Editing Jakub Berman (section)

==Political career in communist-ruled Poland==

In the summer of 1944, Berman joined the Politburo of the [[Polish Workers' Party]] (PPR) and returned to Poland.<ref name="hoover" /> In [[Lublin]], at the [[Polish Committee of National Liberation]] (PKWN), Berman practically led the foreign affairs department; which was primarily concerned with securing international recognition for the new communist-led governing entity.<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 101–102">Lucyna Tychowa and Andrzej Romanowski, ''Tak, jestem córką Jakuba Bermana'' [Yes, I'm the Daughter of Jakub Berman], pp. 101–102.</ref>

In January 1945, with the liberation of Warsaw from the Nazis by the Red Army, the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland]] (formerly the PKWN) moved from Lublin to the [[Praga]] district of Warsaw. Berman, as a member of the Politburo of the PPR, was charged with oversight of the state security apparatus (the [[Ministry of Public Security (Poland)|Ministry of Public Security]]).<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 104–111">Lucyna Tychowa and Andrzej Romanowski, ''Tak, jestem córką Jakuba Bermana'' [Yes, I'm the Daughter of Jakub Berman], pp. 104–111.</ref><ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 119–120">Lucyna Tychowa and Andrzej Romanowski, ''Tak, jestem córką Jakuba Bermana'' [Yes, I'm the Daughter of Jakub Berman], pp. 119–120.</ref> In post-war Poland Berman organized [[Censorship in Communist Poland|state censorship]], supervised the development of, and permissions for political parties and organizations, and was the main liaison between the PPR and the PKWN.{{Ref label|a|a|none}} Berman's decisions had to be consulted with and could be vetoed by two resident Soviet advisers, who remained in Poland until 1953 and 1954.<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 119–120"/>

From 1948, together with Bolesław Bierut, general secretary of the [[Polish United Workers' Party]] (PZPR), a successor of the PPR, and economist [[Hilary Minc]], Berman formed a triumvirate of Stalinist leaders of Poland.<ref name="hoover" />{{Ref label|b|b|none}} According to Lucyna Tych, Berman's daughter, all three "Stalinist" leaders sought to implement communism in Poland in ways different from the manner in which it was done earlier in the Soviet Union (while remaining entirely loyal to the Soviet leadership).<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 74–79"/> Berman and Minc were close friends and partners. They successfully cooperated in protecting Poland's economic interests. For example, after their repeated interventions with the Soviets, the practice of dismantling industrial equipment in Poland and taking it to the Soviet Union was discontinued. They were somehow able to fend off Soviet attempts to introduce broader (Soviet-like) railroad tracks in Poland, which would cut-off Poland's transportation links with Germany and the West.<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 114–115">Lucyna Tychowa and Andrzej Romanowski, ''Tak, jestem córką Jakuba Bermana'' [Yes, I'm the Daughter of Jakub Berman], pp. 114–115.</ref>

In late 1949, Stalin attempted to remove Berman from his position of power, accusing him of participation in an international anti-communist conspiracy and illicit foreign contacts, but the effort did not succeed.<ref name="Eisler siedmiu 36–37">Jerzy Eisler, ''Siedmiu wspaniałych. Poczet pierwszych sekretarzy KC PZPR'' [The Magnificent Seven: first secretaries of the PZPR], pp. 36–37. Wydawnictwo Czerwone i Czarne, Warszawa 2014, {{ISBN|978-83-7700-042-7}}.</ref> In 1952 Berman's friend Wasilewska, having found out Stalin's plan to eliminate Berman, traveled from [[Kyiv]] to Warsaw to warn him.<ref name="Caviar and Ashes 268">Marci Shore, Caviar and Ashes, p. 268.</ref> Berman attributed his own survival to Bierut's protection.<ref name="Caviar and Ashes 310">Marci Shore, Caviar and Ashes, p. 310.</ref>

In August 1951, Gomułka was arrested, probably on Stalin's and [[Lavrentiy Beria]]'s orders; they demanded his quick trial. Berman and Bierut, however, managed to keep delaying the proceedings to the point that the trial never took place.<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 117–121" />

Berman became a member of the Politburo of the PZPR and remained in that capacity until 1956. He was responsible for science, literature and cultural affairs, propaganda and ideology.<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 119–120" /> From 1949 to 1953, he was officially and personally involved in the fight for the dominant position of [[socialist realism]] in art and literature, but in the post-war years he also helped and cultivated contacts with many Polish artistic personalities and his influence was essential to the establishment and continuous existence of such Polish mainstream institutions as the ''[[Czytelnik]]'' publishing house or ''Cepelia'' chain of craft stores. The canon of classical [[Polish literature]] was published and the production of memorable films commenced.<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 130–136">Lucyna Tychowa and Andrzej Romanowski, ''Tak, jestem córką Jakuba Bermana'' [Yes, I'm the Daughter of Jakub Berman], pp. 130–136.</ref> Berman helped Tadeusz Sygietyński organize the folk ensemble ''[[Mazowsze (folk group)|Mazowsze]]''.<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 140–141">Lucyna Tychowa and Andrzej Romanowski, ''Tak, jestem córką Jakuba Bermana'' [Yes, I'm the Daughter of Jakub Berman], pp. 140–141.</ref> Following Berman's repeated interventions with [[Vyacheslav Molotov]] and other Soviet authorities, the [[Ossolineum]] collections were transferred from [[Lviv]] to [[Wrocław]] in 1946 and 1947.<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 150">Lucyna Tychowa and Andrzej Romanowski, ''Tak, jestem córką Jakuba Bermana'' [Yes, I'm the Daughter of Jakub Berman], p. 150.</ref> In the spring of 1955, Berman authorized the creation of the [[Crooked Circle Club]], a free discussion forum in Warsaw, which marked the gradual departure from Stalinism.<ref name="Jestem córką Jakuba 158–164">Lucyna Tychowa and Andrzej Romanowski, ''Tak, jestem córką Jakuba Bermana'' [Yes, I'm the Daughter of Jakub Berman], pp. 158–164.</ref>

While Berman was one of the officials responsible for party oversight of the security apparatus, at least 200,000 people were imprisoned and some 6,000 executed on political charges.<ref name="hoover.org"/> Hundreds of former members of the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II]] were persecuted, especially from the [[Home Army]] and the [[National Armed Forces]].{{Ref label|c|c|none}}