MISCELLANEOUS POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000300160016-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 12, 2013
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: February 2, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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-~orrn~as~nr._
COUNTRY Poland
DATE DISTR. 2 Feb. 1954
SUBJECT Miscellaneous Political and Economic Nn nFDetrc U
Information
REFERENCES:
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
Political
1. What is the proportion of convinced supporters of the Communist
regime among government employees of your own rank and profession
known to you?
A. I think that only about five of the approximately 1,000 scientist-
professors teaching at the five polytechnic institutes in Poland
might be convinced supporters of Communism. It is possible that
even these five men are not really convinced but merely maintain
the appearance because they find it expedient under the present
circumstances. I might add that all of these scientist-professors
are over 30 years of age.
Only about one-half of one per cent of all engineers who are over
30 years of age can be classed as convinced supporters of Communism.
The percentage of convinced Communists mentioned above does not
include Jews. I am of the opinion that most of the Jews are
supporters of the Communist system but I am not certain whether
they are convinced supporters. Being very clever and extremely
shrewd, they manage to align themselves on the winning side.
It is difficult to appraise the feelings and attitudes of the
Polish youth towards Communism. It is possible that the percent-
age of convinced Communists among those under 30 years of age may
reach even 10%.
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2. Q. Among these, what were the motives leading them to Communism?
It is not an easy matter to determine their motives. One plau-
sible explanation may be the fact that they are idealists. It
is definitely not their love for Russia that has inspired them.
The convinced Communists can be divided into two classes:
3. Q.
a. The innocuous idealist who tolerates non-Communists and is
not a denouncer.
b. The rabid, harmful Communist who reports everything he hears.
How do non-Communist technicians and others in state employ,
known to you, philosophize regarding their own future and the
future of Poland?
A. They are all waiting for a war. If that group and others like
them did not entertain any hope of liberation - and war seems to
them to be the only solution - and if they were convinced that
this intolerable Soviet and Communist system was to be permanent,
half of them would try to escape and the other half would commit
suicide.
They are hoping for war even though they realize its horrible
aspects. This hope must be fanned and maintained; otherwise,
unspeakable despair will follow.
4. Q. Do your friends and acquaintances have definite views regarding
the United States policy in Germany as affecting the possibility
of future Polish liberation?
A. All of Germany is in a very fortunate position at present. Even
East Germany, although loser in the war, is much better off than
Poland. West Germany is faring unusually well.
Russia will never agree to a united, non-Communist Germany.
None of my friends ever considered the United States policy in
Germany as having any effect on the possibility of future Polish
liberation. This point was viewed as a separate factor. All
my friends realize that the United States was forced into aiding
West Germany in view of Soviet intransigency. The United States
had no alternative.
The Poles would not like to see Germany built up as a separate,
independent military power, one which would again pose a threat
to Poland. However, they feel that If she is incorporated into
the EDC, her sphere of authority would be relatively limited
and, naturally, she would be less dangerous to Poland.
5. Q. What proportion of former PPS's (Polish Socialist Party) do you
believe are still employed in the government service, and what
proportion of these remain anti-Communist?
A. I am not prepared to answer this question. My impression is
that in Poland where almost everyone is employed in government
service, the former PPS members are relegated to relatively
unimportant, menial tasks.
6. Q. What types of people are these former PPS members? What is
their social background?
A. I cannot answer that.
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7. Q. How do non-Communists in the state employ identify one another,
and by what means, if any, do they share their views with one
another without incurring police detection?
A. The non-Communists usually know one another. Vigilance, keen
observation, and many years of experience under a police system
have developed a sixth sense in them. Certain remarks passed
on occasion also serve as clues. For instance, it is generally
accepted that a host invites to his small social gatherings only
those people whom he trusts, that is, those in whose company
all the other guests would feel free to discuss even delicate
political matters... In introducing a newly-arrived guest, the
host would say: "He is one of us." This would mean that the
guest was a non-Communist or, if a Communist, could still be
trusted.
Early in 1953, my wife and I attended a small social gathering
in Warsaw.` Present at that party was a Soviet civilian who
once received the "Hero of the Soviet Union" award. Despite
the fact that he was a Party member and even received that
award, he proved to-be quite anti-Communist.
It was relatively simple to check on new employees. Usually
they came from other factories or institutions where they-were
known. Also, when a new employee was hired, trusted men in my
factory would attach themselves to him, and by one means or
another they were able to determine whether or not he was "one
of us".
8. Q. -What is the social background of new Communist personnel being
brought into technical professions and services to replace non-
Communists such as you?
A. The: head directors are usually men selected from the ranks.
They have no engineering training but are ordinary manual work-
ers who are rabid Communists. They are the titular heads of
factories.
The technical directors were also chosen from the ranks.
Uneducated and lacking engineering training, these technical
directors were less qualified for their positions than were the
head directors for theirs. The head directors were mere over-
seers of the factory whereas the technical directors were
supposed to be very conversant with engineering techniques.
The consequences of manning the posts of technical directors
with unqualified men were reflected in the output; production
results were poor.
In order to improve operations in the factories and thereby
increase production without, however, offending the Communist
plant officials, especially the Communist technical directors,
the government changed the title of technical director to that
of chief engineer. This change meant that the holder of that
position had to be a graduate engineer. These positions are
filled by pre war-trained engineers like me, by people who, as
a rule, are non-Communist.
Eventually these pre war-trained engineers will be replaced by
the new crop of young men who are now being trained; but the
government will still have to rely on the old, experienced
engineers for quite some time.
The post war engineering graduates stem from various social
backgrounds. I do not think that the. social background of an
engineer plays any important part and can be used as an index.
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Economic
9. Q.
What are the hiring procedures, wage scales, and the cost of
living in Poland? Give specific examples identifying industry,
city, etc., relevant to the information.
A. Every job applicant, whether white-collar worker or manual
worker and' whether seeking employment in a government or in a
private enterprise, must first apply at the State Employment
Office. After he has been registered at the Employment Office,
he is not allowed to choose his employer, even if he had pre-
viously received a promise of employment from a given employer.
The Employment Office assigns the job applicant as it sees fit;
the prospective employee has absolutely no choice in the matter.
Naturally, some state firms have priority; when certain techni-
cians or skilled workers who are needed by these firms apply at
the Employment Office, those applicants are sent to those
priority-holding firms without any further ado. Among those
firms are: Radio Factory T-3 in Warsaw, the Passenger Car Fac-
tory in Zeran, the Swierczewski Mechanical Factory in Warsaw,
and two or three others. The smaller, though still important,
firms like the one in which I worked, must apply at the PKPG
for a special consignment of people for designated periods of
employment (one year or so); this PKPG-approved application is
then submitted to the employment office. Even then it is not
possible to hire anyone of your own choice; only by operating
through acquaintances at the Employment Office can you be fairly
certain that the person you selected for employment and sent to
the employment office will be assigned to your firm. Quite
often a firm has to resort to ruses and tricks; for example, I
might want to hire a mechanic who I know is highly qualified
but whom the employment office normally would not assign to me.
The applicant and I would concoct a non-existent job title,
such as specialist in electro-heating guards or covers (oslona
elektro- rze na); the applicant then goes to the employment
oTfice'-wl'th the appropriate request. Because no other firm but
mine needs that type of specialist, this applicant is assigned
to me without any difficulty.
Frequently the "specialist" titles are illogical, nonsensical,
and "pulled out of the thin air" ("w ssane z alca"), but the
knowledge of the officials at the Employment Office is not on a
level which would enable them to detect falseness and trickery.
After an applicant is assigned to a given firm by the Employment
Office, he then must submit to the personnel chief of that firm
his application, biographic data, certificates from former
places of employment or from school, and two photographs. He
must also fill out an eight-page questionnaire in which he
describes in detail the life of his parents, relations by blood
and by marriage, children, etc. The personnel chief, after
first checking on the applicant with his former place of employ-
ment and determining his political outlook, submits all the
documents to the management of the firm.
Following a check and approval by the director, the applicant is
hired on a probationary basis. The probationary period for a
white-collar worker is three months. During this period either
side can dissolve the work contract after a two-week notice.
The probationary period for a manual worker is two weeks; during
this period either side can dissolve the work contract at any
time, without rendering any notice of dissolution.
The periods of notice of dissolution remain the same even after
the completion of the probationary periods.
Besides this system, there is the system of contracts involving
specified periods of employment; this system, however, is for
seasonal workers only.
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Wage Scales
10. One of the most complicated questions in Poland is that of wage
scales. There are many systems and types of scales; they are
constantly undergoing changes and amendments. Almost every min-
istry has its own wage scale. It often happens that one insti-
tution has a different wage scale for similar or related positions
(for instance, office workers in the bookkeeping and the corres-
pondence sections).
Recently, a new and amended sixteen-group wage scale was introduced
for white-collar workers in industry. This scale is again divided
into three categories, depending upon the type of enterprise; the
first category comprises the largest and most important enterprises.
The less important ones fall into the second and third categories.
11. The highest salaries - a top of 1,700 zloty - are found in the
sixteenth group. In addition to these salaries there are bonuses
ranging up to 100% of base pay in the event of 100% fulfillment of
a plan. For every percentage of fulfillment over 100% the bonus
increases at the rate of 10% for every one per cent fulfillment
over 100%. However, the bonus cannot exceed 150%, a figure repre-
senting 105% fulfillment of the plan. Therefore, one rarely reads
or hears of a plan being fulfilled over 105%.
For failure to complete the plan there is a 10% cut in bonus for
every unit of percentage under 100%.
12. The sixteenth wage group mentioned above and the 100% bonus apply
only to chief directors. The directors on a lower level and those
in the second and third-category factories receive a lower base
pay but are still entitled to the 100% bonus. Section chiefs,
foremen, and others in positions of similar rank are placed in a
lower wage group and receive a maximum of 75% bonus. Lesser
officials, comprising still another wage group, receive only 60%
bonus. The lowest group, that is, group one, receives it seems to
me, a maximum bonus of 200 zloty . Because there is no limitation
to cutting the bonus in case of non-fulfillment of a plan, very
often the employees receive nothing more than their base pay.
13. The officials and employees in the upper brackets pay a relatively
high tax on their salaries. Computation of the amount of tax to
be deducted is a very complicated matter because it involves a
series of long tables, set up to take into account the civil
status of the employee, the number of children he has, and the
amount of pay he receives. For this reason special booklets are
issued which contain tables facilitating the computation of tax
deductions.
This tax deduction scale is used only by industry; besides this
system, there is an endless number of wage rate systems and tax
scales in other spheres of employment. There is a special one for
contract work.
14. I would like to emphasize one point, namely, that the base pay of
1,700 zloty with a 100% bonus is the highest salary of an employee
in Poland (with the exception of the members of the government and
the members of the Polish Academy of Sciences - PAN - who receive,
I think, about 4,000 zloty monthly). The lowest wage in Poland
is about 250 zloty per month.
15. Manual workers constitute another type of employee and, of course,
have another system of wages. The manual worker is paid by the
hour. Basically, industry uses a nine-group wage scale for manual
workers. The base pay, it seems to me, ranges from about 80 grosse
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to about 2.30 zloty an hour. With bonuses, various other premiums,
and occasional raises, the hourly rate ranges from about 1.50 to
about nine zloty an hour (excluding the supplementary pay of the
brigade leaders, for dangers accompanying certain jobs, etc.).
16. Besides the hourly wage scale - a scale and system used rather
rarely - there is the widely used system of contract work (akordow ).
The pay here is determined strictly by the degree of fulfillment of
a norm. This system is difficult to describe. It is possible,
although very rare, under this contract system to earn as much as
7,000 to 8,000 zloty per month. The possibilities pecular to this
system are used for propaganda purposes or to accelerate the con-
struction of the various propaganda-type achievements in Warsaw
like Marienstat, Stare Mia sto, or the Slask-Dabrowski bridge.
Generally speaking, wages earned in contract work are not high; the
pay of helpers, for example, ranges between 250 and 350 zloty per
month.
17. Naturally, these low wage scales result in a lowered standard of
living in Poland. To a large degree these low wages are dictated,
among other things, by the desire (and even the need) to restrict
the buying power of the Polish population because of the tremendous
scarcity of articles of daily use - not to mention luxuries - on
the Polish market.
18. Assuming that the average earnings of a worker in Poland range from
700 to 800 zloty per month (in many cases it is-less than that
figure), one can imagine the hard and difficult situation of the
people of Poland as regards their possibilities of obtaining suffi-
cient food and clothing.
It is no wonder then that people in Poland often have more than one
job and work long hours in order to earn additional income. In many
cases people are compelled to steal, to make bandit raids, etc.
19.
The salaries of the teaching
tute were as follows:
staff at the Warsaw Polytechnic
Insti-
Rector
1,700 zloty
plus 500 zloty
bonus
Professor
Associate Professor (Adjunct)
Senior Assistant Professor
Junior Assistant Professor
Instructor
1,700 zloty
1,300 zloty
1,100 zloty
800 zloty
600 zloty
plus 300 zloty
bonus
Social security and income tax deduction on a 1,100 zloty salary,
for example, amounted to 75 zloty per month.
The monthly take-home pay on a 3,000 zloty total earning (1,500
zloty base pay and 1,500 zloty b8hus far 100% fulfillment of
norm at a factory) was about 2,200 zloty . The difference of 800
zloty represented social security'and income tax deductions.
Difficulties in Raw Material Supply
20. Q. What is the situation regarding raw material supply, production,
difficulties in meeting planned goals, etc., in each of the
industries known to you?
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A. It can be stated at the outset that In Poland today only
three types of industry are operating on a normal basis and
perhaps even above normal. They are the heavy industry
foundries), the coal industry, and the textile industry
cotton and rayon). Besides these, certain special factories,
those producing for the military, are receiving a fair
amount of supplies. Other industries which are supposed to
satisfy the demands of the internal market in articles of
daily use are not as successful in meeting their quotas
(due to shortages in supply). It must be emphasized, how-
ever, that quite a number of factories engaged in very
important work for the government In the armaments industry
are also having supply difficulties, as for example, the
Kasprzak Radio Equipment Factory T-3 or the Roza Luxemburg
Electric Light Bulb (Tube) Factory, L-1, in Warsaw.
21. The basic difficulty in raw material supply is the fact that
there is a lack of all kinds of nonferrous metals and Iron.
This, In turn, Is reflected in a shortage of semi-finished metal
products like screws of all kinds, especially the small sizes,
wound wire, nails, rivets, etc. The difficulties are also
evident in other semi-finished products and parts, as for exam-
ple, good quality resistors for radios, electric measuring
devices, and many others. The situation is not much better in
the building (construction) industry. First of all, there is
a tremendous shortage of lumber and, to a lesser degree, of
other materials.
22. The supply difficulties mentioned above resulted in the fact
that almost all materials in Poland were made available only on
an allotment basis; at present, it is impossible to procure on
the market anything necessary for production without a special
allotment certificate from the PKPG. Several examples may
serve to illustrate the situation:
In the spring of 1952 the Roza Luxemburg Factory, L-1, in
Warsaw placed an order at the PPAE, located at 8 Brodnowska
Street in Warsaw, for 60 spot welders which were to be manufac-
tured according to the Philips specifications. These welders
were to be used for manufacturing a new, special kind of light
bulb (tubes) for the military, as provided for in Government
Resolution # 804. The PPAE accepted the order for these welders
and promised to complete the job provided that the necessary
materials like angle iron, six millimeter sheet copper, and
others would be furnished by the firm placing the order.
The Roza Luxemburg Factory promised to supply the materials
immediately, either from its own stockpile or by requesting an
allotment - charged to its own account - through the PKPG. The
PKPG was not expected to pose any difficulties in view of the
fact that these materials were important and were provided for
by a government resolution. After overcoming a series of
obstacles, after many automobile and rail trips, and after many
conferences with even the highest levels of the PKPG and the
ministries, it was finally possible to procure only 200 kg. of
the necessary copper - and that only five millimeters thick
instead of the required six millimeters - in April 1953, that
is, over one year after the order was placed and six months
later than completion date originally agreed upon. The welders
were finally manufactured and delivered late in May or early
June 1953.
I would like to point out the fact that we encountered colossal
difficulties in trying to procure other needed materials for
these welders; we had to devise ingenious methods and improvise
constantly before we completed them.
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Another example may cast some light on the problems and difficulties
with special materials like nickel. For example, nickel is very
scarce in Poland, I learned in a conversation that late in 1952 the
Roza Luxemburg Factory had sent two tons of nickel to the PKPG to
be rolled and returned to the factory. The Roza Luxemburg Factory
never saw that nickel again, even though nickel is the basic
material for the production of radio tubes.
Difficulties Due to Poor Quality of Parts and Semi-Finished Articles
23. Another important factor causing production difficulties is the low
quality of materials which are available - though not always - in
sufficient quantity. Included in this group are silicon steel for
transformers, malleable phosphoro-bronze sheets, white metal sheet-
ing, sheet iron, bi-metallic sheets, enameled wound wire with poor,
thick insulation, and many others. Also included here are semi-
finished products like screws which are rolled beyond the requirad
tolerance, and varnish which peels easily or does not dry. Among
the finished products, frequently including manufactured appliances,
are electric measuring devices, switches, and many others.
Difficulties with Supply of Tools, Machine Tools, and Equipment
24. The situation with respect to machine tools and tools in Poland is
catastrophic. Especially scarce are the tools which are most often
used but which because of their structural form break very easily;
among these are die stocks M3, M4, and drills of less than six
millimeters diameter. The same is true with grinding disks, elec-
tric soldering irons, etc. Very frequently the above-mentioned are
of very poor quality.
Machine tools manufactured In Poland are not of the precision type;
they are large and heavy. The materials used in the manufacture of
machine tools are of poor quality (lack of proper type steel); the
castings are not seasoned; the tempo of production is fast. All
this results In a poor quality of machine tools.
The small precision-type machine tools are imported. They are
apportioned by the PKPG and the Ministry of Machine Industry. It
takes a year or longer to get the supplies and then, as a rule,
a factory receives only 50% of its order. This also applies to
factories which handle special production as well as to laboratories
and other similar manufacturing firms. There is a tremendous
scarcity of laboratory equipment and measuring appliances like
simple thermometers, manometers, tensils-strength gauges, as well
as electric wiring needed by factories and laboratories.
Personnel Difficulties
25. The situation regarding personnel is also far from satisfactory;
the policy of the government and the Party aims at replacing older
people, who as a rule are enemies of the Communist system, with
young persons who are trained in Communist Poland. "The small
fry", among both the skilled workers and the engineers, represent
an inexperienced element which has distorted views and is unrelia-
ble and irresponsible. For this reason there is a difference of
opinion between the technical management and the personnel office
in the factories. Very frequently the young people are not hired
because of the fact that their work often endangers the fulfillment
of a plan or at least may lower the quality of production.
26. The above-mentioned shortages and deficiencies entail a series of
problems and disadvantages; one of these arises from the fact that
the factory director is held solely responsible for the non-fulfill-
ment of a plan. The director cannot use shortage of equipment,
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people, and material as an excuse for its non-fulfillment. Natural-
ly, this discourages men from accepting positions as directors.
Because plans are rarely capable of being fulfilled and the prob-
lems are difficult to solve either through sheer luck or by super-
human effort, the directors are often removed from their posts.
As a result of this policy, the factories find themselves with
new chiefs and technical directors every few months. During the
past three years the management at the Kasprzak Radio Equipment
Factory and at the Roza Luxemburg Electric Light Bulb (Tube)
Factory changed several times. Of course, each new director is
supposed to be an improvement over the preceding one, but that is
seldom the case.
This continual change in management has an unfavorable effect on
the completion of plans; many times only 35% to 50% of the plans
are fulfilled. This, in turn, means low wages and dissatisfied
employees.
27. Low quality and quantity production results in conferences by the
highest levels of the PKPG and the ministries which aim to improve
the quality of production and to supply the scarce equipment.
These conferences, as a rule, do not produce the desired results
and end with the establishment of subcommittees to review the
matter more closely. Often, not even such steps are taken.
28. This state of affairs has some very unfavorable effects. There is
a steady flow from industry of older, skilled men who, confronted
with unbearable working conditions and tremendous, oftentimes
uncalled for, responsibility, try to fine positions in scientific
establishments or even in polytechnic institutes.
29.. One of the most important and most difficult posts in industry is
that of supply. That post may be held by one person or by a group
of persons who are constantly criticized either for not supplying
the requested materials on time or worse, for not supplying them
at all. These supply agencies often resort to devious methods of
procuring goods; sometimes they borrow from other agencies. Some-
times they use methods which would not be condoned by higher
authorities.
As a point of interest I might mention that anyone caught borrowing
or lending nonferrous metals or sending them to the factories
without PKPG permission may be sentenced to five years imprisonment.
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