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The Economy of the Second Polish Republic Under Sana On The economy of the Second Polish Republic under Sanaon The economy of the Second Polish Republic under Sanaon Lesson plan (Polish) Lesson plan (English) Bibliografia: Kryzys we wspomnieniach chłopów, [w:] , Pamiętniki chłopów, red. , wybór , Warszawa 1935, s. 547. Wspomnienia chłopów, [w:] Krzysztof Juszczyk, Teresa Maresz, Historia w tekstach źródłowych. Wypisy, t. 3, red. , wybór , Rzeszów 1996, s. 115–116. Halina Krachelska, Stefan Pruss, Życie bezrobotnych. Badania ankietowe – 1933, [w:] Krzysztof Juszczyk, Teresa Maresz, Historia w tekstach źródłowych. Wypisy, t. 3, red. , wybór , Rzeszów 1996, s. 115. Henryk Radocki, COP w Polsce w 1939 roku, [w:] Krzysztof Juszczyk, Teresa Maresz, Historia w tekstach źródłowych. Wypisy, t. 3, red. , wybór , Rzeszów 1996. The economy of the Second Polish Republic under Sanaon Sea Terminal in Gdynia, 1930s – the transatlanc ship MS Piłsudski can be seen in the harbour Source: Henryk Poddębski, Dworzec Morski w Gdyni, lata 30. – na nabrzeżu transatlantyk MS Piłsudski, domena publiczna. Link to the lesson You will learn to characterize the economic crisis in Poland; to describe the location of the COP; to list the economic achievements of the Second Polish Republic. Nagranie dostępne na portalu epodreczniki.pl Nagranie dźwiękowe abstraktu. Soon after the May Coup d’État the economic situation in Poland improved. The port in Gdynia was expanded and the construction of the Coal Trunk‐Line between Gdynia and Silesia was commenced. Other important projects implemented in that period included the construction of the State Nitric Compound Factory in Mościce, and the metallurgical plant and car factory near Warsaw. The Great Depression reached Poland at the beginning of the 1930s. The crisis mostly impacted the farming sector, but the industrial sector was also affected. In 1932, production dropped to 63% of what it was in 1929. Foreign trade turnover decreased by more than 70%. This significantly increased the unemployment rate. The gradual improvement of the economic situation in the Second Polish Republic was related to the improving economic situation around the world. However, it is Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, who in 1935 became the head of the Ministry of Treasury and the deputy prime minister, whose actions are credited as playing a decisive role. A four‐year plan was devised for the period from the beginning of July 1936 to the end of June 1940. The plan’s main component envisaged the construction of the Central Industrial District (in Polish: Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy, COP) between the Vistula and San rivers. At that time, construction primarily involved electricity plants (in Rożnowo, Stalowa Wola and Mościce) and arms industry plants. Power lines supplying electricity and gas pipes supplying gas to construction sites were also constructed. Stalowa Wola was a town constructed from scratch together with new works and a power station. A synthetic rubber factory was built in Dębica; an aeroplane factory was constructed in Mielec; an aeroplane engine factory was erected in Rzeszów; and an artillery equipment factory was built in Starachowice. In total, about 100 industrial plants were constructed. Exercise 1 Read the three source text passages. Using the knowledge you obtained from the memoir passages and other sources, compare the situaon of peasants and unemployed labourers during the crisis period. “ Kryzys we wspomnieniach chłopów Dziś porzuciło się palenie tytoniu i wszelkie trunki, już się […] wcale […] mięsa nawet […] w te największe święta nawet nie zna. Za droga jest naa, więc idzie się spać wraz z kurami, za droga jest szyba w oknie więc je zatyka się starym workiem, gdy zostanie zbita […], a że za drogie są buty i ubrania, więc chłop dziczeje, nie pokazując się czasami cały rok Panu Bogu w kościele ani ludziom. Source: Kryzys we wspomnieniach chłopów, [w:] Pamiętniki chłopów, Warszawa 1935, s. 547. “ Wspomnienia chłopów Zasadniczym jedzeniem u mnie to są kartofle i chleb. Cukru nie używam wcale, można powiedzieć tylko dwa razy do roku na Wielkanoc ćwierć kilograma i na Boże Narodzenie ćwierć kilograma. Na śniadanie kartofle z barszczem, na obiad chleb czarny często suchy, czasem dostanę od kogo z łaski mleka. I na kolację znów kartofle na rzadko, czasem kluski żytnie pytlowe, kapusta albo groch itd. Słoniny jak kupię ćwierć kilograma to tak kombinuję, żeby mi starczyło przynajmniej na dziesięć dni, chociaż wiem, że żołądka nie oszuka. Po takim pożywieniu to można sobie wyobrazić ile jest energii do pracy. Zima za pasem, a tu nie mam kapoty ciepłej i butów. Mam tylko jedną parę kamaszy, w których chodzę w dzień powszedni i na święto, jedną czapkę zimową, w której chodziłem i latem, stare ubranie do roboty i nieco lepsze na święto. A teraz na zimę nie mam ciepłego palta, ani swetra, ani ciepłej bielizny i tych niezbędnych rzeczy nie będę mógł sobie kupić, bo za co. Source: Wspomnienia chłopów, [w:] Krzysztof Juszczyk, Teresa Maresz, Historia w tekstach źródłowych. Wypisy, t. 3, Rzeszów 1996, s. 115–116. Halina Krahelska, Stefan Pruss “ Życie bezrobotnych. Badania ankietowe – 1933 Z tablicy 26, obrazującej stan odżywienia dzieci rodziców bezrobotnych w badanych ośrodkach, wynika, że 24,4% dzieci nie jada nic przed pójściem do szkoły, gdyż nie dostaje w domu śniadania, stąd takie zdarzenie, jak coraz częściej omawiane w prasie wypadki omdlewania uczniów w szkole z głodu. 17,6% dzieci rodziców bezrobotnych nie dostaje wcale kolacji, tj. idą spać głodne. Jest również znaczna liczba dzieci, które nie otrzymują żadnego stałego pożywienia w porze obiadowej (7,6%). Następnie 4,2% zamiast obiadu dostaje suchy chleb, herbatę bez mleka lub kartofle na wodzie; 3,6% zamiast obiadu dostaje mleko i chleb z omastą. Odsetek dzieci otrzymujących codziennie przy obiedzie mięso (najczęściej mięso w zupie) dosięga 17,4%, największy odsetek dzieci – 54,7% otrzymuje na obiad tylko zupy. Source: Halina Krahelska, Stefan Pruss, Życie bezrobotnych. Badania ankietowe – 1933, [w:] Krzysztof Juszczyk, Teresa Maresz, Historia w tekstach źródłowych. Wypisy, t. 3, Rzeszów 1996, s. 115. Task 1 Source: Pit1233, domena publiczna. Task 2 Analyse the map. Search for the main COP centres and use various informaon sources to list what they produced. The Economy of the Second Polish Republic Source: Gospodarka II Rzeczypospolitej, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0. Task 3 Analyse the source and list the socio-economic and defence-related reasons for the creaon of the COP. Assess what was completed. Henryk Radocki “ COP w Polsce w 1939 roku COP wyrósł z potrzeb ekonomicznych i militarnych Polski. Z inicjatywą i kooperacją tych czynników należy wiązać jego powstanie. Pod względem wojskowym COP jest nowoczesnym rozszerzeniem dotychczasowego „trójkąta bezpieczeństwa”, jest tworzeniem potężnego zaplecza przemysłowego dla armii frontowej, uniezależnionego energetycznie, surowcowo, technicznie i aprowizacyjnie od tych źródeł własnych, które mogą być łatwo, w czasie wojny odcięte od podstawy aprowizacyjnej armii lub zniszczone, oraz od obcych dostaw. Gospodarczo jest COP próbą rozwiązania w skali ogólnopolskiej naczelnego zadania: przebudowy ekonomicznej Państwa przez zorganizowane, celowe uprzemysłowienie i zagospodarowanie całego kraju drogą stworzenia obok głównego centrum przemysłowego, które powstaje w widłach Wisły i Sanu, dalszych ośrodków przemysłowych dla ziem wschodnich – rozwój sieci komunikacyjnej i elektryfikacji. Na tej linii leży wzmożenie sił państwa, wzrost dochodu społecznego, podniesienie poziomu życia mas, położenie tamy postępującej pauperyzacji i bezrobociu – wyciągnięcie elementów gospodarczo słabych i politycznie biernych do współodpowiedzialności za losy Narodu, do systemu twórczej pracy nad realizacją nie tylko poprawy własnego losu, ale przede wszystkim celów ekonomicznych i politycznych oraz zadań dziejowych Narodu Polskiego. Source: Henryk Radocki, COP w Polsce w 1939 roku, [w:] Krzysztof Juszczyk, Teresa Maresz, Historia w tekstach źródłowych. Wypisy, t. 3, Rzeszów 1996. Exercise 2 Compare the prices and wages in Warsaw before and aer the Great Depression. Then mark the correct conclusions in the list below. Make the necessary calculaons. Do you think that Poland handled the effects of the Great Depression well? Jusfy your opinion. Prices and wages in Warsaw in 1928 and 1938 Item 1928 1938 Foreign exchange rates 1 pound sterling 43.50 zlotys 25.93 zlotys 1 dollar 8.90 zlotys 5.30 zlotys 1 Deutsche Mark 2.12 zlotys 2.12 zlotys 1 zloty 2.86 French francs 6.53 French francs Prices 1 kg of rye bread 0.62 zloty 0.31 zloty Item 1928 1938 1 kg of beef 3.19 zlotys 1.50 zlotys 1 L of milk 0.53 zloty 0.27 zloty 1 kg of buer 7.62 zlotys 3.54 zlotys 1 kg of sugar 1.56 zlotys 1 zloty 10 KWh of electricity 9.50 zlotys 5.30 zlotys Wages Labourer, per hour 0.93 zloty 0.78 zloty Secondary school teacher, per month 316–467 zlotys 260 zlotys Item 1928 1938 Clerk, per month 179–213 zlotys 100 zlotys Major-General, per month 1387–1542 zlotys 1500 zlotys Lieutenant, per month 352–435 zlotys 265–324 zlotys Head of a department in a ministry, per month 699–926 zlotys 700 zlotys Source: W. Morawski, Od marki do złotego. Historia finansów Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej, Warszawa 2008, p. 186. Mark the correct statements. In 1938, a labourer had to work almost seven hours to earn an amount equivalent to 1 dollar, while in 1928, they had to work as much as 9.5 hours. In 1928, after one hour of work, a labourer could afford a 1.5 kg loaf of rye bread, while in 1938, they could buy 4 loaves of rye bread. The salary of a general remained almost unchanged in the period from 1928 to 1938, but they were able to buy significantly more products and currencies. During the ten years between 1928 and 1938, the salary of teachers and lower clerks decreased the most from among the listed professions. A similar decrease was seen in the earnings of the lower officer corps. At the end of the 1930s, salaries dropped relative to the period before the Great Depression, but the purchasing power of money increased and food products were cheaper.
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