I was not aware that Poland allowed people to leave.
Yugoslavia on the other hand, was more interesting, in the sense that it was not a part of the Warsaw pact, or a puppet state under the USSR. It was a 'non-aligned' communist state, and, after Stalin's death had passable relations with both the East and the West.
No, not really. Poles we're theoretically allowed to get a passport but in practice if one didn't have a good reason to go west and get back one didn't receive passport.
Yugoslavia on the other hand, was more interesting, in the sense that it was not a part of the Warsaw pact, or a puppet state under the USSR. It was a 'non-aligned' communist state, and, after Stalin's death had passable relations with both the East and the West.