W XX w. na ziemiach polskich można wyróżnić cztery okresy reglamentacji artykułów pierwszej potrzeby: 1915–1921 (czyli okres I wojny światowej i wojny polsko-bolszewickiej), 1939–1949 (okres II wojny światowej i lata powojenne), 1951–1953 (szczyt stalinizmu) oraz 1976–1989 (czas załamania się gospodarki komunistycznej i lata powszechnego braku towarów w sklepach). Ostatni okres reglamentacji rozpoczęło wprowadzenie w sierpniu 1976 r. racjonowania cukru. Władze sięgnęły po to narzędzie w momencie, gdy zostały zmuszone do wycofania się z podwyżki cen, co zaowocowało paniką sklepową. Kartki na cukier wprowadzono, jak zapowiadano, jedynie na okres przejściowy.
In the 1950s, the Polish communist authorities leading the country’s industrialization, declaimed the principals of evenly distributed industry with the aim of activating poorly industrialized territories. Such principles were particularly attractive to the Białystok Voivodship. The six-year plan foresaw that over 80 large enterprises would arise in the Białystok Voivodship. Industrial development was to be concentrated in the so-called ‘industrial triangle’, demarked by Białystok, Ełk and Łomża. These towns were to become, according to the six-year plan, the main industrial centers of the Voivodship, infl uencing smaller towns linked to them through communication and industry. Corrections to the six-year plan, introduced by the government in 1951 and 1952, caused many investments to be abandoned. The Voivodship that lost the most investments was Białystok (as many as 67 investments were abandoned, in Lublin and Kraków Voivodship only 21 each). Despite limiting investments, during the six-year plan in Białystok the following important key industrial enterprises were built, or partially built: Zakłady Przemysłu Bawełnianego „Fasty” in Białystok, Zambrowskie Zakłady Przemysłu Bawełnianego, Ełckie Zakłady Roszarnicze, Fabryka Przyrządów i Uchwytów in Białystok, Białostockie Zakłady Piwowarsko-Słodownicze, Zakłady Piwowarsko-Słodownicze in Suwałki, Mazurska Wytwórnia Tytoniu Przemysłowego in Augustów, Mielnickie Terenowe Zakłady Kredowe in Mielnik, and the lumber mill in Czarna Białostocka. On the example of the Białystok Voivodship it is clear that the officially declaimed and widely publicized through propaganda goal of the six-year plan (to even out the country’s internal economic disproportions) were not achieved. Investment outlay in an economy socialized at the moment of the six-year plan’s start in the Białystok Voivodship were the lowest of all voivodships. An atmosphere more favorable to production industry geared toward consumer goods allowed the Voivodship to benefi t from the six-year plan. Independent from political, economic and social opinions, the six-year plan should be recognized that it became a breakthrough moment for the Białystok Voivodship (region).
Ration Cards for a War that Never Came. Planned Mechanism of Rationing Basics in the People’s Republic of Poland in the Case of an Extraordinary SituationTwentieth–century Poland experienced four periods of rationing basics: 1915–1921 (i.e. the First World War and the Polish–Bolshevik war), 1939–1949 (World War II and the post–war period), 1951–1953 (the height of Stalinism), and 1976–1989 (the breakdown of the communist economy and years of a universal lack of commodities in shops). Against this background the fact that during the 1961 Berlin Crisis the authorities of the People’s Republic of Poland made preparations for rationing in case of an extraordinary situation remains totally unknown. The system in question was based upon the structures of the Civic Militia, but was never applied, even when conditions prevailing on the domestic market required rapid intervention and the introduction of rationing (e.g. in 1976). The article presents the system in question as well as its structure, organisation, and evolution. The author tried to solve the question why this carefully planned system and millions of printed ration cards were destroyed and never used.
Jednym z najważniejszych symboli nierównowagi w handlu wewnętrznym, z jakim spotkali się Polacy w XX w., było racjonowanie kartkowe. Handel reglamentowany podstawowych towarów konsumpcyjnych towarzyszył Polakom w XX w. przez ponad 30 lat. Najpierw w latach pierwszej wojny światowej i pierwszych latach powojennych. Następnie w czasie drugiej wojny światowej oraz w kolejnych latach, który to okres – z krótką przerwą – trwał do 1953 r. Wreszcie w latach 1976–1989. Każdy z tych systemów reglamentacyjnych miał swoją specyfikę, będącą wypadkową okoliczności wprowadzenia reglamentacji. W artykule syntetycznie omówiono wspomniane systemy reglamentacyjne i konteksty ich funkcjonowania.
EN
Card rationing was one of the most important symbols of imbalance in domestic trade Poles faced in the 20th century. Rationing of staple consumer goods accompanied Poles in the 20th century for over 30 years. First, during World War I and the first post-war years. Next, during World War II and the years which followed, this period lasting, with but a short break, till 1953. And, finally, in the years 1976–1989. Each of those rationing periods had a specificity of its own, being the resultant of the circumstances in which it was introduced. The article provides a synthetic discussion of the rationing systems referred to and the contexts in which they operated.
The final article explores little-known plans for the use of peat in energy production in Poland. The idea of building a plant in Wizna is shown as part of a wider concept of industrialising rural parts of the country within the Białystok Łomża-Ełk triangle. Repeatedly postponed, the concept never came to fruition, and was finally abandoned after the creation of peat nature reserves in 1967
In 1950s and 1960s, Białystok Voivodeship experienced the longest and most intense period of industrialisation in its history. Expenditure for that purpose systematically increased, although, throughout the period in question, they were below the national average. The years 1950-1970 brought changes in the distribution of industry. Apart from Białystok, new local industrial towns flourished or emerged. Numerous agricultural areas were industrialised at that time. New branches of industry appeared in the region. Whatever the political, economic and social assessment of the period may be, it should be said, that it was a watershed for the former Białystok Voivodeship.
In post-war Poland, rationing was introduced on three occasions: right after the war in 1945, then in 1951, and at the turn of the 1980s. In 1976, rationing cards for sugar were introduced, in 1981 - for meat, fats, cereal products, cleaning products and many other goods. Fuels were the last product added to this list. This article describes the process of introducing a rationing system for petrol in the Polish People’s Republic. Though the supply system crashed as early as 1981, it took several years to organize a rationing system for petrol. Its evolution did not end until 1984. This delay was caused by the long discussions on how the system should be built. This forced the authorities to introduce a whole range of temporary solutions which limited the demand in the short run, but had no soothing effect whatsoever on the society. To the contrary - the chaos they created intensified negative tendencies (such as speculation), led to market insecurity, and increased mistrust of state regulations.