Editing Lesser Poland (section)

=== Post-World War II ===
Together with the Red Army, [[NKVD]] and Soviet authorities followed, whose purpose was to make Poland a Communist country, with a puppet government, formed as [[Polish Committee of National Liberation]]. Since 1 August 1944, the provisional government was officially headquartered in Lesser Poland's Lublin. Thousands of people took to the forests, to continue their fight for free Poland (see [[Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–46)]]). Lesser Poland again was one of the main centers of the resistance. Several skirmishes took place in the province, including [[Battle of Kuryłówka]]. The Communists did not hesitate to kill those rebels they captured ([[Public execution in Dębica (1946)]]), and by 1947, the resistance movement was crushed. The last Polish [[Cursed soldiers|cursed soldier]], [[Józef Franczak]], was killed in 1963 near [[Świdnik]] in north[[Eastern Lesser Poland]]. Also, all victims of the [[1951 Mokotów Prison execution]] were members of Lesser Poland's branch of [[Freedom and Independence]]. Another well-known anti-Communist fighter from Lesser Poland is [[Józef Kuraś]], who was active in the southern region of [[Podhale]].

In early 1945, the lands of Lesser Poland were divided between three voivodeships – those of Kraków, Lublin, and Kielce. Since summer 1945, several counties were transferred to neighboring voivodeships – [[Eastern Lesser Poland]] (Dębica, Jasło, Mielec) became part of [[Rzeszów Voivodeship]], while western counties of Będzin and Zawiercie were transferred to [[Katowice Voivodeship]]. In 1950, the city of Częstochowa became part of Katowice Voivodeship, and next year, the city of [[Bielsko-Biała]] was created out of Lesser Poland's Biala Krakowska, and Upper Silesia's Bielsko. The new city became part of Katowice Voivodeship. Lesser Poland was further divided in 1975, when territorial reform was carried out (see [[Voivodeships of Poland (1975–1988)]]). Counties were abolished, and several small voivodeships were created, in such Lesser Poland's towns and cities, as Tarnobrzeg, Tarnów, Nowy Sącz, Bielsko-Biała, Radom, Częstochowa, and Siedlce.

The government of Communist Poland invested in heavy industry, following the pre-1939 idea of Central Industrial Area. In Kraków, a new district of [[Nowa Huta]] was constructed in the 1950s. In Częstochowa and Zawiercie, the steelworks were significantly expanded, and in early 1970, the government initiated construction of Katowice Steelworks, which, despite its name, is located in Lesser Poland's [[Dąbrowa Górnicza]]. To connect Katowice Steelworks with Soviet plants, in late 1970s [[Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line]] was opened, which crossed Lesser Poland from west to east. Among other major factories, opened in Lesser Poland during Communist rule, there are:
* [[FSC Lublin]], opened in 1951,
* [[FSC Star]] in [[Starachowice]], opened in 1948, and based on earlier factory,
* [[PZL-Świdnik]], opened in 1951,
* Zaklady Azotowe [[Puławy]], opened in 1965,
* [[Połaniec Power Station]], opened in 1979,
* Skawina Power Station, opened in 1957,
* Nowiny Cement Plant, opened in 1960,
* [[Kozienice Power Station]], opened in 1973.

[[File:Star S2000PSP.JPG|thumb|A fire engine made by [[FSC Star]] in Lesser Poland's [[Starachowice]]]]

Other Lesser Poland's major plants were significantly expanded after 1945, including [[Żywiec Brewery]], [[Okocim Brewery]], [[Fablok]], [[Łucznik Arms Factory]], [[FŁT-Kraśnik]], [[Jaworzno Power Station]], Siersza Power Plant, [[Huta Stalowa Wola]], [[Janina Coal Mine]], [[Sobieski Coal Mine]], [[Grupa Azoty|Zakłady Azotowe]] [[Mościce|Tarnów-Mościce]]. Furthermore, in early 1950s significant [[sulfur]] resources were discovered in Tarnobrzeg, as a result of which Siarkopol company was founded, and the city of Tarnobrzeg quickly grew. In 1975, coal was discovered northeast of Lublin, and soon afterwards, [[Bogdanka Coal Mine]] and [[Piaski Coal Mine]] were opened.

Between 1971 and 1977, [[Central Rail Line (Poland)|Central Trunk Line]] was opened, which goes along western boundary of the province, and which connects Kraków and Katowice, with Warsaw. In the early 1980s, construction of a highway between Kraków and Katowice began. The 61-kilometer road is now run by Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska, and is part of [[A4 autostrada (Poland)|A4 highway]].

Residents of Lesser Poland frequently protested against Communist government. Major centers of anti-Communist resistance were in Kraków, Nowa Huta, Radom, and Lublin. Among major protests that took place in the province were [[1968 Polish political crisis]] (with Kraków as one of major centers of protests), [[June 1976 protests]] (in Radom), [[Lublin 1980 strikes]], [[31 August 1982 demonstrations in Poland]] (in several locations), [[1988 Polish strikes]] (with Stalowa Wola as one of major centers). Several anti-Nazi, and anti-Communist leaders hailed from Lesser Poland: [[Jan Piwnik]], [[Emil August Fieldorf]], [[Leopold Okulicki]], [[Ryszard Siwiec]], [[Stanisław Pyjas]], [[Hieronim Dekutowski]], [[Andrzej Gwiazda]], [[Andrzej Czuma]].

A number of key personalities of Communist government were born in Lesser Poland, including [[Józef Cyrankiewicz]], [[Bolesław Bierut]], [[Edward Gierek]], [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]], [[Czesław Kiszczak]], [[Stanisław Kania]], [[Hilary Minc]], [[Edward Ochab]], [[Michał Rola-Żymierski]], [[Józef Oleksy]].

Among prominent personalities of Polish cultural life of the 20th century, who were born in Lesser Poland, there are: [[Xawery Dunikowski]], [[Witold Gombrowicz]], [[Gustaw Herling-Grudziński]], [[Sławomir Mrożek]], [[Tadeusz Kantor]], [[Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz]], [[Marek Kondrat]], [[Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska]], [[Krzysztof Penderecki]], [[Zbigniew Preisner]], [[Leon Schiller]], [[Jerzy Stuhr]], [[Jan Sztaudynger]], [[Grzegorz Turnau]], [[Jerzy Turowicz]].