The formation of local territorial administration in Poland in the years 1945-1952

Abstract

The shaping of the local administration system in Poland in the years 1945-1952 is one of the most interesting issues in the post-war history. On the one hand, there is a formally existing local government system, but on the other hand, there appears a Soviet administrative model of national councils, previously unknown in Poland. The combination of the systems of local government and national councils authorities confused the administrative situation in Poland. The hierarchical arrangement of councils, i.e. the subordination of lower-level councils to higher-level ones, meant a departure from one of the basic features of local government, i.e. the independence of a given level of the administrative structure in relation to the level located above it. The composition of national councils was not determined by way of elections, but only by a process of delegation by so-called democratic organisations closely linked to the communist movement.