Small Constitution of 1947 in the context of "State Council of Poland"

The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most-populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. It was also where the Warsaw Pact was founded. The largest city and capital was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west.

The Polish People's Republic was a unitary communist state established in the country after the Red Army's takeover of Polish territory from German occupation in World War II. Communist control was strengthened through electoral fraud in the 1946 Polish people's referendum and the 1947 Polish parliamentary election. The Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) became the dominant political faction in a one-party state, but the country had more liberal policies than other socialist states due to its strategic location in the Cold War and internal opposition. The state's official name was the "Republic of Poland" (Rzeczpospolita Polska) between 1947 and 1952 in accordance with the temporary Small Constitution of 1947. The name "People's Republic" was introduced and defined by the Constitution of 1952. The Polish People's Republic was dissolved following the Revolutions of 1989 and the 1990 Polish presidential election, but the post-communist Third Polish Republic retained the 1952 constitution, with amendments, until the introduction of the current constitution on 17 October 1997, abolishing the socialist structure entirely and replacing it with a parliamentary system that has remained in place to the present-day.

The Constitution of the Polish People's Republic (also known as the July Constitution or the Constitution of 1952) was a communist state constitution that acted as the supreme law. It passed in communist-ruled Poland on 22 July 1952. It superseded the post-World War II provisional Small Constitution of 1947, which in turn replaced the pre-war April Constitution of 1935.

The 1952 constitution introduced a new name for the Polish state, the Polish People's Republic (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL), replacing the previously used Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska). The communist-led Sejm (legislature) was declared to be the highest state authority. The real source of supreme state power, the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), was not regulated by the constitution; it was ruled by its own statute. The constitution legalized many practices that had been introduced in Poland, in the wake of the Soviet Red Army and the Polish People's Army defeat of Nazi Germany in 1944–1945, by Polish-communist governmental bodies, including the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN) and its successors.

The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1944–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most-populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe. It was also where the Warsaw Pact was founded. The largest city and capital was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west.

The Polish People's Republic was a unitary communist state established in the country after the Red Army's takeover of Polish territory from German occupation in World War II. Communist control was strengthened through electoral fraud in the 1946 Polish people's referendum and the 1947 Polish parliamentary election. The Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) became the dominant political faction in a one-party state, but the country had more liberal policies than other socialist states due to its strategic location in the Cold War and internal opposition. The state's official name was the "Republic of Poland" (Rzeczpospolita Polska) between 1947 and 1952 in accordance with the temporary Small Constitution of 1947. The name "People's Republic" was introduced and defined by the Constitution of 1952. The Polish People's Republic was dissolved following the Revolutions of 1989 and the 1990 Polish presidential election, but the post-communist Third Polish Republic retained the 1952 constitution, with amendments, until the introduction of the current constitution on 17 October 1997, abolishing the socialist structure entirely and replacing it with a parliamentary system that has remained in place to the present-day.