History repeats itself in Central Poland or stuck in the 1970s

An old street in Poland, the early 1970s. Against the background of a neglected area, the new store meant a touch of hope and a better future. A screenshot from the color film Blizna - The Scar (1976), the masterpiece of Polish movie art. The social drama tells the story of the honest captain of the state-owned industry, who goes to great lengths to improve the lives of the inhabitants of a medium-sized city. He does not succeed in the end.

!Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (Holy Cross-Ostrovets) is a big city full of contrasts. Much was done here, districts expanded, streets and squares tidied up. For example, Sienkiewicz Street is beautiful, especially during the summer when it is decorated with fresh greenery. Nevertheless, for example, the Kilinski Street makes a very different impression. This part of the city is dusty, and not just because it's industrial dust. It simply has not been cleaned in this corner for a long time. Truck outposts and companies on both sides of the road are also not very much trying to maintain order. The newcomer, who will be in the vicinity of the Presidium of the People's City Chamber (PCC), also does not accompany very good impressions:

Shacks, collapsing fences, dirt and disorder at the entrances

- It is necessary to renew, to renovate ...

- We can not find any justification for this - says vice-chairman of the Presidium of the PCC Zdzisław Sidor - the buildings will be expropriated by the end of the year and then demolished. According to the plan, a new city center is to be built here."

(From "Echo Dnia", an old Polish newspaper issue, 1973)

Such ideas and the resulting measures were on the agenda in the People's Republic of Poland during the Gierek’s decade

especially in Central Poland. Like today, no one in the crucial offices asked if at least some tenement houses deserve major renovation and preservation for future generations. "There has been a lot of demolition work in Ostrovets lately," said the then city leader with pride. With a glint in his eye he said that the demolition rate had accelerated enormously during his term of office.

After the stormy and euphoric socio-economical development time of Gierek's reign, we inherited many streets where only a few old buildings have remained. The prefabricated buildings, the playgrounds for children, etc. have taken their place. (The author's own picture and work).

The campaign against the old residential and community buildings, which was then started in order to obtain the most favourable building site for the construction of large-scale stores, office and industrial plants buildings and new prefabricated blocks of flats, proceeded with the construction and renovation of country roads and some streets.

It happened on a scale that is very reminiscent of today

The special feature of this decade was that schools at different levels monitored the cleanliness of selected streets, squares and courtyards. In practice, that meant unpaid work of the students of these schools for the township, the so-called voluntary labour input. Or, in other words, a series of duties, sometimes referring also to adults (the working people), defined on the spot by the state and Communist party leadership.

The huge investments of the 1970s were mainly of the benefit of Polish children. After the terrible extent of the country's human losses in Second World War, the whole of society took care of them. They were allowed to lie and sit on an air mattress on the roof etc. Their "voluntary" work was also set low and served under the circumstances then given above all as a parenting measure.

A screenshot from the YouTube video: Zaczarowane podwórko (1974).

At the same time, it should be not denied that at these days new, large convenience stores and department stores were really needed

Especially in old and densely built-up cities of the Old Polish Industrial Area there was an acute lack of commercial and services space. In Opoczno, for example, the largest store had an area of 75 square meters. For this reason, it was decided to create a department store (such a facility was then referred to as a cooperative consumer department store) with an area of over 200 m2 and a large self-service grocery store of 100 square meters.

The new buildings in the PR of Poland were ugly; uniform and grey. but with the cars it was quite different. They were white or coloured. During the first post-war decades, there were still a number of cars of the German Reich design to be seen on the streets. They were mainly the BMWs (like here) or Mercedes 540 vehicles. It was then an usual thing s to give the children a ride in such a wonderful vehicle.

A picture window from the YouTube video: Zaczarowane podwórko (1974).

Given the conditions of these days, this was the only way to meet the growing needs of the population, which came to the fore of the region in connection with the construction of new and the expansion of existing state-owned enterprises. This meant an increase in the income and population numbers of cities. The authorities kept their word. In Opoczno there is a department store built in the 1970s, which supplies the inhabitants to this day.