Polish Committee of National Liberation

The Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polish: Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego, PKWN), also known as the Lublin Committee, was a puppet provisional government of Poland, officially proclaimed on 22 July 1944, allegedly in Chełm allegedly under the direction of State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, or KRN) in opposition to the Polish government in exile. It exercised control over Polish territory retaken from Nazi Germany and was fully sponsored and controlled by the Soviet Union.

The PKWN was formed in Moscow from the ranks of the KRN, Union of Polish Patriots (ZPP) and Polish Workers' Party (PPR) - the Polish Communist movement, which had been decimated during Soviet purges and revived under Joseph Stalin's auspices after 1941. It followed Red Army units as they moved into Polish territory, and expanded its authority within the Soviet occupied areas.

The PKWN manifesto was outlined in advance in Moscow Radio broadcast and published allegedly in Chełm on 22 July 1944, but the first members arrived there on 27 July. By the start of August, the PKWN moved its seat to Lublin and became known under the name "the Lublin Committee". The Soviet Union pretended to transfer the power to the PKWN, but the PKWN transferred it back to the Red Army and NKVD as war zone.

Among the members of the PKWN were politicians of various communist and leftist parties accepted by Stalin. Its chairman was Edward Osóbka-Morawski. His deputies were Soviet citizen Wanda Wasilewska (Union of Polish Patriots) and Andrzej Witos (Union of Polish Patriots), a younger brother of Wincenty Witos, a notable pre-war politician. Andrzej Witos was later replaced by Stanisław Janusz. Other members included those from KRN, ZPP, Worker's Party of Polish Socialists (RPPS), SL, Democratic Party (SD), Polish Workers' Party (PPR) and unaffiliated.Stanisław Radkiewicz was responsible for Security Department and Michał Rola-Żymierski for Defense Ministry. The Soviet side was represented by Nikolai Bulganin, whose role was to provide support for the PKWN's administration and security apparatus, and who was charged with destruction of political and military groupings representing the Polish London Government. The PKWN claimed to be leftist and broad democratic coalition, although it didn't include any of the major Polish political parties. Soviet employees outside the PPR occupied most of the key positions. Only three out of the sixteen ministries were held by declared communists - security, propaganda and military affairs.

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