Abstrakt

    The Polish-Expatriate Chamber of Commerce and Industry “Interpolcom” was primarily an association of representatives of various foreign trade enterprises (PZH) and enterprises owned by a member of the Polish diaspora abroad, the so-called expatriate capital companies (PPZ). While founded in 1977, it became more active in the next decade. Its governing goal was to coordinate the broadly understood economic cooperation of the country with the expatriate Polish community. As an organization at the intersection of foreign countries, it became a natural object of interest for the communist secret services of the Polish People’s Republic, mainly in the aspect of counterintelligence protection. In 1983, the Warsaw branch was established as one of the five field operations of “Interpolcom”; the local operations intended to oversee the cooperation of the PPZs and PHZs from a given area with relevant state administration bodies. The establishment of the branch prompted the Warsaw Security Service to register a separate operation, “Mazowsze,” running until 1990. Thus, the surveillance was twopronged, dealing with “Interpolcom” as such as well as with its Warsaw branch. The preserved materials of the case (most likely incomplete) seem to point to at least two phenomena. First, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs believed that counterintelligence was unable to control the Chamber and counteract satisfactorily. Secondly, it seems, at least based on Security Service’s materials, that despite theoretically ample opportunities, “Interpolcom” itself was not able to meet its statutory obligations and foster the activity of its members, who treated their membership as a pure formality (which was not unusual). It indicates a double failure of the party and state apparatus in attempts to subdue the (assumedly) licensed capitalism: an official and institutional failure and a secret and counterintelligence one.

  • Słupski eksperyment gospodarczy z lat osiemdziesiątych XX w. Między reformą a propagandą

    Arkadiusz Gryko

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 89-115

  • Giełdy samochodowe w latach schyłkowego PRL

    Hubert Wilk

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 117-131

    Abstrakt

    The text aims to investigate the operation of car exchanges in the final decade of the Polish People’s Republic. The findings are based on a comprehensive study of archival and press sources, and the literature of the subject. One of the issues raised in the text is the attitude of state institutions towards the private trade of passenger cars on car exchanges. One of the most common problems was the discrepancies between the prices of cars, both new and used. It was quite a common practice to sell new cars at prices several times higher than the official ones. It elicited many rude comments directed towards the unjust (in the society’s view) vehicle distribution system. Often, state institutions tried to limit the sale of new cars. Another problem was supplying the car parts and car accessories to the exchanges. According to popular opinion, the exchanges provided everything unavailable in the normal state-based distribution. Naturally, the availability of limited products (tires, batteries) aroused questions about the legality of their origin. Multiple inspections by the Citizens’ Militia officers revealed that they were often stolen. The range of products offered for sale expanded over time: there were not only cars and car accessories but also household products or clothes. Such practice was especially prevalent in the late 1980s

  • Planowany proces czy seria niefortunnych decyzji? Analiza przebiegu prywatyzacji Przedsiębiorstwa Połowów i Usług Rybackich „Koga” w Helu w latach 1986–1992

    Mateusz Kubicki

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 133-157

    Abstrakt

    This article attempts to answer the questions on the procedure for changing the ownership structure of fishing and fishing services enterprise “Koga” [Przedsiębiorstwo Połowów i Usług Rybackich, PPiUR] in the town of Hel. For clarity, the author decided on a case study. The study, in a synthetic way, presents the overall privatization process of the “Koga” enterprise. The first part of the article discusses the position of “Koga” in the Polish People’s Republic’s fishing economy. The author analyzes fundamental indicators: fishing, averaged results per unit, landings at foreign ports, production, and employment. The second part presents the process of pumping funds into “Koga,” which took place in the years 1986–1991. From the economics of the company’s operation, there was an emphasis on increasing competitiveness and reducing costs that may lead to debt, mainly in foreign currencies, which later required on-time repayments. The third part presents the course of “Koga’s” privatization in detail. At the heart of the subsequent failure of the privatization process were: the presented procedure for the total disposal of the fleet and the establishment of new companies enfranchised using the company’s assets. The last part of the article details the process of distributing “Koga’s” assets. After the division into several smaller entities, the enterprise finally declared bankruptcy in 2002.

  • Kapitalizm znad Olzy – nowe zasady gry. Antropologiczny obraz przemytu na pograniczu polsko-czeskim

    Ewa Cudzich

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 159-181

    Abstrakt

    While borders created restrictions, they also served as an excuse to reach beyond. Smuggling, one of the border-related phenomena, is a transfrontier phenomenon concerning the state, economy, and politics; it is a specific game between society and authority. Appearances notwithstanding, the Polish borders in the Polish People’s Republic were teeming with life, leading the inhabitants of border towns and central cities into economic temptation. Smuggling is a specific form of border-crossing with significant cultural consequences. Although the economy was the basis of these activities, they still created a network of social contacts and interests. The subject of considerations is an anthropological reverie into smuggling, crossing the border in Cieszyn Silesia between Poland and Czechoslovakia: a region that is a research laboratory for anthropologists. The author takes into account the industrial plants in this area, which were, according to research, the breeding ground for making contacts and creating interest groups that facilitated the efficient conduct of illegal activities. After 1989, the political breakthrough provided hope for a better life. Some have managed to transition from one system to another smoothly. One should emphasize that the memory of “smuggling years” is not a form of memory to be handed down from generation to generation. These memories are occasional, there is a slow eradication of information on this subject from memory, and silence leads to the gradual “disappearance” of knowledge about essential events or local personalities for whom smuggling was a significant source of income.


Varia

  • Sprawa kpt. Leona Stępnia (maj–grudzień 1949 r.). Przyczynek do historii ORMO w województwie olsztyńskim

    Karol Sacewicz

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 185-203

    Abstrakt

    The history of Volunteer Reserve of the Citizens’ Militia (Ochotnicza Rezerwa Milicji Obywatelskiej, ORMO), primarily its structures operating in Olsztyn Voivodeship, remains an area requiring scientific elaboration. The Volunteer Reserve of the Citizens’ Militia constituted the institutional and personal reinforcement of the communist power apparatus; it was often their tool against the democratic aspirations of Polish society. However, while there is a multitude of studies on the Security Service (Służba Bezpieczeństwa, SB) and Citizens’ Militia (Milicja Obywatelska, MO), scientific studies on ORMO remain scarce. Thus, the following article aims to discuss a small section of ORMO’s history in Warmia and Masuria that brings to focus all the features of the organization and the people creating it into focus. Captain Leon Stępień was ORMO’s commander of the Olsztyn Voivodeship. The article answers the questions of who he was and what offenses he was supposed to commit that not only the Executive of the Provincial Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party in Olsztyn dealt with his case, but also the Central Committee of the Party, and the Central Command of the Citizens’ Militia. What is more, letters regarding this case were addressed directly to the Minister of Public Security, Stanisław Radkiewicz. What the so-called Stępień case constituted for the assessment of all the ORMO’s regional structures? Above all, how did the organization operate in that voivodeship? This article attempts at answering these questions and presenting mechanisms employed by the Party or ministerial leadership to “sweep the matter under the rug” and to ensure that its echoes did not reach the general public.

  • Okupacja budynku PZPR w Poznaniu

    Filip Kaczmarek

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 203-224

    Abstrakt

    The purpose of the text is to analyze the circumstances surrounding the occupation of the Polish United Workers’ Party’s building in Poznań on the 17th and 18th of January 1990. The building was occupied by students from the Independent Students’ Association. It became one of the symbols of the end of the Party’s activity in this city. The historiography regarding the turn of the 1980s and 1990s often overlooks the episodes of occupying or picketing the Party’s buildings by students from the Independent Students’ Association (Poznań, Katowice, Częstochowa, Kraków, Białystok, Łódź, Toruń). Some researchers only describe similar actions organized by the Confederation of Independent Poland (Konfederacja Polski Niepodległej, KPN), most likely because it was the first organization to start such activities, as early as in October 1989. In Poznań, students from the Adam Mickiewicz University were the initiators and organizers of the occupation of the building. The research method used is the analysis of documents, memories of participants, and media coverage.

  • Wykpić system. Historia pisma satyrycznego „Jaruzela” (1982–1989)

    Grzegorz Wołk

    Komunizm: System - Ludzie - Dokumentacja, Nr 8 (2019), strony: 225-247

    Abstrakt

    The article is a monograph on one of the most interesting satirical magazines published by the Solidarity underground after the imposition of martial law. The delegalization of the Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity on December 13, 1981, forced contributing union activists into underground activity; its most noticeable outcome was the so-called second circulation. The opposition activists devoted their energy to the production of informational and political magazines. Still, other magazines were also created, including satirical titles such as “Jaruzela”. The article considers a broader context for the magazine’s history to showcase its specificity. The satirical initiatives of the opposition before the time of Solidarity, as well as trade union letters from 1980–1981, have proven that “Jaruzela” was not an ephemeral or unique phenomenon. On the other hand, it was one of the most interesting phenomena of the 1980s Polish second circulation. Compared to the underground as well as the official competition, the editorial quality of the magazine was high, and its specific sense of humor targeted towards a more educated recipient. The authors of the magazine, Tomasz Buchholtz and Jarosław Lindenberg, managed to run it from 1982 to 1989, when the political changes curtailed the second circulation phenomenon. The magazine’s other undisputed success was its reception by the opposition circles and people sympathizing with the Solidarity underground, as evidenced by reprints of drawings and texts from “Jaruzela” in other underground magazines, as well as the lasting and positive memory of the title among the members of the opposition.



Wspomnienia


Sprawozdania z konferencji


In memoriam


Wyświetl wszystkie wydania

Ostatnio opublikowane

Więcej artykułów

Najczęściej czytane

Więcej artykułów

Punktacja Ministerstwa Edukacji i Nauki
40 (2024 r.) (70 - 2023 r., 40 - w wykazie z 2021 r.)

Dziedziny: historia i archiwistyka
Dyscypliny: historia, nauki o bezpieczeństwie

Redaktor naczelny: dr hab. Adam Dziuba

Zespół redakcyjny

Licencja CC BY-NC-ND 

  • INSTYTUT PAMIĘCI NARODOWEJ
    Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu
    ul. Janusza Kurtyki 1
    02-676 Warszawa
    NIP: 525-21-80-487

Deklaracja dostępności strony   •   Polityka prywatności IPN   •   Ochrona danych osobowych
© 2023 IPN