Polish Committee of National Liberation

The PKWN was a provisional entity functioning in opposition to the London-based Polish government-in-exile, which was recognized by the Western allies.

[13] Because of war-related obstacles, the communist leaders arriving from Warsaw (the PPR delegation that included Władysław Gomułka and Bolesław Bierut) reached Lublin only on 31 July, and attained full agreement with the group from Moscow (ZPP) on 15 August.

[2] While the administrative authority in Poland was granted to the PKWN, many aspects of wartime governance were determined by the Soviet military surveillance.

As the Red Army and the allied Polish Army moved into Polish territory, the PKWN expanded its authority within the liberated areas, except for Kresy (prewar eastern Poland), intended by the Allies to be incorporated into the Soviet Union (see Tehran Conference, Yalta Conference).

[11] The PKWN presented itself as a broad leftist and democratic coalition, but the major Polish political parties were not officially represented.

[7] According to historian Norman Davies, most of the key positions in the PKWN were given to people who were essentially Soviet employees and not PPR members.

[2][7] The PKWN Manifesto promised radical agrarian reforms, westward expansion of Polish territory at the expense of Germany, and adherence to the 1921 March Constitution of Poland.

[18][19] At the end of December 1944, the PKWN was reconstituted as the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (RTRP), which was formally recognized by the Soviet Union in January 1945.