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During the discussion of the topic, the life of the two initially distinct urban complexes, namely Kraków and Nowa Huta, will be analyzed.

At that time, the everyday life of the former capital ran two ways. On one hand, Cracovians tried to get back to normal. It should be remembered that the city had not been destroyed during the war, so public buildings could return to their former purpose and became schools, theatres, museums and other public institutions. On the other hand, a brutal political fight was taking place. The Voivodship Office of Public Security was established. The Soviet headquarters were housed in the “Pod Baranami” Palace.  The secret police of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKWD) was omnipresent. The members of the Underground Army, considered the enemies of the systems, were systematically arrested. On May 3, 1946, Kraków students organized a demonstration against the sovietisation of the country. The new authorities brutally attacked the demonstrators injuring many of them. The witch-hunt against the intelligentsia commenced, and was intensified after the results of the referendum (30.06.1946) had been publicly announced. Consequently, Kraków was proclaimed the “Bastion of Reaction” (the centre of belief in traditional Polish values).

The events of the period from 1946 to 1947 decided the attitude of the regime towards Kraków. The new authorities immediately realised the necessity of changing the Kraków social structure. The city of the intelligentsia had to be neutralised by Nowa Huta – an enormous worker city situated in the direct vicinity of Kraków. The localization of Nowa Huta was influenced both by economic and political factors. Nowa Huta, a modern socialist city, was to counterbalance the medieval intellectual Kraków. It was supposed to be a city without a church. Yet, the area chosen for the city construction was unprepared for such an enormous construction project. There were no transport facilities, water or sewage supply systems. On the terrain chosen for the construction, 30 villages had been situated. Their inhabitants were translocated  and their fields were ploughed to make space for the building site.

Yet, the idea of the new city proved highly attractive. The population influx was enormous. It is estimated that in the years 1950 – 60, around 136,000 people came to Kraków.

Apart from creating new workplaces, the new government shaped all other forms of daily life. It built blocks of flats, kindergartens, schools and hospitals, and organized leisure activities. A new happy socialist society controlled by the regime was to be brought into existence. In return for a promise of a “better life,” people were to give themselves to the new ways of thinking and behaviour.