The elite of the Polish United Workers’ Party in the years 1948–1955: mechanisms of personnel changes
In the years 1948–1956, the system of totalitarian Communist rule in Poland entered a phase of stabilization. That did not mean, however, any stagnation of personnel movement within the power elite. The Polish United Workers’ Party (PUWP) was characterized by a very high circulation of people inside its elite. As a result, in the years 1949–1955 two-thirds of the elite were changed. In this text we describe the mechanisms of personnel changes, the role of former activists of the Polish Socialist Party in the elite of the PUWP, the frequency and scale of staff movements, the criteria for getting promoted into the elite and reasons for being degraded. The personnel changes were not groundbreaking as regards quality. The dominant positions still belonged to representatives of a single generation: the former activists of the Communist Party of Poland. The basic criteria for the promotion were, in fact, ideological factors and personal relations. Professionalism and experience played a secondary role.
