Censorship against the Catholic University of Lublin 1944-1989

Abstract

The Politics of the People’s Republic of Poland towards the Catholic University of Lublin was an emanation of the communists’ attitude to the Catholic Church, which had established authority in Poland for centuries. When the communists’ authorities decided to exacerbate the conflict with the Church, it had many opportunities to influence the only Catholic school, thus influencing its activity and face. At the level of persecution and repression, if we reject the last resort, ie the closure of an institution, it has at its disposal both explicit pressure mechanisms and the ability to conduct secret, behind-the-scenes activities. And eagerly used both of these ways. Influenced the limitation of inflows by undercutting the financial liquidity of the university; Set barriers to recruitment; Forced to close uncomfortable directions and did not allow or hinder the creation of new ones; Affected the withdrawal of the right to conduct doctoral dissertations and habilitation; It sanctioned the dissemination by the special services of the academic community, the surveillance of students and university staff, in extreme cases leading to relegation or renewal of the employment contract. Censorship with its actions was a perfect fit in this harassment, limiting access to thought and, in some cases, even by affecting the transmission, whether by refraining from publication or, As a rule, interventions were used to eliminate parts of the text, or to make specific changes to the wording.

Speaking of censorship, we only touch the effects of political decisions that have taken place elsewhere. One should therefore remember who in the real world really controlled the content of the message, ie the role of the PPR and later the PZPR in creating the Peerelian reality and in creating the image of the world. Censorship was solely an auxiliary role, defending the interests of this single party, constituting the last block of independent thought and words.