The Polish People’s Republic State Apparatus and the Roma people in the Lubuskie Region

Abstract

The article analyzes the situation of the Roma people in the Lubuskie Region in the years 1945-1989. Being part of the so-called “Western Territories”, the Lubuskie Region, first as the Zielona Góra Voivodship and later divided into Zielona Góra Voivodship and Gorzów Voivodship, attracted a number of ethnic minorities, including Gypsies. The article presents how local political and security authorities reacted to the presence of the Roma people, adapting central laws, most notably the 1964 forced settlement bill, to local situation. In their analysis, the authors use documents held in various local and central archives, including the Institute of National Remembrance archive and Ministry of the Interior archive.