Hungarian Communists' Struggle with the Catholic Church in the reports of Polish Diplomatic Post in Budapest (1946–1948)

The issue of Catholic Church was one of the most important for communists taking control over all aspects of political, economic and social life in Soviet Bloc. It was a major problem in Poland and Hungary. The struggle with Catholic Church was initiated first in Hungary and it was the reason why Polish communists decided to observe that problem carefully to use Hungarian experience in their own country. It was possible due to the activity of Polish diplomatic post in Budapest which was reporting the most important elements of that struggle. The conclusions were essential not only for the government in Warsaw, but also for Polish diplomats. One of their goals was to control Polish diaspora in Hungary which was devoted to Catholic Church. The analysis of reports enables not only to learn about diplomat's interpretation of the situation, but also their „auto-censorship" lack of objectivity.