Polska droga Fiata

Three years after the war, in 1948, the government of the Polish People’s Republic decided to resume production of passenger cars. A bold and most unusual decision, when you consider the country was struggling to recover from the wreckage left by the war and the sheer scale of destruction would rather suggest priority be given to residential housing. It required courage not just to opt for new passenger car manufacturing facilities but also to point at Fiat as contractor, particularly when one considered political implications. Ideological differences began dividing Europe, intruding not just into political life but interfering with the economy as well. Imagine working with a corporation from the “imperialist block”! A corporation that supported the economic policies of the pre-war capitalist government whose achievements the new socialist rulers did their best to belittle and ignore now! In the face of such accusations the whole idea seemed doomed. The Polish economy was expected to follow the only true and correct examples arriving from the East, the Soviet Union. Finally, in Turin, on April 14, 1948, the parties concluded an “Agreement on Technical Cooperation between the Central Board of Metallurgy and Fiat Company for the Construction of a New Automotive Plant in Poland”. Dr. Stefan Askanas, the future Managing Director of the ˚eraƒ Plant, represented the Polish party while President Vittorio Valletta himself signed the contract on behalf of Fiat. granicy, z Kraju Rad, którego Êladem miała teraz podà- ˝aç polska gospodarka. 14 kwietnia 1948 r. podpisano w Turynie „Kontrakt o współpracy technicznej mi´dzy Centralnym Zarzàdem Przemysłu Metalowego a spółkà Fiat, w sprawie budo- wy w Polsce zakładu produkcji samochodów”. Stron´ polskà reprezentował dr Stefan Askanas, póêniejszy dy- rektor naczelny fabryki na ˚eraniu. Ze strony włoskiej dokument podpisał sam prezes, Vittorio Valletta. W kontrakcie Fiat zobowiàzywał si´ do zaprojekto- wania nowej fabryki i uruchomienia w niej produkcji samochodu 1100, cieszàcego si´ du˝ym powodzeniem we Włoszech i innych krajach europejskich. Kontrakt 21 Vittorio Valletta Fiat 1100 E (1949 r.)