Abstract
The development of the Polish universities after World War II reflected the three interwoven issues: the change of the territorial change of the Polish state, the process of the postwar reconstruction, and the effort of the communists to take power. The process of reconstruction was serving as a pretext for the communists who attacked the autonomy of universities using the disputable problem of the inadequate social composition of the intelligentsia and the alleged insufficiency of the universities to contribute to the postwar changes.
The universities were defending their rights until the final political breakthrough. Howevere, even after the takover the communists were unable to get the full control over universities which, along with the Roman Catholic Church, were gradually becoming the important source of dissenting people and political opposition.