Relacje między państwem a Kościołem katolickim w Polsce w latach 1945-1956

Abstract

The Roman Catholic Church during the World War II completely shared the fate of the state and nation. The repercussions of the war were also severe for the Church: death of many thousand priests, enormous material damages and painful experiences in the emotional sphere. After the World War II, the authority in Poland was taken over by the Communistic Party which was tightly connected with the soviet power and built a totally laic country. The policy of the authority of those days towards the Catholic church included three essential stages: 1. Official struggle between state and Church (1945-1947) 2. Open fight with the Church (1948-1956) 3. New policy towards the Church (1956) Since 1945 the gap between the state and the Catholic Church was becoming more and more vivid. The Church deliberately rejected the competition with the authority and was looking for areas of freedom where it could carry out its mission. The situation changed in autumn 1956. The personal changes were made in the Denomination’s Office and the communistic regime was to weak to use repression against the Church and the Catholic clergy.