Under Special Supervision. Creation and Beginnings of the Reading Rooms as a Problem in the Relations of the People’s Republic of Poland with Austria, France, and Italy in 1945-1970

Abstract

The article aims at the presentation of the origins and beginnings of reading rooms: Italian, Austrian and French in the People’s Republic of Poland until the end of the 60s of the 20th century, in a broader context of bilateral relations of Poland with France, Italy, and Austria. That enabled the determination of controversial issues restraining a process of establishing these units, as well as historical context influencing this process. The findings were based on archival source materials and a few research studies.

Keywords

• reading rooms – cultural institutes – Polish-Italian relations – Polish-French relations – Polish-Austrian relations