Editing History of Poland (section)

===Economic and social developments of the early communist era===

In 1944, large agricultural holdings and former German property in Poland started to be redistributed through [[land reform]], and industry started to be [[nationalization|nationalized]].<ref name="Buszko 417-425"/> Communist restructuring and the imposition of work-space rules encountered active worker opposition already in the years 1945–1947.<ref name="Poland under Communism 24-26">{{Harvnb|Kemp-Welch|2008|pp=24–26}}.</ref> The moderate [[Three-Year Plan]] of 1947–1949 continued with the rebuilding, [[Social ownership|socialization]] and [[socialist economics|socialist restructuring of the economy]]. It was followed by the [[Six-Year Plan]] of 1950–1955 for [[heavy industry]].<ref name="Zdobycie władzy"/> The rejection of the [[Marshall Plan]] in 1947 made aspirations for catching up with [[Western Europe|West European]] standards of living unrealistic.<ref>{{Harvnb|Buszko|1986|pp=434–440}}.</ref><ref name="Poland under Communism 12-16">{{Harvnb|Kemp-Welch|2008|pp=12–16}}.</ref>

The government's highest economic priority was the development of heavy industry useful to the military. State-run or controlled institutions common in all the socialist countries of eastern Europe were imposed on Poland, including [[Collective farming|collective farms]] and [[worker cooperative]]s. The latter were dismantled in the late 1940s as not socialist enough, although they were later re-established; even small-scale private enterprises were eradicated.<ref name="Poland under Communism 27, 39">{{Harvnb|Kemp-Welch|2008|pp=27, 39}}.</ref> Stalinism introduced heavy [[Propaganda in the Polish People's Republic|political and ideological propaganda]] and [[indoctrination]] in social life, culture and education.<ref name="Lukowski 286-292"/><ref name="Poland under Communism 35-39">{{Harvnb|Kemp-Welch|2008|pp=35–39}}.</ref>

[[File:A Kultúra és Tudomány Palotája. Fortepan 75020.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Communist aspirations were symbolized by the [[Palace of Culture and Science]] in Warsaw]]

Great strides were made, however, in the areas of employment (which became nearly full), [[Education in the Polish People's Republic|universal public education]] (which nearly eradicated adult illiteracy), health care and recreational amenities.<ref>{{Harvnb|Prażmowska|2011|pp=195, 196}}.</ref><ref name="Stelmachowski 22, 189">{{Harvnb|Stelmachowski|2011|pp=22, 189}}.</ref> Many historic sites, including the central districts of Warsaw and Gdańsk, both devastated during the war, were rebuilt at great cost.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lukowski|Zawadzki|2006|p=282}}.</ref><ref name="Poland under Communism 21-22">{{Harvnb|Kemp-Welch|2008|pp=21–22}}.</ref>

The communist industrialization program led to increased [[urbanization]] and educational and career opportunities for the intended beneficiaries of the social transformation, along the lines of the peasants-workers-working intelligentsia paradigm. The most significant improvement was accomplished in the lives of Polish peasants, many of whom were able to leave their impoverished and overcrowded village communities for better conditions in urban centers. Those who stayed behind took advantage of the implementation of the 1944 [[PKWN Manifesto|land reform decree of the Polish Committee of National Liberation]], which terminated the antiquated but widespread parafeudal socioeconomic relations in Poland. The Stalinist attempts at establishing collective farms generally failed. Due to urbanization, the national percentage of the rural population decreased in communist Poland by about 50%. A majority of Poland's residents of cities and towns still live in [[High-rise building|apartment block]]s built during the communist era, in part to accommodate migrants from rural areas.<ref name="Ziemia dla chłopów"/><ref name="Główny propagator kapitalizmu">{{Harvnb|Wasilewski|2012a}}.</ref><ref name="Ostatni, chłopi nowoczesnej Europy">{{Harvnb|Bogucka|2013}}.</ref>