Minutes from a Meeting of the Military Division of the CC PPR Relating to Information Provided by Gen. Rola-Żymierski from his Talks with Stalin

Minutes from a Meeting of the Military Division of the CC PPR Relating to Information

Provided by Gen. Rola-Żymierski from his Talks with Stalin on Personnel Policy in the

Military, Lublin, December 18, 1944

Strictly secret

Participants at the meeting were comrades: Wiesław, Tomasz [Bolesław Bierut], gen. Rola, gen. Zawadzki, gen. Świerczewski, Jakub, Mine and Marek.

The agenda:

1. Report by gen. Rola from a visit to Moscow.

2. The question of transfer of com. Marek.

3. Exposé by gen. Rola at a meeting of the KRN.

4. Decorations for January 1^st.

5. Salaries for political officers of the Polish Army.

6. Miscellaneous.

Before the agenda was adopted there had evolved a longer discussion on the tactics of the A.K., [whose symptom is] the reporting of Lis^[1] to the Security Department and his new proposals submitted to gen. Rola for cooperation.

Com. Wiesław familiarized the gathering with a declaration of AK in the Krasnostaw county and with the content of an "understanding" reached between the AK command for Krasnostaw and "representatives of PKWN", regarding the AK coming into the open and enlisting itself into the Polish Army.

The guidelines for the party towards the new policy of AK have been laid down as follows:

1. Use such tactics as to take over AK weapons and to obtain addresses of all AK members, particularly those of the officers.

2. Do not admit them to the Polish Army and isolate those that have been mobilized.

3. Those guilty of fraternal murders bring up to the courts.

Ad. 1. Gen. Rola informs that the chief of staff of the Red Army, gen. Antonov, has communicated to him that Berling is charging him of supporting AK elements in the Polish Army. This charge is the continuation of a provocative activity of Berling.

In his conversation with Stalin gen. Rola presented to him the situation in the Polish

Army as follows:

1. A danger from the AK in the Polish Army has been essentially eliminated. For AK activity, desertion, for organizing hostile and spying activity in the military, military courts during the months of October and November passed sentences to about 500 people, of which about 170 were sentenced to death.

2. The Polish Army is experiencing a severe shortage of automobiles and tanks, and the promised 2000 automobiles have not been delivered so far.

3. The Main Staff of the Polish Armed Forces doesn't have a chief of staff.

4. [Gen. Rola] has intervened with Stalin for the formation of a Polish Front.

With regard to the automobiles he has received assurance that 2000 of them will be delivered by the end of December, and in January another one thousand. The question of tanks looks bad. Probably we won't get them, as even the Red Army is having a shortage of tanks.

Regarding the formation of a Polish Front Stalin was speaking skeptically. Gen. Rola felt that Stalin apparently doesn't agree to the formation of the Polish Front. The reason – the lack of technical means. From the 2^nd Polish Army all munitions were taken for the I Belorussian Front. There may also be changes in operational plans, but there may also be a sense of uncertainty regarding the Polish forces.

On the question of a chief of staff Stalin proposed to transfer Korczyc from the 1st

Army and make him the chief of staff. Make gen. Popławski commander of the 1^st Army and gen. Świerczewski commander of the 2nd Army.

As far as the expansion of Polish armed forces is concerned, gen Rola got an impression there may arise great difficulties due to provision shortages.

From conversation with Bulganin and his instructions it looks that he is now a superior to the chief of staff of the Red Army. In Bulganin we find a very good friend of Poland.

In addition gen. Rola informs that Stalin was in favor of separating the Militia from the Security services in the sense that they must be separate organizations and pointed out to the need for Militia wearing different uniforms than the military.

In accordance with Stalin's proposals the [Military] Division has decided:

a) transfer gen. Korczyc to the position of chief of staff of the Polish Army,

b) transfer gen Popławski to the position of commander of the 1^st Army,

c) to nominate gen. Świerczewski commander of the 2nd Army.

Ad. 2. Com. Marek submits a motion to take final decisions regarding his work and to set the date for his transfer to the Army.

It has been decided that the question of transferring com. Marek to the military, consistent with a resolution of the Party CC, should be positively settled in the beginning of January.

Ad. 3. The guidelines for an expose of gen. Rola for a KRN meeting have been discussed and gen. Rola was obliged to work out the text of the expose by 24 December.

Ad. 4. With regard to decorations in connection with the first anniversary of the creation of KRN and setting up the Provisional Government it has been decided that:

About 1,000 people should be awarded, among them about 600 with a Grunwald Cross, 100 with an Order of Poland's Rebirth and 300 with a Cross of Merit. Assign 400 Grunwald Crosses for the country and about 200 for the ZPP (Union of Polish Patriots).

Com. Marek is made responsible for preparing a list of candidates for rewards from the AL (People's Army) and independence activity from the occupation period.

The lists should be ready by December 25, 1944.

The distribution list for the Orders of Rebirth of Poland and Crosses of Merit was decided as follows: PKWN - 50 pieces, the Lublin voivodship - 50, Rzeszów voivodship -

50, Białystok voivodship - 30, Warsaw voivodship - 30, Kielce voivodship - 20, the city of

Lublin - 50, Praga - 70, city of Rzeszów - 20, city of Białystok - 30.

Ad. 5. On the question of salaries for political officers it has been decided that they should be equal to the salaries of fighting officers. Regular posts for political officers have to be equal to the deputy fighting officers in the particular military services. Other matters relating to political-educational work in the Polish Army have been postponed till the next meeting.

Ad. 6. It was decided to return an automobile left by major Wrzos for the disposal of the CC PPR to its rightful owner, i.e. the military recruitment office in Lublin, and gen Rola took it upon himself to give to the CC PPR one Willis automobile.

Done by: Wiesław

^[1] Reference is probably made to second lieutenant Edward Michowski during the occupation a commander of a partisan unit of the Peasant Battalions (BCh) in the Lublin region.