The Agricultural Production Cooperative in the Period of Agricultural Collectivization in Poland up to 1956

In Poland after WW II the political power belonged to the communist parties. After (considered as falsified) elections in 1947 the Communist Polish Workers’ Party (PPR) formally gained authority to rule in Poland and introduce laws corresponding with the communist ideology. In September 1948, after previous contrary policy, the PPR decided to start agricultural collectivization in Poland, which corresponded with the decision of the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers’ Parties (Cominform) about agricultural collectivization in all countries of the Soviet bloc. Soon after the unification of the PPR with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), which resulted in establishing in December 1948 the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR), which monopolized political power in Poland till 1989, the authorities began to prepare grounds for agricultural collectivization, i.e. to prepare monopolization of the agricultural production in Poland by the agricultural production cooperatives. In this first phase of collectivization (1949–1956) amendments were made to the Act of October 29, 1920, on cooperatives. The PZPR also started to issue instructions dealing with types of the cooperatives and their structure. There were also issued model by-laws of agricultural production cooperatives of different types. Simultaneously, the authorities applied measures (legal and illegal) to encourage countryside inhabitants to establish and take part in agricultural production cooperatives. Agricultural collectivization resulted in a decrease in the volume of agricultural goods, which with the failure in forcing farmers to participate in the system of agricultural production cooperatives, forced the authorities to change the approach to the issue of collectivization. In 1956 the PZPR decided to introduce major changes to the model of agricultural production cooperative, which resulted in the dissolution of the majority of created cooperatives.