The State and the Church in the Post-War Struggle for the Ideological Aspect of the Polish Academic Society (Wroclaw 1945–1956)

Abstract

According to the treaties of Teheran (1943) and Yalta (1945), Wrocław was made a part of the Recovered Territories as a compensation for the eastern Polish territories being taken by the USSR. All the Polish people who arrived started creating a new, diverse society that had no prior connection to the previously German city. The Polish Government faced the task of introducing peace and order to the city and organizing education because it was supposed to double as a political indoctrination tool that would shape the young generation even among students. A number of demands were made to incorporate universities as quickly as possible into the process of creating a socialistic nation and society. The political opinions of a majority of faculties and the Church stood in opposition to these demands and to the communist government. An official war with the Church had started, coupled with repressions. The Church fought not only for its place in the religious life of the citizens but also in the political and social one. The postwar history of Polish universities is closely related to these activities because of, among other things, the student participation in various academic ministries.