Twórcy, władze PRL, bezpieka. Raport o stanie badań 2014–2022
The Creators, the PRL Authorities, the Security Service. Report on the State of Research, 2014–2022

Summary/Abstract: After World War II, culture became a tool that the communist authorities used to take over the so-called government of souls in Poland. Therefore, they introduced revolutionary changes in that field to bring it in line with the Soviet models. The state was to be the sole patron, setting the directions for artists to follow, and the relevant party bodies or institutions were to control creative processes to ensure that they did not become distorted in a way inconsistent with the prevailing ideology. According to the theorists, this was the only way to ensure more efficient management of culture and a better understanding of its needs. The communists used creators for their own purposes in a utilitarian way and, at the same time, they pushed those who refused to comply to the margins of social life. The article is an attempt to describe the state of research in the period from the publication of the 2014 issue of “Memory and Justice” dedicated to the subject in question until today. For over a dozen years, scientific research has been conducted in that field, the purpose of which is to explain and describe the mechanisms of the authorities’ influence on creative circles in the period from 1944 to 1989. The progress made is noticeable, although the degree to which individual environments are described greatly varies. The best results have been achieved in the field of writers or filmmakers, though a lot of work still needs to be done when it comes to musicians or visual artists.

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