Control of literary communication in the 1945-1956 period in Poland

Following the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1944, Polish Communists created censorship authorities to control literary communication in the country. Beginning with a censor's office within the temporary government, several offices were established to control literary communication through preliminary and secondary control or censorship. This essay describes these authorities and the control they exercised over the Polish publishing industry. It lists examples of preliminary and secondary censorship. Preliminary censorship used trusted editors and senior officials in publishing and press offices to assure that books, publications, and entertainment complied with Communist ideology. Authorities limited the publication of books through censorship or control of printing houses, paper supplies, copyright, and importation of books. Secondary censorship limited the distribution of books and artistic works and sometimes removed undesirable texts from circulation. Published works that did not represent 'Socialist realism' were removed from circulation. However, the one are of literary communication the censors could not control was reading. Readers sought out private libraries and previously published works to escape the control of the censors.