Missed connections: Pomeranian Medical University’s efforts to join circulation- of-knowledge networks in the pre-Thaw cold War times (1948–1956)

Abstract

The paper presented is a case study discussing the difficulties a newly established medical school had to face when trying to build itself into existing circulation-of-knowledge networks during the Stalinist period, on the example of Pomeranian Medical University of Szczecin (PUM), founded in 1948. Based on the perusal of documents from the years 1948– 1956 preserved in PUM’s Archives, the paper analyses whether and to what degree the school was able to meet a number of criteria essential for becom- ing a relevant node in the network of knowledge, especially in trans- and international contexts. The criteria discussed include: access to appropriate infrastructure and resources; personnel qualified, willing and able to generate and circulate knowledge; sufficient decisional autonomy; sup- port from power centers; and connectedness with the existing networks. Szczecin’s post-1945 status in Poland and Europe is highlighted as a major factor behind the Stalinist state government’s simultaneous reluctance to tackle PUM’s urgent infrastructural and personnel deficits, and willingness to use PUM as an instrument of political propaganda.