Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic (, ) was a state in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989, and the predecessor of the modern democratic Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million inhabitants near the end of its existence, it was the most populous state of the Eastern Bloc after the Soviet Union. Having a unitary Marxist–Leninist communist government, it was also one of the main signatories of the Warsaw Pact. The official capital since 1947 and largest city was Warsaw, followed by industrial Łódź and cultural Kraków.
Polish Press Agency
Polska Agencja Prasowa S.A. was incorporated in 1918 as the Polish Telegraphic Agency (PTA). In 1944 following the Soviet entry into German-occupied Poland, the company was taken over by the Polish communists and set up under its current name as the local alternative to the still functioning Polish Telegraphic Agency loyal to the Polish government in exile from 1939 in Paris and London. During the reign of communism in Poland PAP was a government institution and the official communist mouthpiece. In 1990 after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of communism in Europe, the company was reformed and in 1991 the original PTA was finally merged into PAP to form the present day Agency.