"What, elections are once again to be held, have those held in the summer failed?" The 1947 parliamentary elections in the light of rumors and hearsay

Abstract

The parliamentary elections of January 19th, 1947, for the communists were the closing of the seizure of power. To ensure an advantage in pre-election use, all available tools available, including arrests, were used. On the one hand, they are guided by activities involving the goal of eliminating social opponents, while on the other they neutralize social resistance. For communist public opinion, it was included in an electoral struggle that had to be shaped properly by its intended purposes. Simultaneously, the opposition Polish People's Party and underground institutions conducted their campaign. The brutal political struggle empowered the majority of voters, in the calculation of mutually exclusive electoral promises, in the calculation of the official propaganda of the unsupported relationship in reality. A kind of reaction to a misunderstanding of the existing situation, but also concerns about the future, turned into rumors and hearsay that began to circulate Poland on the eve of elections. Tracing the rumors shows the degree of social confusion about the internal changes taking place, attitudes to the communist authorities, but also to the opposition and the solution of problems related to the future of the country, as well as everyday problems in the pre-election period.