In 1939, c. 1,300,000 people lived in Warsaw, but in 1945 – only 420,000. During the first years after the war, the population growth was c. 6%, so shortly the city started to suffer from the lack of flats and of areas for new houses. The first remedial measure was the Warsaw area enlargement (1951) – but the city authorities were still forced to introduce residency registration limitations: only the spouses and children of the permanent residents as well as some persons of public importance (like renowned specialists) were allowed to get the registration, hence halving the population growth in the following years. It also bolstered some kind of conviction among Poles that Varsovians thought of themselves as better only because they lived in the capital. Unfortunately this belief still lives on in Poland (although not as much as it used to be) – even though since 1990 there are no limitations to residency registration anymore.