Introduction
This paper is presenting the life style and reality of
every-day life in socialistic Poland, so the time between 1944 – 1989 years. In
the first instance I am going to present the historical background of Polish
history as well as social and economic factors of Polish reality during
Socialism in order to introduce and understand easier the object of styles of
life in socialist Poland. Afterwards I would like to emerge the life style of
particular social group in Poland and common features of every-day life among
all the members of Polish society in socialism Poland. It is important in my
intention to emphasize some of the elements of absurd in this daily life.
Historical Background
Poland is a country located in a Central Europe bordered
by German, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russian Enclave in the north. Poland exists officially on a map of Europe since 966
year when Polish Prince Mieszko I from Slavic line adopt the Christianity and
gained the power among Slavic populace in the region of the former Poland (the territory
similar to polish lands nowadays). It is important to mention that the
Christianity and then the Catholics religion (confession) was the most popular
and powerful religion highly connected and influenced the power and society
during all next ages. The Polish Kingdom was formed 1025 and in 1569 Poland
cemented the personal and then economic and military union with Lithuania
formed the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth and built strong tradition of
parliamentary for noble democracy (as a second country in Europe that time),original
system of King’s election and established second constitution in the world (Constitution
of May 3, 1791y.). In 1795 the Commonwealth, so Poland indeed was portioned
among the Kingdom of Prussia, the Russian Empire and Old Austria and lost its independance for exactly 123 years. After few
rebellions and after first World War in 1918 Poland regained the independence
and became the Second Polish Republic, but only for a short. Later on in 1939 was
attacked by Nazi Germany and then Soviet Union (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact).
Around 6 million Polish citizens (including Jewish citizens in Poland) has
been killed during the second World War. It is also necessary to emphasize that the biggest part of Polish intelligence has been killed, export
to Siberia or emigrated to other countries on purpose. This event changed the structure of Polish
society for a long and influence the Polish society nowadays.
In result of decisions in Posdam, Yalta and Teheran
conferences at the end of Second World War Poland was allocated to the Russian,
so Communistic sphere of influence however Communism (Socialism) was not a
popular political ideology in Poland that time, being only represented by the small
unpopular political grouping. In 1952-1989 Poland has been officially named People's Republic of Poland and has been
described as a satellite state of the Soviet Union to the end of Soviet Union
durance. The Polish United Workers' Party
with significant help from Stalin policy has became the dominant political party,
officially made the country a Socialist state. In the years of 1956, 1968,
1970, 1980/81 and finally in 1989 took a place some significant strikes of
trade-unionists. (2001 J.Lukowski, H. Zawaszki).
I think it’s
important to understand some main points of Polish history before trying to
understand social economic reality and more specific object like style of life
of particular social groups in socialist Poland.
Social and economic feature in
Socialist Poland.
Communism is
a socialist movement to propagate a classless, common ownership as well as a
social, political and economic ideology which aims the social order as a common
and universal for everyone (1994, A. Daniels, R. Vincent). This ideology was
not popular in capitalistic part of Europe and as I had mentioned before,
communism in Poland was not popular and dominant ideology or any significant
political movement before 1945 year. The direct reason of accession the power
by communistic party (The Communist Party of Poland and then Polish United
Worker’s Party) might be the conference
in Teheran in 1944, which put Poland to the zone of Soviet Union influence. In
effect Soviet Union and Stalin supported minority of communists to gain the
power and won the election by distortion of the results in the election in
post-war Poland. Since 1947 Polish, communistic’’ government was directly
dependent on support of the Soviet Union and steered by it until 1989 year
(2001, J.Lukowski, H. Zawaszki). Although
the constant policy of
supporting this new socialistic regime by propaganda lead by party with support from Soviet
Union. The fact, that Poland was quite fresh post-war formation as a
country, still not well-formed, Polish society was giving many evident that the new
system was not accepted by it. During all this socialistic time there have been
taken many strikes, organized mostly by trade-unions which have been
contributed inchmeal to the collapse of communism in 1989. The fact that the
socialistic ideology and communist regime was provided by ,,force’’ and by
policy of propaganda and had its continuation in every-day life marked the
social discourse that time and specific attitude those who were not the part of the communistic power structure.
This situation is one of the factors for big distance that time between private and public sphere and implicit critique of this system. It was also one of the reasons for specific attitude
of the society in every-day life, but not the one reason.
This
specific distance as well as lack of connection between pay and work effects,
improper system of economic stimuli, neglect in the domain of work security and
hygiene and low level of remuneration in general yielded a widespread feeling
of lack of sense in working and caused egocentric and unreliable approach to
work and individualistic attitudes manifested in the illegal deriving of
economic profits or frequent absences from the work-place. The whole system gave the priority to
individual interests rather than to the employer, so that the state with the
support from everyone who was depended on the party. In other words it caused
the contradiction and distance between the interests of the individual and
those of the formal organization. The sociological analysis of Polish society revealed
in general rather homogeneous image of the work situation. There were only few
alternative choices that are relevant for the life style, prevalent the eight
hours permanent employment model, not connected with a positive work ethic
system and gave less and less chances of social advancement. A negative work
ethos functioned and influenced the system of general work's attitudes, so that work
as a value didn’t affect the principle of Polish families’ life style, however
the main source of income for polish families came from work for the state. In
some families the work caused significant consequences for the physical and mental
health because the new marker rather industry-oriented needed mostly physical
workers in general. (P.Gliński 1987).
The systematic shortage of everything
The
characteristic of the social-economic reality in years 1945-1989 was of course
diversified and broadly-based but some features were quite common and
distinguishing for that period of time. Polish communistic government started inputting
the communistic ideology by nationalization of industry (including monopoly for
alcohol industry), transportation and banks. The state has a monopoly for
international trade and has limited the private property. One of the first step
made by new communistic government was to launched the land reform (partial collectivization
of agriculture) and made the whole economy industrially-oriented (J.Kornai,
1992).
According to
the communistic ideology the economy was centrally planned, so all decisions
regarding production and investment were made by the Socialistic state. In
practice the most important decisions depended on USSR state (Soviet Union) and
Polish government, which was strictly
observed and controlled by Soviet Union. Because the economy was not
efficient enough and because most of the national production were imported to
the different parts of Soviet Union (most to the Russia) not to the Polish
market indeed, the economical monopoly of the state
cause the systematic lack of basic need’s products . The common view of everyday life were the long lines of people
waiting for his order to get finally the opportunity to buy and receive some
products, even the products of basic needs (pic.1) The common lack of products
regarded most often the toilet paper and meat. As a part of the salary people
often received the cards with the permission for buying some limited amounts of
basic need’s products (flour, sugar, cigarettes, alcohol, washing powder,
chocolate, oil, grain flakes for instance). As a result of this situation
Polish people lived that time very thriftily in general. Almost every material
thing was valuable and might be necessary or could be exchange for something
else or collected for the next generation (like clothes, for instance).
Pic.1 ,,The lines
of Polish citizens waiting for his order to receive the products in the
store’’.
Pic.2 ,,The
typical card with limited amount of products of basic needs’’ similar to the
food stamps and the symbol of goods rationing. The first card was launched in
1976 year. It is probably important to notice that the state allowed the
alcohol and cigarettes for every family, even if no one in the family was
smoking or drinking. Those products were always exclusive, valuable and exchangeable, which means that there was
always someone with whom people could exchange the products. Also those cards
were functioning as a currency in time of high inflation. People exchange the
cards of cigarettes and alcohol for sweets cards. * There was also something
similar to the rationing cards called ,,Books G’’ (Książeczka G) for privilege
labor groups (militia, mineworkers for instance). ‘’ http://www.zgapa.pl/data_files/referat_9794.html
The systematic lack of everything cause that people stayed often in peculiar social-economic connection
with each other in order to exchange the products, information and make a deals
with each other regarding work, products as well as share the private aspects
of life (family issues, cultural or political life). Social position and social
existence depended strictly on people’s social connections and quality of those
connections (,,mieć znajomości’’,
,,załatwić coś’’). If someone has good connections especially with
communistic statesmen, could deal easier and more efficient. It was really important
for everyone to have many connections with people because many aspects of life
depended on those connections: work, food, health, travelling or even the
access to the information like the Chernobyl issue showed (there was three days
delay to informed people in Poland of state of emergency but some families with
members in the Polish army known about this ecological catastrophe before). In
my opinion it was very similar to the
Russian ,,blat’’ in socialistic time – the social networking and informal
exchange. The economic situation of socialist Poland in comparison to Western
countries was less stable and worst in general regarding infrastructure,
consumption, quality of production, the level of industrialization and
economical insurance or incur. During all the socialism time in Poland there
was a systematic shortage of something and high inflation. The communistic
government in order to patch the budget up have been taken foreign loans and made
reprinting of money cause the
national currency devaluation. As a result people have a currency and money
which have low values!! According to the systematic shortage of some products
the money stowed to functioning as a currency to make a deal. Polish people
very often that time made a deal and business by exchange of rationing cards
or by giving alcohol, especially vodka (1992
J. Kornai). The rate of consumption of vodka in socialist Poland was really
high. In 1938 the rate of consumption
per capita was 1,5l, in 1956 it was 3,2 l, in 1965 it was 4,1 l and in
1970 almost 5,1 liters per capita. The vodka and alcohol consumption was in the
same time one of the most important profits for the national budget because the
government has the monopoly for alcohol production. That period of time the alcoholism problem as a
social issue was wide in Poland. Polish society has been
kind controlled by the rate and price of vodka. Drinking was the most common
way of entertainment for people and the way of making deal with other people.
(W. Roszkowski 2007), http://historia2000.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/zycie-w-prl/.
The compulsory duty of work
In 7’th of
March 1950 Polish communistic government in order to increase the economic
growth, eliminate unemployment rate and most of all increase social support for
the party mandate the compulsory duty of work to the Polish law. From that
moment everyone has to do some work. In practice those people who tried to
avoid working could be even imprisoned. Polish government started the propaganda
coming from Soviet Union about social responsibility and social solidarity in
working for the state. Lenin also said ,,who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat too’’
(,,Kto nie pracuje, ten nie je’’' Stalin). The propaganda concern also Polish woman and
youth. In communistic time women were encourage to work even in typical men’s
professions (Pic. 3 and 4). Polish government launched some reforms (,,plan
trzyletni’’, plan sześcioletni’’) to rebuild Polish economy and the work solidarity
among the society. Duty of work and working for the state were the parts of
those reforms and socialist propaganda. In this period of time Polish
government has also established free saturdays. (M. Gładysz,2006).
Pic. 3 and 4. ,, Picture number three shows one of the propagandist
posters portrays woman as a typical bricklayer’’
Pic. 5 and 6. ,, The propagandist posters concern
drinking.’’ On the one hand the state critiqued drinking but on the other
convinced people to drink alcohol made in Polish factories’’.
The characteristic features in the industrial work place
were the propagandist posters against drunk or or laziness. On the one hand the
state critiqued drinking but on the other hand the state was systematically
convincing the society to drink (Pic.5 and 6). (http://www.zgapa.pl/data_files/referat_9794.html).
There were also no limitation for changing the job position and
place. The place for which employee was dedicated may depended on academic
results in school, so that better students should receive more comfortable
place for work, located more close to the place of residence and including more
social facilities but in practice the
place depended on social connection (,,znajomosci’’) of the person and its
family or offering a bribe. (Daniels, R. Vincent, 1994).
Insight into the life style of
particular social groups
Generation
It is very
necessary to mention at the beginning of the overview of Polish people life
style in socialist Poland, that there is significant differentiation of
perception and life style not only related to the economic situation and social
range. The differentiation of life styles is related to the variety of factors,
mainly economic and social background but also to the generation and sex. For
instance the autobiographies of members of the elder generation significantly
differ from the related life-stories from the younger postwar generations. The
biographies of the younger generation showed individual struggles with
difficulties and limitation to facts and events of personal life
(individual-oriented). The characteristic of the elder people, rich in many
historical events, widen the individual experience by collective dimension,
showed expression of sense of shared fate and common experience (collective –
oriented). According to the Polish history, rich of many emotional and
convulsive events such as rebellions and World Warfare’s this should not be a surprise. The generation
play important role in differentiation of life styles in Polish families in
that period of time (E.Tarkowska 1987).
Sex
The second
particular factor, necessary to mention is the sex. The life and reality was
different for woman and men. However communistic ideology as well as Polish
communistic government supported the idea of women as a full-worked the policy
was not working for the women edge. The women situation as well as life style
was defined by her sex. The role of woman was still quite homogeneous among all
country - first of all being mother and wife. Rarely professional career after
giving the birth, except the families were woman needed to work (mostly
physically) to survive and to help the family to survive playing in the same time
the role of wife, mother and often the nurse for family elderly with her husband or alone. The most significant
events of the women’s life were the marriage, child-birth (motherhood) and
deaths of her relatives. (E.Tarkowska 1987).
As a
contrast,,Sexmission’’ (Polish: Seksmisja) is a 1984 cult Polish comedy science
fiction action film where all males have died out and women reproduce through
parthenogenesis, living in feminist society. The feminist world and world
govern by woman in this movie was showed as extremely oppressive and not
realistic reality. The movie contains a
hidden political satire layer specific to the time and place of its production.
This movie tried to equate also this feministic society and world to the
communistic government that time. In my opinion this movie and the reactions
for this movie showed kind of misunderstanding of the feminist ideology and the
measure in the movie showed the critique of the society where the women could
have the equal professional and social positions to the men.
Different classes of families
The life
style is defined not only by the generation, sex but also by the other
important factors such as economic situation (incomes), current
milieu, type of social contact and cultural family background – in the meaning
of values, traditions, customs, beliefs and patterns (A. Pawelczynska, E.Tarkowska 1987).
In Poland,
as well as in all the Europe that time have been taken a place the regular movement from rural areas to the
cities. This process caused for the former peasant the social advancement and permanent satisfaction in the
meaning of the transition from the countryside to the city and from the hard
physical work to work often in the office for example. From that reason work
was the most important duty and necessity for those, class’’ of people. Industriousness and thrift were the main
values and general characteristic of peasants who moved to the urban areas.
However a possession of objects was the symbol of social advancement, the flat was
not played important role in the life style. Most of the expenses were put on
clothes and food. There prevailed the Catholicism and traditional model of
consumption, culture and leisure time, for example Sunday was treated as a day
free of work.
The main
characteristic of bourgeois and neo bourgeois life of style was
possessing and investing most of the time and energy in the activity on possessing, acquiring and attaining,
which leaves of course a little room and time for other activities like self-education,
cultural life and helping others for instance. The possession and acquisition
of things was the symbol of change and social position( social advancement).
This ,,class’’ of people and families found the advance socially and
economically in the way and meaning of having and possessing. There was
peculiar ,,tradition on heaving’ ’as a value. The participation in culture was
mostly limited to the newspapers and to the television. The leisure, except
watching television signified the gathering with friends including often vodka
drinking and business transactions indeed. Bourgeois families usually didn’t
evinced authentic involvement in the field of social and political concerns.
There was no familial solidarity and positive attitude to work. Also the furnishing
of house was usually without aesthetic needs. It was important to impress the
others, even the family.
The quote
described the motives of life of some representatives of kind of bourgeois
married couple:
,,On the
occasion of the tenth anniversary of our marriage we organized a party, to
which we invided both my family and my husband’s family and friends and
acquaintances. This day was very solemn as we fulfilled our most hidden dreams.
With pride we showed our guests the apartment furnished in a modern style, a
newly installed telephone, the most modern house equipment, wardrobes full of
cothes and linen and other things necessary at home’’ (A. Pawelczynska,
E.Tarkowska 1987).
The working
class was the biggest in Poland. In working families usually both men and woman
were working, doing some physical work 14-16 hours a day as a miners, nurses or
working in the factory to produce some goods or doing some work in the railway
industry or construction field).
(…) This is the worker’s family. Husband (60 years old) is a construction foreman, for
couple of years now in a disability pension. They have no children but they
have raised three nephews. Both completed six years of elementary school. Until
quite lately wife and the nephews went on pilgrimage to Czestochowa each year.
After the was the husband was a Communist Party member and a city councillor.
He sees a connection between the status of worker and the Party. Before
retirement he worked up to 14-16 hours per day. He did not tolerate unreliable
work, but accepted though he himself rarely committed such things, the carrying
away from the building site of deficit materials or employing the enterprise’s
equipment to do some job, on te side, reasoning that ,,otherwise one just
cannot live’’ and ,,people must help each other’’. (A. Pawelczynska,
E.Tarkowska 1987).
The working
class people were usually low educated but the education has a high value for
working class families (mostly in the meaning of the next generation, for their children) as well
as catholic and communistic values. (,,work for economical and moral reason’’).
This class was easy persuasibility of communistic propaganda. The life style
and activities were simple: watching television, drinking vodka or beer,
smoking cigarettes, meeting relatives at the weekends.
There was
variety kind of families still rank as the upper class intellectuals’ families
but the life style of this class of families was connected in some point. Work
as a source of high incomes for the whole family and high satisfaction was in
the central role of the life of intellectual’s families. Often those families
have and emphasized the gentry’s roots, traditions, patterns and behavior. Man
with his prestige profession was the central person of the family. The leisure
and cultural life like the holidays, theater, concerts, cinema, books and
newspapers were discussed with all members of the family and played important
role in the life of those families. Leisure time depended on the incomes. The
members have the active role and social involvement. Flat was usually the
central role of the life of thiese families. The life style was and the factor
that some families we can specify as a intellectuals families was the cultural
and social involvement and meaningful work as a central role of the family’s
life, not the high incomes indeed.
,,The life
of family composed of three generations concentrates in the large, spacious
flat of parents. Person number one is the father, who guarantees material
well-being of the family while the authority within the family rest in the
hands of the mother. The moment when family ties are seen most visibly is a
joint afternoon meal. All members of the family work professionally with the
exception of the mother, who functions as a housewife. The father has a
specialist’s job, requiting large experience. The family life is strongly
influenced by the work of one of the sons, connected with the artistic milieu:
his friends are know to the whole of the family, problems of his milieu are
willingly discussed. Work is seen in the categories of generational
determinism: the example of the father, who supported on his own the whole
family and secured education and high social status for his children made work.
The whole leiusure time was planned and spent jointly(…)’’ ( A. Pawelczynska, E.Tarkowska 1987).
Very often it is emphasizes that the big
disadvantage and injustice of this kind of social construction and this form of society in
socialist Poland is the fact, that the standard of life, the existence of
particular person depended more on others (connections, ,,znajomosci’’) rather
than the individual efforts like good results in school or in the workplace.
This social system didn’t support some class of people regarded as a smart,
intelligent or hard-working and supported often those who were just a
conformists, which not always meant cleaver, intelligent and represented high
values.
In my paper I
have explained the historical background and described the life style of Polish
society in socialist Poland particularizing than particular social groups of
people living mostly in the cities. There is much more features to mention and
describe, like the life style and input of people living in rural areas, the catholic religion (confession), which
played significant role in politics and well as social life or music, movies
and sense of humor expressed in cabarets that time. There is also housing, suburbs’
yards or ecology issues or the issue of running the own business in socialist
Poland. The climbing milieu and myth of West countries and American dream and
others characteristics which are worth to describe in this wide topic how it is
the Polish social reality in socialist time indeed, but I needed to leave those
points for another paper.
References:
1. J.Lukowski, H. Zawaszki (2001),, A
Concise History of Poland ‘’. University of Stirling Libraries – Popular Loan
(Q 43.8 LUK): Cambridge University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0-521-55917-0.
3. Daniels, R. Vincent. ,,A Documentary
History of Communism and the World: From Revolution to Collapse’’. University
Press of New England, 1994.
4. W.
Roszkowski ,,Najnowsza Historia Polski 1980-2006’’. Wyd. Świat Książki 2007.
5. http://historia2000.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/zycie-w-prl/The
Socialist System – the political economy of communism’’, Oxford.
6. J. Kornai ,, Economics of shortage.
Amsterdam: North-Holland.’’ 1980.
9. M.
Gładysz ,,Historia III - Podróże w czasie. Podręcznik dla liceum i technikum.
Czasy współczesne’’ Wydawnictwo GWO Gdańskie Wydawnictwo œoświatowe.
10.
P.Gliński ,,Economic aspects of styles of life
in Polish urban families’’ in ,,Ways of life in Finland and Poland: comparative
studies on urban populations’’ eds. J.P. Ross and A.Sicinski. Aldershot:
Avebury, cop.1987.
11.
A. Pawelczynska, E.Tarkowska ,,Life styles of
individuals and families in Polish cities’’ in in ,,Ways of life in Finland and
Poland: comparative studies on urban populations’’ eds. J.P. Ross and
A.Sicinski. Aldershot: Avebury, cop.1987.
12.
E. Tarkowska ,,Differentiation of life style
in Poland generation and sex’’ in Polish cities’’ in in ,,Ways of life in
Finland and Poland: comparative studies on urban populations’’ eds. J.P. Ross
and A.Sicinski. Aldershot: Avebury, cop.1987.
Unfortunately my blog is in Polish mostly but thank you for a nice comment:)
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