work, and the government rebuilt damaged or destroyed churches at a substantial public cost. The Catholic Church in Poland during the first few years was treated much better than most other religious bodies in the newly liberated states of Eastern Europe. This more lenient approach came as a result of Communism's lack of popularity among Poles and the difficulty the new regime had in presenting itself as the legitimate government of Poland; attacking the Church at this time, which was well supported by most Poles, was considered too risky to attempt. General Karol Świerczewski, who had fought in the international brigade in the Spanish Civil War, was given Catholic funeral rites, Polish radio broadcast mass until 1947, and Bolesław Bierut's presidential oath in 1947 ended with the phrase 'so help me God'. Policy of isolation The Polish government made many concessions to the Church that antagonized Moscow; on the other hand, the campaign against the Church weakened their public support and made them dependent on the USSR. An important concession was the retention of religious instruction in schools, which was upheld from as early as 1945; at the same time, the state made manoeuvres to try to limit and eliminate such instruction through other means. Bolesław Bierut, as part of a faction of the Polish Workers' Party (the Communist party in Poland) that favoured emulating the Soviet Union (Gomułka wanted to create a uniquely Polish system), took control in 1948 and attempted to turn Poland into a Stalinist state, wherein religion was actively discouraged in favour of Communism. This occurred during a general period of increasing control and repression in the Eastern bloc countries. The regime sought to eliminate the presence of Catholicism and religion from the culture, and to this effect it pursued a policy of isolation from the Vatican, creation of public opinion antagonistic to the Church, and provoking antagonisms within the Church itself by replacing religious leaders with others who worked with the regime. Marriage was secularized in 1945, and civil records were removed from the clergy's jurisdiction in 1949. Polish society was prepared for the persecutions post-1945 due to its long history prior to the Bolshevik revolution of operation under the rule of regimes that were hostile to it. Underground universities taught uncensored history and ethics lessons, and many people openly attended church. A letter by the primate of Poland on elections, instructing Catholics not to