ABSTRACT
Poland emerged from World War II as the most ravaged and uprooted country in Europe. Its boundaries on either side were completely redrawn, with almost one-half of its prewar territory incorporated into the Soviet Union in the east and one-third of its postwar area annexed from Germany in the north and west. Poland's prewar population of an estimated 35 million had been reduced to less than 24 million, in part due to territorial changes, but mostly the result of deportations, concentration camp deaths, and war casualties. The paradox of Poland's postwar history is that the ruling Communist party has been unable to translate these not inconsiderable achievements into political legitimacy and stability. By the end of the decade, the stagnation and general atmosphere of intellectual and political stultification that characterized the "small stabilization" produced two crises in quick succession. The downward economic spiral, which continued through 1982, was due far more to Poland's liquidity crisis than to strikes.
