Lublin Committee

Background

In the summer of 1944, as the Red Army crossed the Bug River into Polish territory during Operation Bagration, Stalin needed a pro-Soviet executive body that could govern liberated Poland. At the time, the internationally recognized government of Poland was the government-in-exile in London, but Stalin considered it unreliable. On July 21, 1944, the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN) was formed in Moscow, bringing together the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) and the Union of Polish Patriots (ZPP). It was officially proclaimed the next day in Chełm and installed in Lublin on July 26, giving rise to the name 'Lublin Committee.'

Composition and Character

The PKWN was chaired by socialist Edward Osóbka-Morawski and included Bolesław Bierut, Wanda Wasilewska, and Michał Rola-Żymierski, among others. On the Soviet side, Nikolai Bulganin was assigned to support the committee's administration and security apparatus while exercising de facto control from behind the scenes. Although the PKWN presented itself as a broad leftist coalition, the military, security, and propaganda departments were controlled by communists, and major decisions required Moscow's approval.

The July Manifesto and Policies

On July 22, 1944, the PKWN issued the so-called July Manifesto (Manifest lipcowy), promising radical land reform, westward territorial expansion at Germany's expense, and adherence to the 1921 March Constitution. It denounced the London government-in-exile as a 'usurper' and called the 1935 April Constitution 'fascist.' The manifesto's outline was broadcast in advance by Radio Moscow, and the final text was personally amended by Stalin. In September, the PKWN enacted sweeping land reform that transferred land to peasants, gaining a measure of popular support, while in October a decree 'On the Protection of the State' provided the legal basis for suppressing political opponents.

Transition to the Provisional Government and Yalta-Potsdam

On December 31, 1944, by decree of the State National Council (KRN), the PKWN was reconstituted as the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland. The Soviet Union recognized it immediately in January 1945, while the United States and Britain continued to recognize the London government-in-exile. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Stalin insisted that the Lublin Committee's successor form the core of a reorganized 'Polish democratic government' with only token additions from the exile government. This became the central dispute of the conference. Under the Yalta agreement, the Provisional Government of National Unity was formed in June 1945, but real power remained with the communists. At Potsdam, the composition of Poland's government was left unresolved and handed to the Council of Foreign Ministers, leading historians to conclude that the Western Allies could hope at best for 'an external appearance of Polish independence.'