HIERARCHIA KOŚCIOŁA RZYMSKOKATOLICKIEGO WOBEC ZIEM ODZYSKANYCH** W LATACH 1945–1951 – WYBRANE PERSPEKTYWY

Abstract

The article is another attempt to consider the subject of the organization of church administration in areas which in 1945 were transferred from German into Polish hands, called by Poles The Recovered Territories. This time, the problem of the Polish and German perspectives has been discussed, which has been so far considered in the literature for the sake of complains of German hierarchs to the Polish primate August Hlond, about the way in which he made personal and border changes of ecclesiastical units. The controversies, among scholars on both sides, are still raged by special privileges conferred on the Polish primate by Pope Pius XII. These issues provide an interesting opportunity to show how historical facts can be evaluated and interpreted differently depending on the point of view. Apart from the Polish and German views, it was also decided to draw attention to the previously unexplored reception of events, from the period immediately after the Second World War, by the inhabitants of the land in dispute. It was examined how important the discussed issue were for the newly formed society of West Pomerania and its adaptation in the new place. In addition to the mentioned Pius XII and August Hlond, the primate Stefan Wyszyński was also an important figure, because during the time of him being the head of the Church in Poland important decisions were made to regulate the Church’s administrative situation in the Recovered Territories.

Keywords

• the Roman Catholic Church
• the Recovered Territories
• in the years 1945– 1951