Problem delimitacji granic oraz współpracy gospodarczej w relacjach polsko-radzieckich w latach 1945–1956

Abstract

The paper entitled „The problem of delimitation of borders and economic cooperation in Polish - Soviet relations in the period 1945–1956” raises the issues of bilateral relations since the end of the war, which are important in the author’s view. It was the years 1945–1956 that saw the development of the new, after-Yalta order, which was to survive until the last decade of the twentieth century. As a consequence of the decisions taken by the great powers, against the wishes of the majority of Poles, our country found itself in the Soviet sphere of influence. The first part of the paper is devoted to the problems of the Polish eastern border delimitation. The process of formation of the Polish – Soviet border took place in the period of 1945–1951, difficult both in the external and internal dimension. Changes in the course of our eastern border, especially in the initial period of Polish-Soviet relations, proceeded in an atmosphere of political struggle between the supporters of the Polish Government in Exile, which was in favor of maintaining the borders prior to September 1939, and the communist authorities, supporting the concept of „return to the borders of the Piast dynasty”, formed in the Soviet Union in times of war on the fronts of World War II. In the remaining part of the paper, the author deals with selected issues emerging after World War II and concerning economic contacts between the Polish and the Soviet state. The paper presents the importance of economic aid from the USSR for Poland, discusses the beginnings of the institutional forms of cooperation between the two countries as well as an increasing dependence of our economy on our powerful eastern neighbour.