THE POLISH COMMITTEE’S OF NATIONAL LIBERATION POLICY TOWARDS MUSEUMS

After World War II museums in Poland were bound to serve political purposes. The aim of new government was to shape citizens’ awareness according to the Stalinist ideology. 21 July 1944, the Polish Committee of National Liberation (further PKWN) was created in Moscow under the patronage of Joseph Stalin. From 1 August 1944, it was located in Lublin together with its Arts and Culture Department. The period from 21 July 1944 to the end of December 1944 on the so-called liberated territories is discussed herein in the context of museums’ formation. It was the time when new institutions were created (e.g. Museum of Majdanek Concentration Camp) and those existing prior to WWII were re-established, such as the Lublin Museum or the National Museum of Przemyśl. In 1944, museums were facing many problems, inter alia, war damages, plunder by the People’s Army that quartered here, financial difficulties, personnel shortage. The lack of professionals in museums was the result of the PKWN strategy at the time, which first of all required propaganda specialists in culture institutions. The land reform initiated in 1944 affected museums to some extent; they were receiving works of art which had been confiscated from parcelled out landed properties. The only reason for it was the ideological one, however – from the historical point of view – they are regarded as unjust and immoral persecution and harassment against groups of society held by the communists in contempt, i.e. landowners. Sources on which the article has been based: reports of the PKWN and Culture Divisions of Regional Offices (Lublin, Rzeszów, Białystok, and Warsaw), which are in the possession of the Archives of Modern History Records (Archiwum Akt Nowych) in Warsaw.