Rocznice wejścia Armii Czerwonej do Bydgoszczy w styczniu 1945 r. na łamach „Gazety Pomorskiej” (1949-1990)

Abstrakt

In 1949-1990, when the daily “Gazeta Pomorska” functioned as a tool of the Polish United Workers’ Party, its articles related to the anniversaries reminded the events from January 1945. During that time, the Red Army, supported by the Po[1]lish troops, captured the city. In the entire described period, this event was treated as the “liberation,” namely regaining of freedom, independence and sovereignty by the Polish State, which according to the present findings should be regarded as propaganda. Crimes committed by the Soviet soldiers were ignored, including rapes, thefts, deportations and disassembly of industrial plants. The articles were packed with communist propaganda, according to which the defeat of Germany not only ended the occupation, but also made possible the adoption of communism in Poland. It was described as the “double liberation.” In order to preserve this narrative, newspapers addressed to the society featured reports and articles praising the heroism of Red Army soldiers, including Polish troops, and Joseph Stalin. Intensification of this type of articles took place in the 1950s. In a later period, propaganda had gradually weakened, although it had never changed its most important message about the Soviet Army’s role in “liberation.”