Provisional Government of Republic of Poland
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Provisional Government of Republic of Poland (Polish: Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, RTRP) was created by Krajowa Rada Narodowa on the night of 31 December 1944 in place of the previous governmental body, the Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego). It was an important step in strengthening the communist and Soviet Union control over Poland, as this provisional government didn't recognize the Polish government-in-exile and called itself the legimitate Polish government. It was officially only by the Soviet Union, and it conveyed the intention of Stalin's to the Western Allies before the Yalta conference: that Poland was under Soviet control and to stay that way. RTRP received control of the territories liberated by the Red Army, which was pursuing the forces of Nazi Germany westwards.
RTRP was chaired by the previous prime minister of PKWN, Edward Osóbka-Morawski. Deputy prime ministers were Władysław Gomułka of Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza) and Stanisław Janusz from Stronnictwo Ludowe. Minister of defense was Michał Rola-Żymierski, and minister of security Stanisław Radkiewicz.
Communists declared that the Provisional Government was to be a coalition, but in fact all key posts were controlled by communists. Semi-official control over the government was in the hands of the Soviet general, Iwan Sierow. Some Polish communists, like Gomułka or Edward Ochab, were opposed to excessive Soviet control; they could, however, do little to change the existing status quo. Polish government in exile issued a declaration that USSR have "taken over the sovereign political rights of the Polish nation". Western governments of Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt have also issued a formal protests, but taken no further action.
On 21 April RTRP signed a Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Help and Cooperation (Układ o Przyjaźni, Wzajemnej Pomocy i Współpracy) with the Soviet Union. This treaty confirmed the change in Polish borders and granted control over internal security of Poland to the Soviet Union. It formed the basis for Poland's semi-official existence as the satellite state of the Soviet Union for the next 40 years.
On 28 June, Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej was transformed into the more coalition-like Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej (Provisional Government of National Unity) as a sign of gesture, promised by Stalin at Yalta, towards the Western Allies and Polish London government.
[edit] References
- Davies, Norman, 1982 and several reprints. God's Playground. 2 vols. New York: Columbia Univ. Press. ISBN 0-231-05353-3 and ISBN 0-231-05351-7
