Losy majątku poewangelickiego na wybranych przykładach z terenu diecezji bydgoskiej (1945–1989). Zarys zagadnienia

Abstract

This article discusses the seizure of the property once owned by the Evangelical Churches dissolved after World War II. In compliance with Poland’s postwar law, the property fell into the hands of the state, the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and various minority denominations. Legal issues involved are exemplified by a reference to the property located within the present-day diocese of Bydgoszcz. This contains both areas forming part of Poland in the interwar period and those regained by Poland after the war (such as the land of Złotów). For more than 25 years after World War II, the legal status of church property here was very different from that in areas that used to be Polish in the interwar period. In the article, which is an outline history of the issue, the author focuses his attention on laws and their administrative enforcement, which were usually a far cry from the ideal in those days. He also contradicts the recurrent belief that the entire property of the Evangelical Church was taken over by the Catholic Church, allegedly favoured by the communists, which is said to have done harm to the Polish Evangelical community and the Lutheran Church.