PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC of POLAND and EUROPE
Author: Malgorzata Szyndel
School: Gimnazjum nr. 9 /Warszaw/Poland
Teacher: Anna Horon
Life in each of these decades: 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was different but quite similar in many respects. The fifties are the years of terror of Stalinism. Especially after World War II the country was rebuilding itself, but simultaneously people were constrained by the creators of the 'new order'. A person who thought or acted differently than the Soviet government wanted, would get imprisoned or persecuted. After the German occupation, people experienced the Soviet occupation. People's rights, freedom of thought, freedom of speech and religious freedom were treaded by a peremptory invader, even though all the misdeeds were hypocritically concealed under propaganda slogans of freedom of an individual and protection of workers. In the sixties (a period of Gomulka's rule) the oppression of the terror apparatus has been abandoned. It was rather a time of 'the building of a new tomorrow' within the framework of the alliance of the working class and the peasantry with intelligence. A strong central government with the central distribution of goods kept causing constant shortages, to such a big extent that even common household items, such as refrigerators and vacuum cleaners, were scarce and considered items of luxury. Tropical fruits, or meat articles would pop up only in the times of holidays, which would cause huge lines in front of the stores. There was no official unemployment, although a hidden unemployment existed.
Travels abroad were only allowed to the other 'democratic' countries, and reserved only for the few, trusted people. Issuing of a passport could always get suspended for 'social reasons' (nobody quite knew what it meant). There were just gray people, gray clothes, gray fashion and gray life.
The seventies (Gierek's rule) was a period of the propaganda of success. The policy of the government remained pretty much the same, but after the events of December 1970 the Communist Party feared workers' riots. A great loan for 'modernization of the country' was borrowed from the countries of the Western Europe and the United States. The money was misspent on huge investments and wasted by too much of consumer spending. With the prices being fixed, the exported goods were sold for less than they were worth, based on some cosmic price charts. But what mattered was what the popular propaganda slogan stated: "So that Poland thrives and people live wealthier". And during the first few years living standards improved, because the goods supplied, other than meat products, were quite good. More young people were able to go abroad to the West, because the restrictions were lessened. People earned money and brought it back in exchangeable currencies. "Western" items could be bought in a chain of stores called "Pewex" even though they still could not be paid for in dollars! Also still the Radio 'Free Europe' was jammed. Economic and political crisis was imminent though. Workers and intellectuals started cooperating against the system. With the support of the newly elected Pope, John Paul II, a series of strikes and riots led to the establishment of the independent "Solidarity" Trade Union in August 1980. It was the beginning of the end of the communism era in this part of Europe. But it wasn't for the next ten years that the full independence from the system was achieved. The communists held onto their positions of power, even announcing the martial law in 1981. But the system of central planning and its inefficiency, as well as the people's will to be freed from the USSR dominancy led in 1989 to the so-called 'roundtable talks' and the first free parliamentary elections, won by non-Communists. Since 1989 Poland has been a free and sovereign country. The change started in 1980 led not only to the fall of the communist system but also to the fall of the USSR itself.
Forming of a sovereign country, introducing the law of a free market, adjusting the economy to the standards of the countries of the European Union, these are the major tasks that the country today has to deal with. There are both time and labor consuming.
But Poland, lying in the geographical center of Europe, a country of a well-developed and rich Christian culture, tries to catch up economically with the European Union so as to get accepted to this structure. Poland has already been admitted to NATO, and is a country associated with the EU. We want to be an equal and lawful partner in the Union.
I'm a 15-year-old teenager and I live in Warsaw, Poland. I like to visit new places and meet new people. I'm interested in different countries and their traditions. I enjoy learning about new things and I like getting to know people's opinions. Personally, I can't wait for our country to join the European Union. I read about it in newspapers and hear a lot in the TV. Lately, it's been one of the main topics to talk about. I think that joining the EU will give Poland advantages. I guess it would be easier to travel, because all the borders will be open to everyone. We could visit and stay in other countries anytime we want to and we will have an opportunity to work there. The currency would be the same, and that would make our lives easier. I guess I can compare the European Union to the United States of America: a big territory with borders, but the same currency and language. Actually the language won't be the same, but who knows? Maybe one day English, French, German or Spanish would be the main one? I think that might be interesting, but I'd rather have each country speak its native language. Even now, most young people speak at least two languages.
Other than that, I think the life standard will be higher. I know that there will always be a big group of poor people. But since we'd be in the EU, we would be able to work abroad, and become a 'western country'. The products, machines, medicine etc would be cheaper and available around the nation.
In my opinion, there will be more employers and the salaries will increase. I think that it'd be easier to get a job, because the education system might change.