Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship *

280 This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Some rights reserved by authors. You may use this publication in line with the license, provided that you include this license information and cite Ośrodek “Pamięć i Przyszłość” (The “Remembrance and Future” Centre) as the owner of copyrights. Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship*


Introduction. Main initiatives of Peace Defenders Movement (1948-1951)
In a tense political atmosphere, when soon after the end of the Second World War the threat of the outbreak of another military conflict was growing, the international Peace Defenders Movement became active.This movement, inspired by the extreme Left, was an element of the ideological and political campaign of the day conducted by the USSR, its allies and international structures of communist party (Cominform).The activities of the peace defenders generated a vivid social response.The effects of the increasingly distinctly visible bi-polar division of the world and the possible use of new types of weapon, mainly of nuclear character, were widely feared.Between 25 and 28 August 1948, the World Congress of Intellectuals in Defence of Peace took place in Wrocław -the first important organisational meeting of pacifists.Soon thereafter, in April 1949, the First World Congress of Defenders of Peace was held simultaneously in Paris and Prague with the participation of 2,000 delegates from 72 countries.During the Congress, a World Committee of Partisans for Peace was established, chaired by professor Frederik Joliot-Curie, associated with the French communist party.Poland was the host of another World Congress on 16 to 22 November 1950.Over 2,000 delegates from 81 countries condemned American intervention in Korea, remilitarisation of Western Germany and Japan as well as the arms race.The congress in Warsaw saw the creation of the World Peace Council that was to direct the movement of defenders of peace from then on (it assumed the responsibility of World Committee of Partisans for Peace).Joliot-Curie, mentioned above, became its chairman.The community of defenders of peace came to be an essential element of a political and ideological struggle -it was the instrument of the Soviet bloc for influencing the political climate in Western countries, governments of states belonging to NATO.The movement gained wide, transnational range.It gathered representatives from different backgrounds and political groups, many Churches and denominations.Thus, it had a significant impact on shaping public awareness.Politically and financially dependent on Moscow leadership, it became an important weapon of the then created "anti-imperialistic front" 1 .
Apart from organising national and international congresses, meetings and conferences, the Peace Defenders Movement arranged numerous mass meetings and demonstrations.Initiatives of international character were an important part of its activity.In the early period of the movement's activity, two campaigns for collecting signatures under peace appeals were organised.These were to include hundreds of millions of people in tens of countries.The first of these campaigns was connected with The Appeal on the prohibition of the nuclear weapons that was announced by the World Committee during its debates in Stockholm in March 1950.Ultimately, the appeal was signed by about 500 million people around the world.In less than a year, in March 1951, the World Peace Council in Berlin announced an appeal to conclude * This paper is a translation of the Author's paper Organizacja i przebieg Narodowego Plebiscytu Pokoju w województwie opolskim, published in this Issue of "Yearbook of the Polish Western Territories" on pages 246-279. 1 For more about the movement of the Peace Defenders Movement, see: J. Ślusarczyk, Ruch obrońców pokoju 1948-1989.Kompendium, Warszawa 1996.

Adriana Dawid
Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship chairmen and WKOP plenipotentiaries was planned for 10 May 8 .In the course of the campaign before the National Plebiscite for Peace, many new peace committees were established.They appeared at places of work, cooperatives, state agricultural farms, gromady and schools.In cities they were formed for particular districts, even streets or blocks.By 10 May, as many as 2,790 KOPs, including 949 work places and 562 schools, were active.The organisational increase in committees did not progress steadily in the initial phase of preparations, it developed the least in the poviats of Brzeg and Prudnik 9 .Later on, city committees in Opole, Olesno and Prudnik began to be established 10 .The dynamics of the increase in the number of committees was high -during the plebiscite 3,415 units were active and they gathered 19,413 members 11 .People already recognised for their social commitment were incorporated into committees.For example, they had participated in the campaign to collect signatures as part of the Stockholm Appeal or help for Korea 12 .According to top-down guidance, the composition of committees was not coincidental -special effort was made so that in 8 Cała Opolszczyzna dokumentuje swą wolę walki o pokój i Plan 6-letni (The Entire Opole Region Documents its Struggle for Peace and the Six-Year Plan), "Trybuna Robotnicza", 12 May 1951.

Adriana Dawid
Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship every committee there was representation of women, young people, clergymen, independents and those belonging to PZPR.Due to the specificity of the region, attention was paid that autochthones would be members of the committees.In Opole Voivodeship, apart from a few exceptions, committees taking such diversity into consideration were successfully established.As for autochthones from some poviats, it was reported that their representatives constituted 70 percent of committee members 13 .KOP members were excused from their official duties at work for the duration of the plebiscite campaign.In cases when a committee turned out to be inefficient, auxiliary youth sections were organised -ultimately, 532 of these were established 14 .On 30 April the Voivodeship Commission of Intellectuals and Catholic Activists, which cooperated with PKOP, organised a conference in Opole with the participation of delegates from the majority of poviats.During debates chaired by Reverend Professor Michał Banach, those gathered discussed the participation of clergymen and secular activists in the plebiscite, and appealed to everybody for active engagement in the preparations 15 .
WKOP appointed plenipotentiaries for particular poviats to control preparations.The whole campaign was monitored by report-evidence sections working alongside voivodeship and poviat committees.The running of the plebiscite in Opole Voivodeship was overseen by three plenipotentiaries from Warsaw, representatives of PKOP 16 .At poviat KOP level, plenipotentiaries for individual municipalities and intermediaries for contacting mass organisations were appointed 17 .Field committees appointed so-called peace agitators, who were to approach voters, deliver cards to them and explain the plebiscite objective.As the First KW PZPR Secretary in Opole, Roman Nowak emphasised there was to be one agitator for every 10 to 15 persons 18 .By 10 May, 34,524 such agitators had been selected 19 .The Voivodeship Committee of the Defenders of Peace reported that a final total of 46,148 agitators had been engaged in the plebiscite campaign, including 65 percent of independents and autochthones 20 .
All those actively engaged in the campaign were to be trained and get acquainted with ideological guidelines and the plebiscite objective, and they were prepared for public speeches and talks with voters.First, on 19 April the briefing of the voivodeship committee plenipotentiaries took place.Then, they trained lecturers in poviat committees who met gromady, places of work and other committee members.By 10 May, 606 seminars had been organised, in which 19,494 agitators participated 21   Below, there was a text printed in blue: In the name of the Independence of Poland, in the name of Peace between Nations in the face of warlike intrigues of imperialists and their attempts to rebuild Nazi militarism, I support and sign the Appeal of the World Peace Council "We demand the concluding of the peace treaty between the five great world powers -the USSR, the United States, People's Republic of China, Great Britain and France.If the government of any of these great world powers refuses to meet in order to conclude this treaty we would consider its refusal as evidence of hostile intentions"28 .
At the bottom, the name and surname of the person submitting the card were written down, and below there was a place for a signature and date.Apart from cards in Polish language for Opole Voivodeship inhabitants, versions in German were also prepared 29 .

Adriana Dawid Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship
Despite official reassurance that the National Plebiscite for Peace was an initiative realised by PKOP, its conduct was strictly controlled by PZPR.In Opole Voivodeship, the matter of voting was discussed for the first time at the meeting of KW PZPR Executive on 20 April 1951.Jadwiga Ludwińska presented the objective and date of the plebiscite.It was determined that party members would enter KOPs of all levels and would be held accountable by the Party for appropriate voting management 30 .Before 17 May the campaign was discussed twice at extended KW meetings with the participation of the first secretaries of KP PZPR, KP PZPR Propaganda Departments managers and WKOP activists as well as directors of mass organisations.By 10 May 172 plenary meetings of municipality and city committees and 1,746 Party meetings devoted to the plebiscite (396 in places of work, 443 in city committees and 548 in gromada committees, 147 in production cooperatives) had been conducted.In total, 28,772 people participated in those meetings 31 .This mobilisation of party activists was undertaken, as emphasised, with the objective of avoiding the organisational shortcomings that had occurred during 1 May celebrations preparations.The role of the Party was explained by Ludwińska at the KW PZPR Organizational Department meeting in Opole: The Plebiscite is managed only by KOPs that are entirely responsible for conducting the Plebiscite.The whole Party organisation, all KOPs must be mobilised in this campaign.The Party members should also belong to KOP.PKOPs need to be regrouped so that they could be managers conducting this campaign.If there is a place where there are no representatives of our Party in PKOP, it needs to be organised this way so that in every PKOP there is our representative [...].The make-up of committees is a Party and state secret.Every five days, KW should receive a report on the progress of the campaign 32 .These announcements were realised -Party members dominated the composition and activity of peace committees that were acting under the control and pressure of Party authorities 33  reports.It is worth mentioning that this was not exceptional because at that time other PZPR activities were also encompassed by a similar range of descriptions and reports.For form's sake it must be noted that Party poviat committees were to pass daily reports to KW, referring to the Party field committees' participation in the plebiscite campaign 34 .KW PZPR Reporting Department in Opole would pass regular reports on the campaign to KC Party.
The broadest possible group of mass organisations, representatives of different professional and social groups were to engage in the plebiscite campaign too.The Association of Polish Youth (Związek Młodzieży Polskiej; further: ZMP), the United People's Party (Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe; further: ZSL), the Alliance of Democrats (Stronnictwo Demokratyczne; further: SD) and Vocational Training Centre members joined preparatory works.The Association of Polish Teachers (Związek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego; further: ZNP) delegated 596 teachers to take part in the campaign.The Union of Peasant Self-help (Związek Samopomocy Chłopskiej; further: ZSCh) and the League of Women also sent their representatives to the plebiscite campaign, though their participation was lower than had been expected.Those organisations' members called meetings, gave talks and lectures dedicated to the plebiscite or undertook the responsibilities of agitators themselves.In Opole Voivodeship, SD members and teachers were especially active.Young ZMP members also distinguished themselves, in some regions constituting more than a half of agitators 35 .

Propaganda activities
In the period under discussion, Polish society was permanently engaged in different activities and campaigns, celebrations and assemblies.The National Plebiscite for Peace coincided with several initiatives of this character.That is why its postulates were also presented on some other occasions.So, for example, the announcements about the plebiscite appeared during the campaign connected with Labour Day.Peace slogans also dominated Education, Books and Press Days held on 3-15 May.Celebrations for the Folk Holiday (13 May) became a pretext for popularising the plebiscite and adopting resolutions on mass participation in this event 36 .
In the period preceding the plebiscite, rallies and assemblies were organised during which KOP members and agitators were persuading people to take part in the campaign.Some of those meetings were accompanied by artistic performances prepared, for example, by community centre groups.KOP members' speeches were preceded by sport events in this period.In some places of work, talks on the plebiscite were even organised during morning breaks.Meetings of this character were organised not only by KOPs but also by mass organisations in both cities and small villages.During these meetings, the region's inhabitants also expressed their opinions on the possible threat of war and methods of maintaining peace.The floor was given to war veterans as well as children, mainly orphans and mothers who appealed for the maintenance of peace out of concern for their offspring.Authorities recognised in the region were also referred to, such as for example Jan Wawrzynek, a pre-war Polish activist, well-known in Opole, and concentration camp survivor.Persons who, during the Second World War, had survived the occupation, as well as men of native origin who had been serving in the Wehrmacht, were listened to.Parts of those speeches were cited in the press that covered the course of pre-plebiscite meetings at length 37 .And for example one PGR declared: "We, tractor drivers will overcome warmongers by peaceful work and the whirr of tractors [...] we will prove that we heartily stand shoulder to shoulder for peace; we, tractor drivers are joining the plebiscite for our Homeland, in the name of the future of our children" 38 .One

Adriana Dawid
Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship pupil at a school meeting announced: "The struggle for peace is a struggle against those who again want to destroy and take away the advances of people's democracy from us and throw us back into hopeless poverty"39 .A girl who had lost her father in the war appealed: "We little children do not want to lose our fathers and brothers.We want peace forever!We ask you, parents, to do your best so that war does not break out again!" 40 .One factory worker in Opole asserted: "Our signatures will be sharper than a nuclear bomb; they will become the determining factor that will stop war from happening".One father pointedly expressed his protest: "I have not brought up sons for imperialists to make cannon fodder out of them" 41 .
Considerable attention was paid to face-to-face meetings between agitators for peace and voters.Methods employed in Brzeg were thought to be particularly pertinent -agitators did not limit themselves to leaving brochures and cards but also organized discussions with inhabitants on the subject of threats to peace 42 .An agitator's task was to encourage people to participate in the plebiscite and refute any possible arguments undermining its validity.Agitators were to influence all those who had given in to foreign influences, and "open the eyes of these people to the genocidal scheming of Anglo-Saxon imperialists, convince them of the rectitude of the politics of our People's Government and the Party" 43 .It was argued that: "An apt and convincing answer of an agitator for peace is a well-aimed shot at warmongers, shot into their lies and hostile propaganda" 44 .Party authorities clearly emphasised that participation in the plebiscite was voluntary and "administrative pressure in any form must not be used" toward society 45 .That is why attention was paid to effective agitation.

Adriana Dawid Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship
Propaganda rhetoric before the plebiscite used among others a statement that the guarantee of world peace is the group of states gathered around the USSR.The United Stated and Great Britain were identified as special threats to peace.Similarly was treated a broadly understood group of capitalists who were thought to be counting on profits coming from potential armed conflict.The opposing camp was most often described as "warmongers" or "imperialists".The participation of the United States in the Korean War was treated as evidence of this state's criminal activities.The United States was eagerly pointed to as a country of social exploitation, in which the living standards of average citizens were very low.In Opole Voivodeship, where German sentiments were still alive, references to Western Germany took on a special meaning regarding the campaign.A signature as part of the Berlin Appeal was presented as an expression of protest against activities aimed at the remilitarisation of the German Federal Republic, Wehrmacht reconstruction and Nazi generals' and war criminals' release from prisons.These activities violated peace because they were caused by revisionist endeavours of Western Germany that had planned the attack on Poland's Western Territories 46 .It was emphasised that everybody ought to sign cards because every single vote as part of The World Peace Council Appeal was significant.The attention of people was drawn to the fact that the campaign had a mass character and similar activities were also being undertaken in other countries.Time and again before the plebiscite, it was argued that a signature as part of the Berlin Appeal was an expression of acceptance of the direction political and economic changes were taking in Poland.War might stop these changes.The plebiscite campaign was cleverly combined with the campaign to popularise the Six-Year Plan, explaining that increased productive effort would resulted in the improvement of the country's condition and defensive capability.The slogan "struggle for peace", de facto of oxymoronic character, was often referred to.Quite simple slogans were used, e.g."Whoever desires happiness for themselves and their loved ones signs the peace appeal" or "The accomplishment of the Six-Year Plan will be the best answer to Anglo-American imperialists' scheming", "Glory to Fighters in the struggle for peace!", "Viva Joseph Stalin, the Ensign of Peace", "Shame on warmongers, villains of the people!" 47 .
As part of the campaign conducted to celebrate the National Plebiscite for Peace, production commitments were undertaken, so-called peace guards.The initiatives aimed at increasing work effort were a permanent element of other campaigns and ceremonies.They were undertaken for example on International Women's Day, Labour Day, 22 July, etc.Most of all, the biggest industrial plants, production cooperatives, sand tate agricultural farms joined the campaign of commitments before the plebiscite.Commitments were taken individually or in groups.Within these activities personnel declared working extra hours, implementing rationalisation solutions, and savings.Villages planned, among others, to sow fallows, increase milk deliveries, clean melioration ditches, and tidy homesteads.The majority of commitments applied to the faster conclusion or earlier beginning of planned activities.Officially, the value of declared works to celebrate the plebiscite in Opole Voivodeship was estimated at one million zloty 48 .
The campaign before the plebiscite also embraced children who were younger than 15 years old, mainly school pupils.With the participation of parent committees and most of all teachers at schools, a campaign was organised to promote peace slogans.Special lessons were conducted, during which the ideological assumptions of defenders of peace movement were presented.Bulletin boards on anti-war subjects were prepared 49 .Pupils of almost all schools were writing written compositions entitled Why do we fight for peace?-selected works were published in "Dziennik Zachodni" 50 .Special mass meetings for schools were organised.For example, in Opole on 12 May on Red Army Square (currently Mikołaj Kopernik Square) all schools paraded, walking along the streets, carrying flags and cheering for peace 51 .Younger classes agreed resolutions, in which they emphasised their support for peace activities, spoke against war or declared that good school outcomes would be their contribution in the struggle for peace.Pupils of the primary school in Luboszyce wrote in their resolution: We schoolchildren in Luboszyce together with our tutors will be struggling for peace till our last death and fighting the vile scheming of imperialists.Viva the nations united in the struggle for peace with the USSR at the head.Viva young people of the world standing in the first rows of defenders for peace! 52 some schools, separate plebiscites were conducted so that older pupils could be role models for the younger at school who could also speak against war.Pupils from schools in Nowa Wieś Królewska and Grudzice collected cards prepared by themselves 53 .These activities, though presented as spontaneous, were de facto centrally controlled, realised according to Party instructions 54 .Engaging pupils in campaigns was aimed at shaping not only their attitudes -children were also to convey slogans and messages from school to their homes and persuade parents and other relatives or neighbours to participate in the plebiscite 55 .
Participation of clergy was an essential element of the plebiscite campaign.Authorities had much interest in priests and nuns not only submitting their cards but also joining agitation 56 .Church authorities allowed clergy the freedom to choose whether to participate in the plebiscite.They were allowed to take part in KOP activities but they were not permitted to act as agitators for peace 57 .In connection with that, members of the Church were often persuaded during sermons to take part in the plebiscite and speak against war.In the territory of Opole Voivodeship, 105 priests joined KOPs.A peace committee even came into existence at the seminary in Opole.Many examples of priests' engagement in the plebiscite were described in press, and discussed at peace or Party committees meetings 58  into account the tense relations between the authorities and the Church at that time, this cooperation during the National Plebiscite for Peace was somewhat exceptional.Certainly the participation of clergy in the campaign influenced attitudes of society and decided its results to some extent.
The press had an important task of popularising the idea of the National Plebiscite for Peace.News from Opole Voivodeship were profusely presented in "Trybuna Robotnicza" and "Dziennik Zachodni" that also described both preparations and the running of the plebiscite at length.Articles on this campaign were permeated with competitive spirit.In the course of preparations, the press informed the public about progress in establishing KOPs.Regions where the campaign was conducted in the most efficient manner were mentioned, as well as those that turned out to be the least engaged in those activities.On days of card submission people were informed how many cards had already been placed at the same time emphasising which factory, gromada or KOP finished the campaign in the first place.Information on the training schedule for agitators, rallies or broadcasting of films about the plebiscite, was printed too.Rallies, manifestations and meetings with agitators that had taken place in private homes were described.Outstanding KOP plenipotentiaries and agitators' profiles were presented 59 .In "Dziennik Zachodni" the cycle entitled Przed Narodowym Plebiscytem Pokoju (Before the National Plebiscite for Peace) was published.It contained opinions justifying the significance of voting that came from persons of different background and origin -Edmund Osmańczyk from Opole was one of those who had expressed their views 60 .In the Opole supplement to "Trybuna Robotnicza", letters sent from voivodeship inhabitants were printed.They were answers to the question Why will I sign the appeal of the World Peace Council?Presented statements came from representatives of different social groups -workmen, peasants, students, priests, the

Adriana Dawid
Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship intelligentsia, housewives, and sportsmen 61 .These voices repeated the appeals to sign the World Peace Council Appeal, condemned "American imperialists'" war pursuits, and emphasised the achievements of the USSR for the movement of the defenders of peace.Among others, statements of autochthones of the region were cited, who had condemned the militarisation of Western Germany and "Anglo-American capital penetration" in this country 62 .A pre-war Polish researcher talking about the Silesian Uprisings and the 1921 elections argued: "The struggle for peace is the struggle with the same international capitalism of Germany, England or America that deceived us in the Silesian plebiscite".Another autochthone acted as a spokesman for the Polish authorities' successes in Silesia: "There are enemies who claim that a workman or Polish peasant are not able to achieve anything, that only German masters managed to do a lot".In his opinion, the successes of the Polish authorities should have been shown to these people as well as the significance of the Six-Year Plan because thanks to these very facts "they would understand the importance of peace" 63 .
In the campaign before the plebiscite films were also used.Beginning from 9 May in Opole Voivodeship the film Popieramy i podpisujemy Apel Światowej Rady Pokoju (We Support and Sign the Appeal of the World Peace Council) was shown.It was presented free of charge, usually in the open air, in both cities and small towns, and productive cooperatives.Over 200 screenings were planned.Other materials were shown too, mainly pictures of economic and cultural achievements after the war in Opole Voivodeship.Every performance was preceded by a speech by an agitator, who would explain the meaning and objectives of the plebiscite 64 .At the initiative of Opole KW PZPR Propaganda Department, a Polish Film crew came to the territory of the voivodeship, and recorded the submission of cards in Wójtowa Wieś near Opole.Later, the material became part of one of the episodes of the Polish Film Chronicles 65 .Broadcasting centres were also used to popularise the plebiscite in cities. Peace slogans and appeals for cards to be submitted were transmitted, and later also voting results.To celebrate the plebiscite, in Kędzierzyn Nitrogen Plant the company orchestra gave a concert every day in a different department from 15 May 66 .In Głubczyce, on 13 May, a ride-by of ZMP members on bicycles decorated with peace slogans was planned 67 .In villages, city-village communication teams actively participated in preparations.
Special decorations formed the backdrop to the plebiscite.Mainly posters and slogans promoting peace, and portraits and quotations from Bolesław Bierut and "the ensign of peace" Joseph Stalin were displayed.Banners as well as flags (red ones most of all) were hung out.A frequent motif of the plebiscite decor was a white dove of peace.Places where cards were being submitted as well as community centres, premises, shop windows, places of work, office buildings, schools, factories, and less often private houses, were decorated in the first place.As noted, decorations prepared for the plebiscite were better than those organized several weeks earlier on 1 May.Some KOP points were exceptionally pleasantly decorated -in Chrząstowice, Maciejowice, Więcmierzyce, some in Brzeg, Strzelce Opolskie, Opole and Polish and the Soviet Friendship Society community centre in Grodków, and the League of Women community centre in Otmuchów.Decorations were colourful and ingenious, and made at little cost -for example flowers were used and doves were cut out of waste paper.For lack of banners or posters, plebiscite slogans were painted in some cases directly on buildings.By contrast, Kędzierzyn Nitrogen Industry Plant was richly decorated.Over the entrance an inscription was installed: The National Plebiscite for Peace 17 May 1951 -Everybody signs the Appeal of the World Peace Council.Opposite the administration building, a Peace Tower was erected with an enormous globe encircled by two white doves, moving by means of a special mechanism 68

Adriana Dawid Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship
It is worth mentioning that the specificity of Opole region required certain intuition, carefulness and accuracy when it came to the selection of decoration motifs.For example, posters hung in Olesno Poviat showing the German Wehrmacht caused panic.They were hung without any consultation with the KP PZPR Propaganda Department which ordered they were removed as soon as possible 69 .
The plebiscite propaganda reached its peak on 16 May.On this day, in all places of work mass meetings were planned, during which personnel undertook resolutions on their joint, demonstrative submission of cards in the National Plebiscite for Peace.In the evening, capstrzyki 70 for young people, artistic performances in community centres and talks were organised.Songs about peace were sung in front of KOPs.In Opole a rally of working intelligentsia was planned in the State Theatre of Opole on 16 May.A bonfire and performances by artistic bands were organized for young people at Ferdinand Foch Square (currently known as Joseph Piłsudski Square).In some cities (e.g.Opole, Strzelce Opolskie, Prudnik and Głubczyce) rallies and capstrzyki turned into "spontaneous demonstrations".A similar situation took place in Grodków where, according to a KOP report, "young people and workmen passing by marching were chanting «Peace, Stalin, Bierut»" 71 .

Voting
In the territory of Opole Voivodeship, 3,311 polling stations were made available for voting (199 in cities, 993 in gromady, 1,103 at places of work, 632 at schools, 269 in offices, 102 at cooperatives, 13 in State Machine Centres) 72 .Those places could not be located in administrative buildings so they were most often organised at schools, community centres, in some districts even in private flats 73 .Though primarily it was 69 APO, KP PZPR w Oleśnie, sygn.49/IV/5, Sprawozdanie z przebiegu akcji plebiscytowej na terenie powiatu oleskiego (Report on running of the plebiscite action in the territory of Olesno Poviat), unnumbered pages.
70 Capstrzyk -ceremonial march by the army or members of an organisation along the streets, most often accompanied by an orchestra.71 APO, KP PZPR w Grodkowie, sygn.43 assumed that village inhabitants would take part in the plebiscite most of all on Sunday 20 May, it turned out that the majority of votes were gathered during the first days -by 17 May, 60 per cent of qualified voters had participated and the next day this number reached 77 per cent.It was reported from the territory of voivodeship that prearranged voting schedules had been disturbed because many people had appeared with their cards earlier.At some polling stations people were gathering almost from dawn.The first area to finish voting, on 18 May, was Grodków Poviat, next day in Niemodlin Poviat.By as early as at eight o'clock on 17 May all votes had been collected in Żerkowice and Radomirowice 74 .According to official reports, the voivodeship inhabitants took part "eagerly, voluntarily, joyfully, usually demonstratively" in the plebiscite.At polling stations, all gromada inhabitants appeared in some cases.PGR workers and factory staff submitted their cards together.The idea of the plebiscite met with appreciation from guests from abroad: "Two German women appreciated the fact of the due understanding of the struggle for peace.They were staying as guests at their acquaintances' in the territory of Kuźnia Raciborska municipality.Not understanding Polish, they came to the KOP municipal committee, asked for cards, and signed them" 75 .

Adriana Dawid Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship
The moment of voting itself was to proceed in a festive atmosphere so in many cases it was accompanied by singing, concerts or declamations (at one locality ballet performances were organised), prepared earlier most often by school or community centre artistic groups.Some staff, mainly from production cooperatives or PGRs, came to polling places in carts decorated with greenery and peace slogans or in a parade-like manner.Marches with flags called szturmówka, during which doves were set free and slogans in honour of peace and Stalin were chanted, were organised, for example, in Tułowice, Większyce, Karowice, Rybna, Trzebieszowice, Modzurów and Czerwińczyce76 .Along with the beginning of the plebiscite in some cities youth demonstrations were summoned, for example students were picketing in the morning near the town hall in Namysłów.In Koźle they organized a march with banners, caricatures and flags 77 .In some cities, for instance in Opole and Racibórz, artistic performances were prepared for the afternoon and in Głubczyce -gymnastics shows.Folk dances were arranged in villages 78 .
Press reports on the running of the plebiscite were full of enthusiasm and evidence of social support for its idea.Information on persons who had not taken part in voting was totally ignored.Instead, detailed data referring to the number of collected cards from particular poviats were given, with the emphasis put on places where 100 per cent of votes were registered.People were informed about voting at places of work and by individual professional groups (e.g.craftsmen, barristers).Priests participating in the plebiscite were mentioned too.Voting results were transmitted via radio.Radio centres prepared a special programme on the occasion of the plebiscite -an appropriately selected music repertoire was enriched by talks on peace and data on the number of collected cards.In Paczków, announcements on the course of voting were broadcast from cars equipped with megaphones that drove around the city on the first day of the plebiscite 79 .

Adriana Dawid Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship
The progress of events was exceptional on 22 May, which marked the end of voting.Artistic events were organised to celebrate the end of the plebiscite.For example, a special programme was presented (very few people attended it) in the State Theatre of Opole.Performances by school artistic groups were also arranged; for example, in the city park in Namysłów.Cards submission officially ended at three pm.After the forms were collected from the whole poviat, they were transported by car from PKOP seats to Opole.Cars were specially decorated with flowers and banners saying: "Completing the Six-Year Plan, we struggle for peace", "World Camp of Peace will prevail", and for example in Namysłów they were adorned with a picture of a peasant with a sickle and a worker carrying a hammer.The moment of transporting cards back to the voivodeship capital became a pretext to organise peace demonstrations in poviat cities. Delegations leaving for Opole were seen off by groups with flags and banners.This took on an especially festive character in Namysłów.Along the whole route of the car transporting cards, delegations of young people and workers were standing and cheering for peace.The car was stopped at the border of each municipality, and decorated with additional flowers.People were chanting "Peace!Peace!" seeing it off.By the evening of 22 May, votes from all poviats had reached WKOP in Opole.The community of Głogówek attached a special letter to PKOP to their cards.Cards from Kluczbork poviat were placed in a special case made from "dark French polished wood with a white dove on a blue cover" 80 .After being sorted and prepared for further transportation, cards from WKOP in Opole were sent to Warsaw.
Both during the campaign before voting and on the days of collecting cards, certain troublesome issues appeared connected with the course of the plebiscite.The older generation of the local population tried to compare this campaign to the plebiscite of 1921.So they were asking questions as to why there was only one card not two because they wanted to express their opinion "for" but also "against" 81 .A remark was made that appeals for mass participation in the plebiscite were directed at Poles and did not apply to native Silesians who officially did not have Polish citizenship but only a temporary certificate82 .The openness of voting was criticised as well as the voluntary participation, as some people clearly admitted that they had submitted cards in fear of possible harassment if they had not fulfilled this obligation 83 .
There were notes on some cards.Some voters had added their own anti-war slogans.Also slightly longer statements were made: "I did not sign the Stockholm Appeal as I believed hostile propaganda; now I am signing the plebiscite card because I am convinced that only the struggle for peace gives me the chance to live" 84 .Some courageous individuals expressed their private worries on signed cards.Most often these were remarks on their desire to leave for Germany in order to be reunited with family 85 .In Dzierżoniów, two people wrote the original text in German translation on the reverse of their cards, omitting the phrase "In the name of Polish independence" and put their signature there.On some cards there were annotations that they were signing cards as Germans 86 .
Contrary to the widely popularised message that the National Plebiscite for Peace met with absolute and total social support, voices of community opposition towards the campaign were noticed.The security apparatus was monitoring social sentiments during the plebiscite, observing, among others, the community of former Home Army members or autochthones of anti-Polish and pro-German attitudes.The effects of these activities, however, were analysed only within closed political circles.The authorities admitted that in the course of the plebiscite campaign numerous unfriendly utterances appeared as regards the political system in Poland of that time."There are also individuals who indeed do not want war but they would desire a different peace, that is in a different system" 87 .Communities that generated an unfriendly climate 02/2018 ROCZNIK ZIEM ZACHODNICH

Adriana Dawid Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship
were associated with rich farmers, kulaks, who in the opinion of authorities counted on a change of system as a result of a potential war, that is the return of capitalism.Among recorded hostile statements, there were also those that implicated that the Polish authorities "were the first who wanted war because they oppressed people with taxes and did not give them either homes or bread".Another example of "deliberate and refined proceedings of an enemy among people of work" came from Namysłów, where it was stated that campaigns such as the National Plebiscite for Peace would not soften social sentiments and people would rebel against the authorities if there were leaders who would direct them 88 .At a gromada meeting in Królowa in Głubczyce poviat, one of those gathered there suggested a change in the plebiscite content: "So that everybody would sign it with the objective of the Soviet Union giving us back our eastern territories" 89 .Some doubted the effectiveness of the plebiscite as "war is going to happen no matter what", and Western Germany was determined to retake lands lost after the Second World War 90 .Sporadically, antiplebiscite slogans appeared, for example: "Viva America", "War is going to happen regardless", "We are struggling for peace with empty stomachs" 91 .Writing and leaflets in German language questioning voting appeared among others in Radawie and Kalinowice 92 .In Paczków, KOP received an anonymous letter calling for war, signed by Guerilla Squad no.33 93 .On the wall of one of the factories in Brzeg, the following writing appeared: "The Plebiscite is the last resort for the USSR" 94 .Leaflets persuading people to boycott the plebiscite were found in the building of Opole Voivodeship 02/2018 ROCZNIK ZIEM ZACHODNICH

Adriana Dawid Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship
National Council and in plants in Zdzieszowice 95 .Plebiscite posters were also occasionally torn down 96 .Some Opole Voivodeship inhabitants were said to have encouraged others to sabotage voting; apparently those who were applying for permission for permanent stay in Germany.These events were of incidental character, and did not escalate any further -according to security apparatus reports and peace and party committees' accounts.In the face of occasional but still noted manifestations of hostility, the Office of Public Security warned people not to "revel in accomplishments" and recommended increased vigilance so that nothing disturbed the proper running of the plebiscite 97 .Communities and individuals that spoke against voting were surrounded by a network of agents and informers sent by the security apparatus 98 .
The National Plebiscite for Peace was accompanied by different rumours, distorting its sense and aimed at discouraging people from participation.In Opole Voivodeship there was a widespread speculation that the plebiscite was voting for the transformation of Poland into another republic of the USSR 99 .Initialling a card was to express one's acceptance of the Six-Year Plan or access to a production cooperative.It was feared that signing the Berlin Appeal would result in deportation deep into the USSR or prevention from access to Germany for persons who had been applying for departure.It was said that only persons under sixty were allowed to take part in the plebiscite as older people who voted would be deprived of their pensions and retirement money.People were also threatened that participation in the plebiscite would result in their exclusion from the Church 100 .

Adriana Dawid Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship
After all the votes were counted, it turned out that the frequency in the plebiscite had been very high and was over 99 per cent in Opole Voivodeship (table 1).This result did not differ from those achieved in other regions of the country.In Opole Voivodeship, cards were not submitted most of all by people who were staying outside its territory, for example on holidays or delegations.0.13 per cent of those qualified to vote refused to participate in the event101 .The largest number of refusals was noted in Opole Poviat, then in Olesno and Niemodlin Poviats.More often, the plebiscite was ignored by people who were to vote in the place of their living (75 per cent) than those who were to submit cards at their places of work.Most of all, inhabitants of villages resigned from taking part in the action too (83 per cent).Slightly over a half of all persons who had refused to submit cards were farmers.According to official results, all priests participated in voting.Detailed data on the matter are presented in table 2. Among the 751 persons who refused to submit cards, a great part were Jehovah's Witnesses.They explained their distance toward the campaign on the basis of their religious commands -from their point of view peace in the world depended most of all on God.Some of them, acting under pressure from agitators, signed cards and made annotations that they were supporting "the peace of God" 102 .Party authorities 02/2018 ROCZNIK ZIEM ZACHODNICH

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Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship considered Jehovah's Witnesses a subversive group cooperating with the West.One Opole KM PZPR member, whose wife belonged to this religious denomination, argued that there was a special agitation conducted among them against the plebiscite and that "American imperialism agents" had contacted them 103 .
Equally numerous refusals to participate in the plebiscite came from autochthones.These cases were especially widely discussed at Party meetings.Talking with agitators, some autochthones expressed their distance toward the campaign, saying that the plebiscite was directed at Poles, and they were Silesians so it did not refer to them 104 .The statement made by a woman inhabitant of Opole is characteristic in this matter.She said to the commission, giving back her unsigned card: "I will not support Bolshevism, and besides the western borders have not been established yet, and I am not Polish"105 .Persons who declared themselves Germans refused to participate in the plebiscite, or those having close family in Germany, and most of all those people who had applied for departure to one of the German states for a substantial amount of time.Inhabitants of Golczowice, a locality situated near the Odra river in Niemodlin Poviat, refused to take part in the plebiscite in the most decisive way.From the beginning of the campaign, they boycotted it -no one came to the meeting with agitators, apart from the village leader and KOP members.In the view of Golczowice inhabitants, the plebiscite had been organized to impose the border at Odra and Nysa Łużycka on Germans.They refused to sign cards for fear of "being made Poles then".On the second day of the plebiscite, the chairman of the Municipal National Council in Skorogoszcz forbid the sale of items in GS store106 to those of Golczowice's inhabitants who had not submitted their cards yet.PZPR Poviat Committee intervened in this issue, and sent an additional group of agitators to the village, who finally persuaded part of the inhabitants to participate in the plebiscite 107 .Strong resistance of autochthones toward the plebiscite was also observed in such municipalities as Popielów, Dąbrówka Górna, Pokój and Zagwiździe and in some gromady in Olesno poviat 108 .With regard to these attitudes, plebiscite cards in German were prepared that were expected to be signed by all those people 109 .
In some localities, groups of inhabitants refusing to take part in the plebiscite pointed out problems they were facing.In Tułowice, people collectively declared they would not submit cards in response to excesses and maladministration by a local Citizen's Militia official.In this case, analogically to Golczowice, the reaction of Party authorities and additional agitation work were necessary 110 .Refusals to submit plebiscite cards were also an expression of disapproval of fiscal pressure and high compulsory delivery requirements.So, for example, "because of rigorous collecting of crops in gromada", 33 inhabitants of Olesno refused to submit cards 111 .Individuals refused for their own reasons, personal grievances towards authorities or frustrations, for example because of loss of work, religious beliefs ("I cannot serve two masters, I serve only one God"), difficult material conditions ("Give me bread not paper").Reports reveal that certain people at the margins of society who did not take part in the plebiscite were deaf and dumb, blind or mentally ill persons 112 .

Adriana Dawid Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship
In answer to all kinds of negative attitudes to the plebiscite, agitation activities were intensified.KOP representatives would come to those who had refused to submit cards, and repeated their visits until they persuaded the unwilling to vote.According to reports from the campaign, many of those, toward whom reasonable arguments were used and the importance of the plebiscite and the action for peace explained, signed cards "with tears in their eyes".In cases when refusals were caused by discrimination or unjust treatment on the part of the authorities (these were noted mainly in Opole Poviat), agitators tried to solve the problems.This issue may be illustrated by an example from Krogulno, where one woman threw an agitator out of her house, complaining that the state had abandoned her: she had no access to medical care and had been refused a pension.An agitator got a doctor to come and visit her, arranged a place in hospital and medications as well as turned to the Municipal National Council in order to provide financial support for the inhabitant.After this intervention, the woman signed the card 113 .
According to official reports, no compulsion was used during the plebiscite.Party reports reveal that individual cases of abuse took place in this matter.For example, the chairman of the Municipal National Council in Bogacice put pressure on agitators to take part in the campaign114 .It was also reported that a militia commandant in the municipality of Sternalice, despite the order that the Citizen's Militia should not take part in agitation and plebiscite works, visited gromada by car and monitors the course of polling115 .

Summary
The authorities joined the National Plebiscite for Peace with a whole spectrum of tasks and objectives.The campaign was to make society sensitive to the threat of war, and point out methods by means of which peace needed to be maintained.The narrative was aimed at shaping the sense of patriotism and sensitizing the people to the issue of the defence of state sovereignty.The inviolability of borders was emphasised at that time and -which was quite significant in the context of the specifics of Opole Voivodeship -the right of Poland to the Western Territories.According to official channels, the plebiscite was to contribute to developing international solidarity and brotherhood.The campaign was to illustrate the increase in the power to ensure peace of both the East and the West, and reveal weaknesses in the "the imperialist" camp.This campaign was also connected with the hopes for society's 02/2018 ROCZNIK ZIEM ZACHODNICH

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Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship relations with the Communist Party, and gaining citizens' acceptance for political, economic and systemic solutions proposed by the authorities, for example the Six-Year Plan, establishing production cooperatives, etc. 116 Certainly, the National Plebiscite for Peace turned out to be a propaganda success for the authorities.In summary reports the campaign received very positive reviews.It came off better than earlier campaigns of this kind, for example assistance activities for Korea or collecting signatures under the Stockholm Appeal117 .A very high turn-out was achieved -99.5 per cent of the qualified inhabitants of Opole Voivodeship took part in the plebiscite.The majority of votes, which had not been predetermined, were collected on the two first days, so the intensified propaganda campaign in villages planned for 20 May, Sunday, was not so necessary any longer.In view of the fact that only individuals refused to participate in the plebiscite, it was announced that social unanimity had been achieved.In the campaign's evaluations, the development of field structures of WKOP was also noted as an accomplishment -many new committees were established, mainly in smaller towns, places of work and in villages.The reaching every citizen in terms of agitation was reported to have been another success.Words of appraisal were spoken about the scale of the propaganda activities undertaken and the variety of means and forms employed.Reports of the campaign tried to persuade the public that it had led to a tranquilizing atmosphere in society and showed effective ways of striving for the maintenance of peace 118 .
The authorities used the plebiscite campaign to present their ideological message -political content was cleverly integrated into the campaign for the protection of peace.These activities were designed to gain new followers, intensifying recruitment to PZPR, ZMP or other organisations.The 45,000 agitators mentioned in reports as being engaged in the campaign raised great expectations.It was openly stated that people active in the campaign were "a solid army for permanent political work" 119 .New resources gained at that time were to ease expansion of propaganda activity in the region and maintain activity achieved during the campaign in those areas of the 02/2018 ROCZNIK ZIEM ZACHODNICH

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Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship voivodeship, where inhabitants had earlier kept an explicit distance from political issues120 .Lively discussions over the World Peace Council Appeal were to improve the awareness of Opole inhabitants concerning the matter of the threat of war as well as the country' defence needs.On this occasion, the enemy was clearly indicated -that is, the broadly understood West, identified mainly with the USA; and the USSR was promoted as an ally in the struggle for peace.In this way, attempts were made to create the acceptance of political cooperation between Poland and its eastern neighbour.This task was fairly important in Opole region as its inhabitants, especially autochthones, had an explicit aversion to the Soviet Union.A slanderous campaign toward the USA was also aimed at inspiring animosity toward the direction of changes Americans were giving to the West German state, which was truly essential in Silesia, considering the pro-German sentiments still live there.
It was emphasised in the summary of the campaign that it had become an opportunity to identify society's needs and problems.Complaints lodged during meetings before the plebiscite revealed the scale of malpractice and impropriety, among others, in field Party committees and offices.As the reports asserted, the prudence of agitators and activists had helped to solve some of the submitted problems.KW PZPR in Opole drew conclusions from these situations and at the meeting summarising the campaign recommended that poviat Party committees monitored the situation in their respective areas in the future and reacted to malpractice and impropriety.In the course of the analysis of the atmosphere in the region, it was admitted that in connection with objections toward the plebiscite made by persons applying for departure to Germany, these people should be allowed to leave Poland in order to avoid escalation of stress and tension.The campaign was also treated as another experience in mobilising the masses and working out methods of dealing with hostile attacks.As was noted, opponents were successfully exposed during the campaign and so were their methods of action and the "large scale of [their] perfidy and diversity of methods when it came to lying"121 .It was also emphasised that the campaign taken against the plebiscite had not met with any noticeable success.
The activities undertaken during the campaign before the National Plebiscite for Peace did not entirely fulfil the expectations placed upon them.Contrary to the widely proclaimed slogans, previously intended objectives were not realised.The plebiscite campaign did not contribute to the integration of society.Division between autochthones and immigrants continued in the course of this campaign.Differences among social groups were clearly visible -especially distance between representatives of the intelligentsia engaged in the campaign and groups of workers and peasants showing toward the former "certain degree of hostility".On peace committees, intended supra-party cooperation was not achieved.Many KOPs became dominated by PZPR 02/2018 ROCZNIK ZIEM ZACHODNICH

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Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship members, who isolated people from outside the Party, prearranged the scope and schedule of works, and considered others "necessary decoration" 122 .Not all committees were working in an equally intensive way.In some poviats, for example in Olesno poviat, activities were focused on village areas, neglecting activities in cities. Training sessions conducted with peace committee members and agitators very often remained at a low level.In the course of seminars, instructions were simply read out loud.This had its consequences in weak discussions during assemblies and mass meetings.Agitators could not cope with questions being asked or the presented comments.Activists paid little attention to the ideological meaning of the campaing; they acted somewhat mechanically and concentrated on recruiting as many plebiscite participants as possible.During the monitoring of preparations for polling, it turned out that some of the declared meetings had not taken place at all 123 .Many problems were also caused by the pace of preparations.The campaign did not proceed as scheduled.Because training sessions dragged on, too little time was left for individual agitation.The level of campaign conducted by very young people was found to be low.Most of all, they were not able to answer people's questions, for example they made fun of older inhabitants, who sought to draw comparisons between the National Plebiscite for Peace and the one from 1921.The young also ridiculed the religiousness of inhabitants, advising them to hang portraits of Stalin, Bierut or doves of peace instead of crosses and images of the saints.When such incidents occurred, interventions by Party activists were necessary to alleviate these situations by sending older activists to those places 124 .It also turned out that some agitators were not properly selected.Many of them did not undertake their duties.In some

Adriana Dawid
Organization and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship localities, teams of agitators had to be changed several times and it was necessary to bring in agitators to some villages from other municipalities.Sometimes agitators refused to take part in the plebiscite or even persuaded their neighbours to boycott the voting.Such situations were noted in Koźle, Strzelce and Olesno Poviats 125 .Contrary to opinions popularised for example in the press, engagement in the plebiscite action was far from universal.Most often only individuals joined the event.The First Secretary of KW PZPR in Opole, Roman Nowak, paid attention to this fact in the campaign summary, saying that officially provided data on the number of agitators were overstated and actually did not exceed 27,000 -that many people had been trained 126 .
Another problem turned out to be the distribution of cards.They did not reach everywhere or were delivered to municipal committees at the last minute, leaving agitators only one day to deliver them to voters.Some inhabitants received multiple forms, for example in the place of living and at their place of work.Agitators inadequately instructed people on the procedure of voting, so part of the cards were cast unsigned, only with a name and a surname written.Among other improprieties, it was noted that in some places cards were distributed by children instead of agitators.There were instances of agitators themselves collecting signed cards and delivering them to polling stations, which was to have been done by voters in person 127 .Another difficulty was connected with the lack of financial resources for the plebiscite decorations so they were often made at people's own expense.Part of the committees quite loosely approached the issue of visual propaganda and in their distant territories presented only a few monothematic slogans.It is worth paying attention to the fact that the main subject of the propaganda campaign, that is the pact between the five world powers, was almost non-existent.Slogans on the broadly understood threat of war and the necessity of peace defence were eagerly used but the significance of this treaty, its future signatories or results were not actually referred to at all.The plebiscite campaign with its anti-war slogans became a key that was to open society to the voice of the authorities, the door through which the Party was to gain social approval.The rulers tried to create a common front with citizens, and march in step with them.If this was difficult to achieve in an open appeal for support for systemic changes or the Six-Year Plan, the anti-war campaign was an area where it was easier to arrive at cooperation and agreement between the authorities and society.Who would want war, after all?There were few people who openly admitted they counted on a military conflict.In this connection, the plebiscite result was presented not only as a mass protest against the threat to world peace but as a proof of the unanimous support for the authorities, an expression of acceptance toward political, systemic and economic changes.Votes cast in the plebiscite were to prove that the voivodeship inhabitants, while speaking against war, did not agree to any possible changes to borders but accepted the Polish ruler established in Opole Silesia six years earlier.In this context, popularised opinions of autochthones' representatives, who were speaking appreciatively of People's Poland, gained special power.It is also worth paying attention to the fact that arguments used in the campaign about the revival of the Wehrmacht and Nazi movements in Western Germany, touched the past of this part of the voivodeship inhabitants who had functioned in the Nazi system until 1945.One may wonder about what the attitudes of autochthones, former citizens of the Third Reich, who had relatives and acquaintances in both German states, were to attacks on the FRG during the campaign -the state presented before the plebiscite as the centre of revisionism recovering at the inspiration of Western capitalists, and a country of social oppression.Unfortunately, the materials used in this study do not reveal authentic social reactions to the agitation during the plebiscite.They do not characterize the emotional atmosphere and motifs behind the signatures under the Berlin Appeal.It is hard to assess the scale of behaviour showing a lack of approval for the plebiscite and unequivocally state if they were influential.Most of all, there are no accounts of people remembering these events.The few materials documenting the activities of the security apparatus in that period do not indicate a different course of events.One cannot exclude the possibility, though, that a more detailed search using the resources of the Institute of National Remembrance would alleviate these concerns.
The whole enormous organisational effort expended during the National Plebiscite for Peace did not turn out to be fruitful because the peace treaty sought after was not signed anyway.Although the war people were threatened with did not break out, social appeals were not a prevailing argument in this issue.The achieved sense of unanimity between the authorities and different social groups turned out to be short-term, and enthusiasm created at the time of voting and activity of both peace committees and agitators soon petered out128 .The pace of eager involvement in activities was not hampered though.Right after the announcement of the plebiscite results, society was subjected to a new propaganda campaign -a general subscription for a National Loan for the Development of Poland's Forces.
and Running of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship

Table 1 .
Results of the National Plebiscite for Peace for respective poviats of Opole Voivodeship.

Table 2 .
Results of the National Plebiscite for Peace in Opole Voivodeship according to data from 25 May 1951.