Propaganda image of Christianity in Polish history textbooks from the Stalinist period

After taking power in Poland in 1944/1945 the communists started a gradual process of turning Poland into a totalitarian state that aimed at eradicating religion from social life. The construction of an atheist state was one of the main goals of the government, and increased in importance during the largest period of repression of the Stalinist period, i.e. 1948 - 1956. Atheistic propaganda combined with open hostility towards religious education in schools, also found its way into historical education. History textbooks of the period tried to picture the church and the history of Christianity in an immensly bad light, by omitting and twisting facts, or even by blatantly lying. Christianity and various historical figures associated with it were introduced as myths or false stories resulting from peoples’ backwardness and superstition. The church was considered responsible for civilizational stagnation, while the clergy was considered as the most morally abhorrent social class. However, convincing Polish society to detest the Catholic Church was a difficult task, as most Poles continued religious participation and practices. After the end of the Stalinist period atheistic propaganda was subdued, although in some form it continued till the end of the existence of the People’s Republic of Poland.