The Polish People's Republic (Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most-populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. Having a unitary Marxist–Leninist government, it was also one of the main signatories of the Warsaw Pact alliance. The largest city and official capital since 1947 was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west.
Between 1952 and 1989 Poland was ruled by a communist government established after the Red Army's takeover of its territory from German occupation in World War II. The state's official name was the "Republic of Poland" (Rzeczpospolita Polska) between 1947 and 1952 in accordance with the temporary Small Constitution of 1947. The name "People's Republic" was introduced and defined by the Constitution of 1952. Like other Eastern Bloc countries (East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania), Poland was regarded as a satellite state in the Soviet sphere of interest, but it was never a part of the Soviet Union.
The Polish People's Republic was a de facto one-party state characterized by constant internal struggles for democracy. The Polish United Workers' Party became the dominant political faction, officially making Poland a socialist country, but with more liberal policies than other states of the Eastern Bloc. Throughout its existence, economic hardships and social unrest were common almost in every decade. The nation was split between those who supported the party, those who were opposed to it and those who refused to engage in political activity. Despite this, some groundbreaking achievements were established during the People's Republic such as improved living conditions, rapid industrialization, urbanization, and access to universal health care and education was made available. The birth rate was high and the population almost doubled between 1947 and 1989. The party's most successful accomplishment was the rebuilding of ruined Warsaw after World War II and the complete eradication of illiteracy.
The Polish People's Army was the main branch of the Armed Forces, though Soviet Army units were also stationed in Poland as in all other Warsaw Pact countries. The UB and succeeding SB were the chief intelligence agencies that acted as secret police, similar to the East German Stasi and Soviet KGB. The official police organization, which was also responsible for supposed peacekeeping and violent suppression of protests, was renamed Citizens' Militia (MO). The Militia's elite ZOMO squads committed various serious crimes to maintain the communists in power, including the harsh treatment of protesters, arrest of opposition leaders and in extreme cases, murder, with at least 22,000 people killed by the regime during its rule. As a result, Poland had a high imprisonment rate but one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
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