Treść książki

Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
22
I.Poland’sForeignPolicyBefore1989
GeneraldeGaulleasheadoftheinterimFrenchgovernment,buthispositionwas
tooweakatthatpointtocountformuch.7
AnybeliefChurchillandRooseveltmightyethaveharbouredregardingStalin,s
goodfaithweredispelledjustonemonthonfromYalta.InMarch1945,theleaders
ofthePolishUndergroundStateinvitedtotalksbytheSovietswerearrestedbythe
NKVD,andpackedofftoMoscowforshowtrials.Needlesstosay,"thetrialof
the16”ledtothehandingdownofharshsentences,theleadersendingupinSoviet
prisons.AsProfessorWandyczwrites:"Polishdiplomacywaspowerless”inthe
faceofsuchadepressingdeteriorationofasituationthathadshovedadefenceless
PolandintoSoviethands."NeitherthesacricesmadebythePolisharmedforces,
northetragedyoftheWarsawUprisingcoulddoanythingtochangethatfact”.8
NoneofwhathappeneddeterredtheleadersoftheUSAandUKfrommeeting
with"UncleJoe”(astheAnglo-SaxonmediawouldpersistincallingStalin)at
Potsdam,inorderthatnaldeterminationsregardingtheendofthewarandthe
post-warinternationalordermightbearrivedat.Priortothaton28June1945
the"Yalta”InterimGovernmentofNationalUnityhadcomeintobeing,domi-
natedofcoursebymembersoftheoldLublinGovernment.TheLondon-based
Government-in-ExilethenceasedtoberecognisedbytheWesternpowers.Whileit
istruetosaythattheformerPrimeMinisteroftheGovernment-in-Exile,Stanisław
Mikołajczyk,didindeedobtainadeputypremierportfoliointhenewregime,the
effectwasspoiledalittlelaterwhenthewaveofpersecutionslaunchedinPoland
bytheNKVDandcommunistsecurityservicesrequiredhimtosecretlyeethe
countryinfearofhisownlife.
ThePolishwesternborderagreedatPotsdamwasbasedontheOder-Neisse
Line.TheaimhadbeenforthisandotherPotsdamprovisionstobeconrmedat
apost-warpeaceconference,butthatmeetingnevertookplaceinthefaceofthe
ColdWarthatwasalreadyclearlyinprogressbylate1946andearly1947.Thus
PolandWorldWar,sIIrstvictim,butalsoastaunchmemberoftheAlliedcamp
wasalsoaprincipalvictimofthegloriousvictoryoverfascism.Overall,its
areawasreducedby20%,from388,000km2to312,000,whileitspopulationwas
downtolessthan24million,outofwhathadbeen35(thelossesreectingwar-
timeaction,theterroroftheoccupations,transferstotheReichforforcedlabour
anddeportationsdeepintoSovietterritory).However,bythetime1947wasover,
morethan3.5millionmorepeoplehadcomeback.Yetthefeelingofcatastrophe
7DuringhisvisittoMoscowinDecember1944,GeneraldeGaulledeclinedtorecognisethePolish
CommitteeofNationalLiberation(PKWN),eventhoughhewaseffectivelybeingstrong-armedinto
doingsobyStalin,whowasmakingthesigningofaSoviet-Frenchdealdependentonit.Intheend,Stalin
relented,thoughdeGaulleremainedoutsidethedecision-makingcirclesoftheGrandCoalitionuptothe
endofthewar.
8P.Wandycz,"Polskawpolitycemiędzynarodowej.Przerwanaciągłość?”[Polandininternational
policy.Brokencontinuity?],PolskiPrzeglądDyplomatyczny,no.5(2006),p.31.