CENTRAL AGENCY OF PEASANT SELF-HELP AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES (CRSSCH)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 17, 2013
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: October 3, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/06/17: CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3
Gab
INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law,
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COUNTRY Poland
SUBJECT
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
Central. Agenay or ileasant
Help Agricultural Agricultural Cooperatives (CRSSCh)No. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT NO.
REFERENCES
3 October 1955
5
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Grillorg EVA!! IATIAMC ADP rICFINITIVF APPRAISAI AF rANTFKIT IS TFIQTATIVF
LIBRARY SUBJECT AND AREA. CODES
10/55
55m
55m
3-02-0406
8472:63?.1
103.671
(30)
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STATE
ARMY #
NAVY #
AIR
FBI
AEC 1_
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Field distribution by "#".)
INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REPORT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/06/17: CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/06/17: CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3
CONFIDENTIAL
COUNTRY Poland
SUIDECT Central Agency of Peasant Self-Help
Agricultural Cooperatives (CRSSCh)
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
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?
DATE DISTR. 25 august 1955
NO. OF PAGES 11.
REFERENCES:
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1, The Central Agency of Peasant Self-Help Agricultural Cooperatis
(Centrala Rolnicza Spoldzielni Samopomoc Chlopska CRSSCh) was
the central board of a union of rural cooperatives. It was an
enormous state Controlled commercial organization which employed
about 200,000 employees working in approximately 2800 village
cooperatives and more than 400000 retail .shops and purch?,9ing
points; having the monopoly for rural trade, it supplied and sold
all goods and commodities necessary for the villages through a
chain of wholesale and retail shops. It was also a purch.sing
agency for all, agricultural products produced by private farmers,
such as surpluses of grain, peas, beans, poppy seeds, potatoes,
fruit, flax, hemp, cattle, sheep, poultry, eggs, wool, hides, ar?1
agricultural by-products like horn, hog bristle, horse hair,
etc. It also had its own manufacturing and service est1,7.1h!nt,
such as flour mills, canneries, and workshops for its ()ion needs.
2. Source did not know the detailed organization of the CRSSCh.
However, he was able to draw an outline of the organizational
structure (see page 4) and gave the following general information
a. The central office of the CRSSCh wae organized .and fulfilled
its functions like an independent ministry; the chairman of
the CRSSCh held a position equal to the rank of a minister.
It was subordinated directly to the Presidium of the Council
of Ministers. The central office was, in fact, a central
board (zarzad glowny). It was located in Warsaw at
Kopernika Street in a five-story building and was divided
Into several departments and sections
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/06/17: CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/06/17: CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3
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? The rural administrative and commercial structure of the CRSSCh
consisted of the following offices which controlled the large'
chain of wholesale and retail shops and independent establish-
ments:
(1) The Voivodship Administration of Township Peasant Self-
Help cooperatives (lkjewodzki Zarzad Gminnych Spodzielni
-.0atopomoc Chlopeka-WZGSSCh) was an administrative office
which controlled all ORSSah,eatablishthents in its voivod-
Ship.
(2) The County Administration of Township Peasant self-Help
Cooperatives (Powiatowy Zarted Gminhydh Spoldzielhi
Samopomoc Chlopska - PZGSSCh) was an administrative office
with a director in charge and consisted of the personnel,
sales, production, and transportation sections. It was
subordinate to its voivodship administration and supplied
and supervised all the township and village cooperatives,
wholesale shops and warehouses. In cooperation with the
commercial and agricultural sections of the County National
Council, the PZGS also directed the purchase of agricultural
products and livestock from private farmers in the county
area.
(3) The Township Peasant Self-Help Cooperative (Gtinna Spol-
dzielnia-Samopomoc Chlop1t?ith, a matidger in ch rge
controlled the village retairth-315e bakeries, inns,
dairies and milk collecting points (zlewnia mleka), and
scrap iron and hides purchasing points .(punkt ekupu).
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-(k) The village cooperative retail shops (sklepy detaliezne)
of the CRSSCh gold the faimere practically everything
they needed, such as food, beer, Vodka, household goods,
textiles, shoes?-.coals fertiliZers, petroleum, pitch,
nails, horseshoes, ,agricultural tools and machinery. In
"general, they were not well supplied; many types of
commodities were not avail-able in sufficient quantity,
And the farmers had totravel to the towns to make their
purchases. Very often the-village cooperative retail
shops were supplied with luxury'goods which were neither
needed nor wanted in the villages. AS 'a rule, all retail
shops were also purchase Points for ego (pOmocnicza
zbiornica jaj). '
The Central Agency of Peasant Self-Help Agridulti:ral Cooperatives
cOoperated closely with the Ministry of Agricultiire to secure the
implementation of the Six-Year Plan and also Worked with the follow-
ing ministries and their subordinated administrative agencies;
a. Ministry of Agrarian and Food Slipply Industry.
b.. Ministry of Meat and Dairy Industry.
c. Ministry of Domestic Trade.
d. Ministry of Purchases.
The rural branches of the CRSSCh also cooperated closely with the
commercial and agricultural departments and sections of the voivod-
ship, county and village national councils.
the CRSSCh
central office commercial section which was responsible for the
supplies and sales of agricultural machines and spare parts. This
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/06/17: CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/06/17: CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3
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section did not keep any -records, and the CRSSCh did not have any
special department or agency which could cope with the distribution
of agricultural machinery. Such ordinary agricultural machines as
plows and harrowing machines and tools like sc7thes and sickles
were sold by the village -cooperative retail shops. The Central
Agricultural Equipment Supply Office (CZR) was concerned with the
procurement and distribution of oagricultural equipment for private,
farmers only in that it received the general rSqUirements and data 1
necessary for the national balance sheet for agricultural machines.'
It was even forbidden for the CZR to provide spare parts for the
agricultural machines of private farmers and production cooperatives.
The spare xerts_were mainly produced -by small factories and work-
shops by direct order of the CRSSCh and, as a rule, were distributed
directly to the cooperatives or private ferments. In spite of this,
the CZR always added about 15% to the annual national procurement
plan of spare parts for agricultural machines in order to secure the
very much needed supplies for the private farmers, because in almost
every past year the CZR had been ordered to supply these spare parts
for agricultural machines for the CRS?Ch cooperatives by a special
order of the Ministry of Agriculture .4 In such cases, the spare parts
were distributed by the wholesale agenciefi-of the CZR. In 1953, the
CZR had to accept and distribute all spare parts for agricultural
machines which were manufactured for the CRSSCh.3
Source had read in the Polish press that about 2,500,000 individual
private farmers were members of the CRSSCh. The collective farms
called 'production cooperatives (spoldzielnie produkcyjne) were
also members of the CRSSCh as units. Source did not know to what
extent the production cooperatives were controlled by the County
Administration of Township Cooperatives.
CONFID/NTIAL
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/06/17: CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3
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cuivielDENT I AL
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Outline of the Organizational Structure of
the Central Agency of Peasant Self-Help
Agricultural Cooperatives (CRSSCh) in Poland
Ministry of
,Domestic Trade
Ministry of
Purchases
Voivodship Admin
of Township
cooperatives
(WZGS-SCh)
Central Agency of
Peasant Self-Help
Agricultutel Cooperatives
Voivodship Admin.
of Township
Cooperatives
(WZGS-SCh)
Ministry of Po.Nunm
and Food
Supply Industry
Ministry of Meat
& Dairy Industry
Voivodship Admin.
of Township
Cooperatives
(WEGS-SQ11)
County Admin.
of Township
Cooperatives
(PWS-SCh)
County Admin
of Township
Cooperatives
(PaIS-a)
County Admin
of TOwnship
Cooperatives
Independent
Establishments
of CRSSCh
Cooperatives
Retail
Shops
Township
Cooperatives
(GS-SChl_
Retail
Shops
.011P
Bakeries,
Special
COOP. Shop;
Purchase
Points,
arehouses
ENTIAL
Inns
El
Production
Cooperative
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/06/17 : CIA-RDP82-00046R000500290002-3