Republic of Poland (1944–52)

Republic of Poland (1944–1952) Rzeczpospolita Polska Polish People's Republic (1952–1990)
Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa
Satellite state of the Soviet Union
1944–1989
Flag (1944–80) Coat of arms
Anthem Mazurek Dąbrowskiego Poland Is Not Yet Lost
Location of the Polish People's Republic in Europe.
Capital		Warsaw Lublin (1944–45) Łódź (1945–48)
Languages		Polish
Demonym		Pole, Polish
Government		Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state (after 1952)
Head of State
•	President 1944–1952	Bolesław Bierut (first)
•	1990	Wojciech Jaruzelski (last)
•	Chairman of the Council of State 1952–1964	Aleksander Zawadzki (first)
•	1985–1989	Wojciech Jaruzelski (last)
Prime Minister
•	1944–1947	Edward Osóbka-Morawski (first)
•	1990	Tadeusz Mazowiecki (last)
Historical era		World War II, Cold War
•	Provisional government	1944
•	Workers' Party established	16 - 21 December 1948
•	Constitution	22 July 1952
•	Democracy restored	30 December 1989
Area
•	1990	312,685 km² (120,728 sq mi)
Population
•	1946 est.	23,930,000
•	1990 est.	37,970,155
Density		121.4 /km²  (314.5 /sq mi)
Currency		Polish złoty
Calling code		+48
Preceded by Succeeded by Nazi Germany General Government Soviet Union Polish government-in-exile Third Polish Republic
Today part of		Poland

The Polish People's Republic (Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) covers the history of Poland under Communist control between 1952 and 1990. The name was defined by the Constitution of 1952 which was based on the 1936 Soviet Constitution. Between 1947 and 1952, the name of the Polish state was the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), in accordance with the temporary Constitution of 1947. At the time of its founding during final stages of World War II, Poland was regarded as a puppet entity set up and controlled by the Soviet Union, and over time, it developed into a satellite state of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union had much influence over both internal and external affairs, and Red Army forces were stationed in Poland (1945: 500,000; until 1955: 120,000 to 150,000; until 1989: 40,000). In 1945, Soviet generals and advisors formed 80% of the officer cadre of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish United Workers' Party became the dominant political party, officially making the country a Communist state.

At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Stalin was able to present his western allies, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, with a fait accompli in Poland. His armed forces were in occupation of the country, and his agents, the communists, were in control of its administration. The USSR was in the process of incorporating the lands in eastern Poland which it had occupied between 1939 and 1941.