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Lech Walesa Arrival and Toast 3/15/91 [OA 6856] [3]
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Lech Walesa Arrival and Toast 3/15/91 [OA 6856] [3]
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Backup Chronological Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Backup Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13749
Folder ID Number:
13749-007
Folder Title:
Lech Walesa Arrival and Toast 3/15/91 [OA 6856] [3]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
26
21
3
2
March 7, 1991
MEMORANDUM
TO:
CURT SMITH
FROM:
CAROLYN CAWLEY
RE:
AMERICAN VISITS TO POLAND/POLISH VISITS TO U.S.
I. AMERICAN VISITS TO POLAND -- 3 US Presidents have visited.
1972 -- President Nixon
1977 -- President Carter
1987 -- Vice President Bush
At the time, Solidarity was outlawed and VP Bush
irked his Polish government hosts with public
displays of support for the opposition movement.
First meeting between Bush and Walesa.
1989 -- President Bush
First US President to visit in 12 years.
The state of the country was in sharp contrast
to his '87 visit. It was during this trip that Walesa
invited him to his home for a homestyle feast
of turkey, veal, pork, and beef.
II. WALESA VISITS TO U.S.
1983 -- Invited to deliver commencement address at
Harvard, but couldn't leave Poland. Harvard
printed the text in the Crimson -- see Xerox.
1989 -- First visit to America. He'd been invited
many times in the past but was not allowed to leave
Poland. Addressed the AFL-CIO convention.
1990 -- Second visit to the U.S. See Congressional
Record Xerox for his remarks to a Joint
Session of Congress.
Jan Kochanowski
created a national poetic literature in the classic and
humanistic spirit.
18th century writer:
Hugo Kollataj, the real drafter of the 1791 Constitution
political reformer
Ignacy Krasicki,
poet and author of Polands first novel:
the Adventures of Mikolaj Doswiadcyzynski
Poets:
Adam Mickiewicz
fled his country with the failure of the 1830 rising
against Poland's Russian rulers and became the
literary leader of the Poles in exile
Juliusz Slowacki
poetic dramatist of great power and intensity, whose
work revolved around the tragedy of the Polish nation
Zygmunt Krasinski
dramatist whose plays had deep political purpose. He
was a prominent exponent of what has been called Polish
messianism -- the view of Poland, "the Christ among the
nations", as suffering, dying, and rising again
Outstainding lyric poet
Jan Kasprowicz
Chopin
B2 Ti ESDAY. MARCH 5. 1991
R
THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON WAYS
Poles Apart No More
By Donnie Radcliffe
Paris. From here, she flies to speaking
Washington Post Staff Writer
engagements in Dallas, Orange County and
Canada.
or 37.8 million Poles and their 8.2
million Polish American cousins, 1991
President Bush is dusting off his passport and is
has all the makings of "The Year That
about to hit the stratosphere again. The White
Is."
House says Bush goes to Ottawa on March 13 for
Whatever else historians may write, two
a working dinner with Prime Minister Brian
events will stand out: the visit to the United
Mulroney and to sign the U.S.-Canada acid rain
States of the first popularly elected president in
accord.
the 1.000-year history of Poland and the return
From there, Bush flies directly to Martinique
home-at last-of Poland's first prime minister.
for a March 14 meeting with French President
During Polish President Lech Walesa's March
Francois Mitterrand dealing with postwar
20-22 state visit, he will stop at Arlington National
problems. Also in the works is a meeting with
Cemetery to pay homage to Polish Prime Minister
British Prime Minister John Major.
Ignace Jan Paderewski, whose remains have
Meanwhile, Barbara Bush goes to McLean
been interred in a cedar coffin at the base of the
today to visit the Arleigh Burke Pavilion, a nursing
USS Maine Memorial since 1941 on orders of
and assisted-living facility for retired service
President Roosevelt "until such time as Poland
members and their spouses. Tomorrow she flies
was free."
to Florida to visit sailors aboard the aircraft
Sources here said yesterday that arrangements
carrier USS Forrestal, which leaves soon for the
to transfer Paderewski's body to its final resting
Middle East.
place in Poland are nearing completion. June
27-29 ceremonies on both sides of the Atlantic
Kay Kuhlmann of Lawrence, Kan., was 10
will mark the departure and arrival of the revered
years old when Mamie Eisenhower last lived in
Polish composer, pianist, humanitarian and
the White House. If she remembered anything at
statesman who became the symbolic reminder to
IGNACE PADEREWSKI
all about the former First Lady it was "this
millions of wartime Poles fighting and yearning for
stereotype image of her as the personification of
freedom.
you experienced as America prepared for war in
the frivolous side of the "50s." A lot Kuhlmann
Veterans Affairs Secretary Edward Derwinski,
1941. That overcoat you received must have truly
knew, she now says.
who is of Polish ancestry, is scheduled to
been a sight. On a serious note, your story
"She lived her life the way she wanted to live it,
accompany the body to Warsaw, sources said.
illustrates the importance of maintaining a strong
did her best to make it work" and in the process
dèfense establishment, for we never know when
carved her own niche in that rarefied sorority of
Nowadays everybody has a war story, never
Americans will have to defend the freedoms we
presidential wives. Kuhlmann, an actress and
mind which war. Over at the National Taxpayers
hold so dear."
scriptwriter working on her PhD at the University
Union, where he is research director, Sid Taylor's
The signature at the bottom: "George Bush."
of Kansas, is finding these women increasingly
yarn dates back to February 1941 when he was an
fascinating to portray.
Army recruit checking into Fort Dix, NJ. With
The downside is that if you're invited to the
On March 13, as part of the National Archives'
Pearl Harbor still 10 months in the future, GI
Bushes' private dinner Thursday night for
observation of Women's History Month,
uniforms were World War I leftovers consisting of
Britain's Margaret Thatcher, forget about dining
Kuhlmann will appear as Mrs. Eisenhower in two
wrap-around leggings, snap-collar tunic blouses,
with Queen Elizabeth II when the Bushes
performances (noon and 7:30 p.m.) of her original
fake wooden guns and doughboy helmets. The
entertain her in May. The upside is that if you
11/2-hour presentation, "Always a Lady." From
piece de resistance was the overcoat, a garment
aren't on this week's guest list, you still have a
research she did at the Eisenhower Library in
that had been in storage so long "it stood up by
chance in May.
Abilene, Kan., Kuhlmann traces five decades of
itself," Taylor wrote Reps. Les Aspin (D-Wis.) and
Thatcher is coming to town to receive the
Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower's lives, ranging
Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.) last July when there was
Medal of Freedom-for, among other reasons,
from their courtship, which her family opposed, to
talk of closing Fort Dix.
her iron support of President Bush's
their travails over the "other woman" rumors.
Describing his refusal to wear the coat, Taylor
determination to liberate Kuwait. ("We're behind
Kuhlmann says she deals with those rumors
said the supply sergeant leaned over the counter
your president 100 percent," she told national
through a series of exchanges, using Ike's letters
and ordered him to wear it or go directly to the
security adviser Brent Scowcroft in Paris last
to Mamie (hers to him weren't saved), but she
guardhouse. For the next 26 days until he reached
November as she hurried out of a joint media
leaves it to her audiences to draw their own
Fort Benning, Ga., Taylor wouldn't have been
briefing with Bush at the U.S. Embassy.)
conclusions.
caught dead without that coat. "I still wonder if
Two days later, as Bush was eating
"I think it's a foggy area, and I've found so far
the Pentagon may yet today have some WWI
Thanksgiving dinner with American and British
that people come away with totally different
uniforms in a hidden warehouse," he wrote.
troops in Saudi Arabia, word reached the desert
views," says Kuhlmann, who has written a new
Taylor's answer came three weeks later. Dated
that Thatcher, in London, had announced she was
one-woman play. This one, about Bess Truman,
Aug. 13, 1990, it said:
stepping down as prime minister. This week's
will premiere May 3 at the Hoover Library in
"I enjoyed reading about the supply problems
get-together is Bush and Thatcher's first since
West Branch, Iowa.
Photocopy-Preservation
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 20, 1992
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN ADDRESS TO REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
AND POLITICAL LEADERS
The East Room
4:04 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Welcome to the White House. Fifty-two
days ago in my State of the Union address, I asked Congress to act C
my agenda for economic growth. And I asked for immediate action by
March 20th on a series of proposals to help rekindle the economic
recovery. And I asked the Democratic leadership to put partisanship
aside, pledging to do the same, in order to enact seven sensible
steps to increase investment, strengthen the value of American homes
and creates jobs.
Well, March 20th has arrived, and no recovery bill of
any kind has come to the White House as of now.
This morning, the congressional conferees finished work
on a tax bill. It would increase taxes and harm the economy. And S
today I am doing three things. First, I have just signed the veto
message to stop the Democrats' tax increase. (Applause.) And
second, I am taking several additional steps on my own to help the
recovery with or without action by Congress. And, third, while the
Democratic leadership in Congrèss is in disarray, I am proposing
action on the real challenges facing America on my long-term plans :
help America compete in the global economy of the future.
Now is the time for real significant change. And I am
disappointed in Congress. In fairness, some Democrats did not want
to put a tax increase in the bill. And I salute them for
courageously standing up against more taxes. But politics prevailed
A slim majority passed the bill in the face of a certain veto. But
they aren't blocking my economic recovery plan because they're afra:
it won't work; they re blocking it because they're afraid it will
work. (Applause.)
I do not take this step lightly. No President has
vetoed a major tax bill since Harry Truman did it in 1948. But I
submitted an economic growth plan to Congress for a reason: to
promote a recovery in which every American has an interest. The
package I proposed was carefully tailored. It was paid for without
raising taxes. It was designed to encourage and strengthen the
positive economic signs we're beginning to see: home sales and
housing starts up as interest rates stay down; retail sales
improving; 164,000 new jobs last month alone.
In response, the Democratic Congress has returned to
form. It's produced a bill that will not strengthen the economy; i
will weaken it. It's produced a bill that will not stimulate growt
it will stifle it. As if by reflex, the Democrats in Congress coul
not resist their natural impulse to raise taxes. But I assure you
this, I simply will not let them do it. (Applause.)
So moments ago I signed the veto message for the
Democrats' tax increase, because raising taxes will not help create
MORE
jobs. And the bill is not yet here, but the conference report tells
me all I need to know. And when the bill is sent down tonight, this
signed message will be waiting for it and my veto will go back to the
Hill the minute the bill arrives. And needless to say, I will not
send it back via the House post office. (Laughter and applause.)
The message is clear: My veto and a block of votes
ready to sustain it stands ready to stop any tax increase on the
American people.
with that clear, I ask the Democratic leadership to put
aside once and for all the idea of a tax increase. And I ask the
Congress again, pass the seven common-sense measures that I have
proposed to help the economy now. Do so without raising taxes and
I'll sign it: And then let's get on to the long-term agenda. But
stop holding the American economy hostage in a partisan game.
(Applause.)
Passing a tax increase is bad enough, but here's what
really troubles me: the irresponsibility of Congress on this plan.
It's a part of a pattern. It reflects a more serious problem, a
deeper, systemic problem that is gnawing at the strength of our
nation. It is no wonder that Americans are angry.
Today, looking at the accumulated evidence of several
years, it must be said our congressional system is broken. We have a
long tradition in this country of pulling together when national need
demands that we do SO. And over the years, many accomplishments,
large and small, have been truly bipartisan.
But Congress today is different. It's more partisan.
Its campaigns are financed by special interests. It's grown out of
control. It's lost the ability to police itself. And perhaps most
importantly, it is no longer accountable to individual American
citizens and voters. And this must change.
One party has controlled the House of Representatives
for almost four decades. Staff has become institutionalized. In
1950 there were about 2,000 personal staff in Congress. And today,
there are almost 12,000 staff for members of Congress themselves, anc
almost 40,000, if you include the entire Legislative Branch. The
number of committees and subcommittees has quadrupled.
And for this, we get a Congress incapable of passing the
simple plan that I presented almost two months ago -- a Congress
controlled by the Democratic caucus which cannot manage a tiny bank
or a tiny post office. (Applause.)
In the 1990 elections, special interest political actio
committees -- PACs -- gave almost $117 million to incumbent
congressmen and senators. Only about $15 million were donated to
challengers. With this eight-to-one spending advantage, obvious
voter discontent was buried in a wave of PAC-financed television
advertising. And so nearly every incumbent won.
The time has come for change, because when the system i
broken you do have to fix it. And I have proposed to eliminate the
PACs which are poisoning our system. And the time has come to
eliminate these political action committees in their entirety.
And I propose also to increase accountability. I'm
ordering several steps to implement promptly the Supreme Court's Bec
decision. (Applause.) No worker should be forced to have money
taken out of his or her paycheck to fund politicians that he or she
disagrees with. We should apply to Congress the same laws from
employment practices, to civil rights, to the Freedom of Information
Act, which it imposes on everyone else. (Applause.)
MORE
And I believe the time has come to limit the terms of
congressmen. (Applause.) The terms of presidents are limited. It's
time for the terms of congressmen to be limited.
The bottom line is that we all need a new Congress, one
that can and will work with me for constructive change. And in the
meantime, I will take additional actions on my own with every legal
means at my disposal to keep the economy moving up. And I will do so
in spite of the hopelessly tangled congressional web of PACs, perks,
privileges partnership and paralysis. (Laughter.)
There is, of course, a serious limit on what a president
can do without Congress. But I am determined to do all I can to
effect change. And first, I want to underline a fundamental point:
Government is too big and it spends too much. (Applause.)
I have already proposed to freeze domestic discretionary
spending in federal employment next year. (Applause.) And I've also
proposed to curb the growth of mandatory programs without touching
Social Security. Mandatory spending -- spending on programs that
need no annual congressional action to keep growing -- consumes
almost two-thirds of the entire federal budget. Over the next
decade, this spending, if left unchecked, will grow by $2 trillion
more than is needed for inflation and new beneficiaries.
Currently, most of these programs grow automatically
without congressional review or even a chance for a presidential
veto.
My proposal, which is before Congress now, would permit
these programs to grow for inflation and new beneficiaries and, where
necessary, some amount above that. But we need some ceiling to keep
their growth within reasonable bounds. Uncontrollable spending is a
major cause of the federal deficit that I'm working to contain and it
must be addressed. (Applause.)
Today I am sending to Capitol Hill the first of a series
of additional measures to cut federal spending now, this year. I
have also directed all agency heads to look for further areas where
spending cuts can be made now. The line item rescissions, identified
so far in total, will cancel out about $4 billion in unnecessary
spending -- funds for local parking garages, $100,000 for asparagus
yield declines, mink research, prickly pear research. The examples
would be funny if the effect weren't so serious. And this kind of
wasteful spending destroys public confidence in the integrity of the
government. And Americans have every right to be outraged and
disgusted. It's their money.
And I will work with the Republicans in the House to
bring these items to a vote individually. Forcing the Democratic
leadership to allow line-by-line votes on items of pork will bring us
a step closer to the accountability and the power that 43 governors
have, the line-item veto. (Applause.)
Some argue that the President already has that
authority, the line-item veto authority, but our able Attorney
General in whom I have full confidence and my trusted White House
Counsel backed up by legal opinions from most of the legal scholars,
feel that I do not have that line-item veto authority. And this
opinion was shared by the Attorney General in the previous
administration.
And I ask the American people then to demand that a
president be given line-item veto authority legislatively or, if
necessary, by changing the Constitution. The line-item veto is
essential, and I need it now. (Applause.)
MORE
And secondly, I've directed the Vice President to step
up the assault on unnecessary regulation and paperwork. Let me give
you a progress report that he gave to me -- and he's doing a superb
job on this. Though some in Congress oppose regulatory relief, I've
already taken specific steps to remove the regulatory roadblocks to
growth. We've implemented plans to promote biotechnology, to lower
construction costs, help small business, ease the credit crunch, hel
clean up the air, reduce costs in transportation, and cut through th
morass of regulation and agriculture.
And today, we're launching a new public-private
partnership to promote research and development by bringing the good
ideas from our federal labs into the marketplace. Over the coming
months, we will be announcing many more such steps to chop away at
needless regulation and paperwork wherever we can. Too much
regulation smothers innovation, eliminates jobs, and makes America
less competitive.
I realize that these are only modest steps, but they
reflect a fundamental attitude. And if the Democratic leadership
that runs the status quo Congress will not help us change America, W
have to change it without them. And if the Democratic leadership
that runs the status quo Congress will not help us reform government
we must reform it without them.
You see, change is nothing to fear. For more than two
centuries, America has been a force for change. Our restlessness is
legendary. Our energy is boundless. Because of this, today America
even given our economic problems, is the most productive nation on
the face of the Earth, with the highest standard of living. And we
have only one-twentieth of the world's population. But we produce
one-fourth of the world's output. Twice that of Japan; four times
that of Germany.
Today America's credibility and prestige in the world,
not to mention our strength, have never been greater. But we didn't
get where we are by standing still. We got where we are by always
striving to do better. And that's why the current paralysis of the
Congress, controlled over and over again by that liberal Democratic
majority, is so troubling.
It's caused too many Americans, at the exact moment of
triumph for American values around the world, to lose confidence.
Americans are understandably worried about their future -- not only
about the economy right now; all of that is a key problem -- but
about the economic competition of the future; about the central
question that lies at the heart of the American Dream: Will our
children have a better life than we do?
Make no mistake: We will compete and win in the global
economy. In the last 10 years we've become more productive. Our
exports have more than doubled. Manufacturing productivity has
increased. And we are capturing new markets around the world from
Europe to Africa to Latin America.
But in order to keep succeeding in this global economic
competition we've got to change America in five key ways. We need a
strategy that is confident, forward-looking, future-oriented, and we
need to be willing to change.
First, we must expand markets for American products. S
I will continue to pursue a GATT agreement to open markets further.
I will push for a North American Free Trade Agreement to unlock the
potential of markets in Mexico and Canada. And I will work for
bilateral agreements to knock down barriers to American exports.
To win these markets we must guarantee that America will
lead the world in knowledge, in new ideas, in making products of th
MORE
5 -
highest quality. And that requires specific investments today. I's
proposed to invest more in basic R&D -- research and development --
and in key technologies like high-performance computing, new and
advanced materials in biotechnology.
Congress should approve these investments. And not on:
the government must invest more in the future. To maintain our edge
by increasing private sector investment, Congress should pass the
capital gains tax cut and make the R&D tax credit permanent.
(Applause.)
And second, we must prepare our work force to compete,
through better education, better training. And I've proposed a set
of dramatic reforms in education called America 2000, and a new
approach to job training -- Job Training 2000. The idea of America
2000 is simple: to revolutionize American education. And that mea:
creating new kinds of schools with new technology and new ways of
learning. It means measuring progress and holding schools
accountable for their performance. And it means giving all families
including low- and middle-income families, choice in picking their
children's schools. (Applause.)
We've put the resources behind our efforts. Although
budget dollars are very tough, education is so important to me that
I've increased funding -- funding for education -- by 42 percent jus
since 1989, and gave it the biggest increase this year. I put in
place a new program to help train teachers in math and science, and
increased funding for math and science education by over 69 percent
But more money alone won't do it. We need reform.
And thirdly, we must reform health care. America has
provided the best quality health care in the entire world. But we
are plagued by two problems: Too many Americans are not covered by
health insurance, and health care costs too much. And I have
proposed a comprehensive plan to make health care more affordable,
more available, more sensible. It guarantees access for affordable
health care, affordable health insurance for all Americans. Congres
should pass it, and that will help our competitiveness all around t:
world.
Fourth, we've got to fix our legal system. America is
drowning in a sea of litigation. Too many lawsuits means higher
prices for consumers and reduced competitiveness for all America. I
is estimated that fear of medical practice alone generates up to
about $20 billion per year in increased health costs. This must
change. In some cases we should require the loser to pay the
winner's legal fees, and that would stop some of these frivolous
lawsuits. (Applause.)
You know the problem. When parents won't coach little
league teams, when obstetricians won't deliver babies, and when
community pools are closed in the summertime, all because the fear C
liability, we know that something is wrong. And now is the time for
Congress to pass my legislation to fix it.
And fifth, we must tackle each of these challenges
without higher taxes or more government spending. (Applause.)
America doesn't need bigger government it needs better government.
(Applause.) on every one of these issues the Democrats in Congress
are standing in the way of reform. They've cut my budgets for R&D
and investing in the future and then voted instead for pork.
They've stripped choice and accountability out of the
education bill. They are working on a government takeover as a
solution to our health care program, to be financed by a massive tax
increase. And the special interests have made them afraid of legal
reform. Well, it is time for Congress to either lead, to follow, o:
simply get out of the way. (Applause.)
6 -
On every one of these challenges there are two very
different ways of looking at the world, one is reformist and the
other protects the status quo. And that difference is driven by
values.
The special interests and the foot-draggers do not
believe in the kind of change that we seek. Change which respects
markets more than government dictates; which recognizes fundamental
American values and the difference between right and wrong; which
rewards excellence and punishes wrong-doing. They do not believe
that actions should have consequences.
Well, one set of actions should have consequences. Th
failure of Congress to move on our program of change means only one
thing: it is time for a new Congress. Give others a chance to
control the United States Congress. (Applause.)
You give me the right lawmakers and I'll give you the
right laws. (Laughter.)
Over the coming weeks I'll be speaking more about thes
changes and I'll be laying out further specific plans that I have f
each. And I ask the American people to compare those plans to the
response of the Democratic-led status quo Congress and the do-nothi
caucus that has dominated that Democratic Party for too long.
Patrick Henry said, "I like the dreams of the future
better than the history of the past." Well, Patrick Henry was righ
Imagine the irony. As the world is beating a path to freedom's doo
if we, ourselves, were to turn back now. If we carry the change
forward we can have a nation of productive workers and competitive
companies, of healthy and secure communities, of schools that are t
best in the entire world. And America can remain a nation whose
exuberant confidence and commitment to freedom are admired worldwic
I am ready to build such an America. And because if W
can change the world, we can change America.
Thank you all. And may God bless the United States of
America. Thank you very much.
END
4:34 P.M. F
lease read
+ comment
Embasy Polana of 2021 234-3851 3800
(Smith/Cawley)
ASAP
March 12, 1991
8 A.M.
LECH
(Vija)
Thab
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WALESA ARRIVAL
SOUTH LAWN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1991
10:00 A.M. M.
Mr. President, our Polish and American friends. A poet
once wrote, "Let me address you in the name of millions." Today,
I address you in the name of millions who convey their admiration
and their love: the people of the United States. //
Two years ago, you became only the second private citizen
from abroad to address a joint session of our Congress. //
Today, you return as Poland's first elected President.
Reaffirming the values of tolerance, opportunity, and self-
determination. // Values which underscore the dignity of man. //
You fought for them in Gdansk. Because you knew that
liberty could light the darkest night. / And from Crakow to
Warsaw. For you upheld that faith which links the people of
Poland with the peoples of the world. // You were bullied, but
never beaten -- for you believed in the rights endowed by our
Creator. The freedom to think, dream, and worship as we please.
Equal protection under the law. And to choose our leaders our
destinies. Mr. President, to the tragedy of Poland, you
proclaimed the victory of Poland. /
Today, we celebrate that victory -- and moreover, our intent
to build on its beginnings. Your wife, Danura, has said it best:
2
"You have always believed that you are destined by God for
something big. " // That something is a solidarity of spirit -- a
solidarity transforming Poland. An a unanimity of purpose which
has amazed the world. // Millions have gathered in steel mills
and shipyards and tenements and towns to sing of you, "Sto lat. "
May he live 100 years " // Our task is to help freedom live
Sto'lot Sto lot
still longer. //
Recently, you did exactly that through your valor in the
Persian Gulf. // Or as I wrote to you
days ago, "I greatly
appreciate your
support for our common policy in the Gulf.
Poland's steadfastness, its direct contribution to the effort,
and your personal revsolve are immensely reassuring. " //
Mr. President, you understood how Kuwait -- like Poland --
could not allow aggression to stand. So you joined the coalition
which won a just war and restored the peace. / You realized how
the answer to tyranny was "international solidarity. " So you
proved yourself, as your fellow Medal of Freedom receipient --
Margaret Thatcher -- has said, to be "a great heart, not a faint
heart" -- helping Poland enrich the New World Order. //
For that I thank you on behalf of each American. Yet we
know, too, that Poland must build a new domestic order. // In
your New Year's Eve message, you talked of the progress of
reform. You spoke of political reform / calling for fully free
parliamentary elections to be held as soon as possible. / And
economic reform. / Where both of us believe in trade -- not
simply aid. In your address to Congress you said, "We are not
3
expecting philanthropy. But we would like to see our country
treated as a partner and a friend. " You are. We will. / So we
applaud your recent agreement with the International Monetary
Fund to reduce Poland's foreign debt -- and look forward to
finding new ways to strengthen old commercial ties. /
We will talk today also of the intellectual reform that can
help man begin the hard work of freedom. / Today, for instance,
120 Peace Corps volunteers are serving in Poland -- one of the
largest groups in any country. Let them be an example of how
cooperation can fuse our Nations. / Finally, spiritual reform. /
Honoring the One through whom all things are possible. So that
our two peoples -- one older; both brave; both linked by belief
in God -- can remain a light unto the world. //
Think of America. For two centuries these ideals have
inspired Tom Paine and Jefferson and Dwight Eisenhower. And for
nearl
years the Poland of Chopin and Father Kolbe and His
Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. // I am reminded of how in 1776
-- when America was at a turning point in its history -- a great
Polish patriot crossed the Atlantic. He brought with him a
simple three-word message. / Today -- 200 years later -- America
is proud to return General Kosciusko's message to the country of
Niga
Vol-nosh
Wa
its birth. "Wolnosc. Wlasnosc. Niepodleglosc.' // Freedom.
Property. Sovereignty. Words which speak to aspirations to all
peoples and all times. //
These words inspired our coalition in the Gulf. / Form the
very heart of the Joint Declaration of Principles which we will
Vwask nosht
Neh pod leg wosht
4
sign tomorrow. / Show why our two countries share the majestic
free eagle as our national symbol. Fearless. / Resolute. /
Soaring. / Free. // How can tanks or guns combat the Bill of
Rights, or Kosciusko's Act of Insurrection? How can mere force
outlast beliefs forged on the rights of man -- on the inviability
of the heart? //
Mr. President, they cannot, will not. Not in Gdansk, nor
Budapest, nor in the Baltics, nor the Gulf. / I have talked so
far of the universal language of democracy, the rule of law, and
human rights. Let me conclude with another universal language -
- music -- and of a story which speaks of the liberty that can
bless your seven children, and my five -- and my twelve grand-
kids, and your -- indeed, all the children of the world. //
-
Fifty years ago, the great Polish pianist and composer, Jan
Padreewski, died in America at the age of eighty. He declared in
his will that although his heart was to remain forever in America
-- his body should return to his native Poland when -- and only
when -- that land was independent and free. //
When Paderewski died, President Rooseevelt authorized the
placement of his remains at Arlington National Cemetery until
such time, he said, as "Poland is again free. " / Today, his
heart rests in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. But his remains will
return, this year to Poland -- honored by a state burial on the
half-century anniversary of his death. //
In life, this heroic man aided Polish war victims / served
as president of its parliament in exile / sought to make Poland
5
the Nation she has again become. / In death, he reminds us of
how this year marks the 200th anniversary of Poland's first
constitution -- the first written in all of Europe -- and how
brutality is powerless against that which is righteous, and free.
Mr. President, during the fight led by Kosciusko, Poles
would sing, "Poland is not lost while Poles still live. " //
Poland is not lost -- but has once again been found -- because
men like you still live. // God bless you. God bless your
beloved land, and our United States of America. //
# # # #
GENERAL KOSCIUSZKO/ACT OF INSURRECTION/NATIONAL ANTHEM
General Kosciuszko, if you recall, was the Polish
soldier who fought with us in the Revolutinary War --
we used the Jefferson quote to him in the Westinghouse
remarks.
After our war, he returned to lead the fight for
Poland, secretly crossing the border in 1794. He appeared
in Cracow/Krakow on March 23.
"The next day, amid the ovations of the people gathered
in the city square, hesolemnly took office as Commander-in-
Chiefof the Insurrection and swore before "God and the
innocentpassion of His Son not to use the power entrusted
to himfor any personal oppression, but only for the defense
of the integrity of the boundaries, the regaining of the
independence of the nation and the founding of universal
freedom. "
"Simultaneously he promulgated his famous Act of
Insurrection, which is justly considered one of the most
important Polish political documents and which deserves
to be placed beside the American Declaration of
Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights
of Man as one of the most notable expressions of 18th
century political doctrines."
"The Act, especially in its opening paragraphs,
strongly resembles the Declaration of Independence
(ideas which he brought with him from America). Its
definitions of political maxims, its whole tenor, are
primarily based on American political literature of
the Revolutionary era. "
" More on this to come
awaiting a fax. "
"Kosciuszko's life spanned the entire era of 18th
century democratic revolutions, of which he remains
one of the most outstanding figures. It is an irony of
history that his ideas were ahead of his time and of
his homeland. " This "ahead of his time" language
would make a nice transition to "well, President
Walesa, that time has come. Poland is free and
democratic, living up to the dream of those like
Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Dabrowski, etc etc etc the eagle
is back etc etc
andthen go on to the return of Paderewski's
remains.
THE CONSTITUTION
The new government does not have new Constituition
yet, but they are adhering to the "May 3, 1791" Constitution.
This document has enormous symbolic valueto the people of
Poland -- it comes from the Enlightenment
Period and includes such things as the basic rights of
man.
On May 3, 1791, in a carefully organized plot, the
liberals voted through Parliament a new constitution, the
first written constitution in Europe, and the second in
the world, after America's, upon which it was closely
modeled.
Known and revered throughout Poland today as the
"3rd May Constitution" (in 1981, Solidarity demanded
that May 3 be celebrated as the national holiday rather
than the Communist holiday of May 1), this document
was nothing short of revolutionary. It provided the country
with advanced social and political forms unknown elsewhere.
This year marks its bicentennial, and celebration
will be great.
DABROWSKI/NATIONAL ANTHEM
During the fight led by Kosciuszko, Poles used
to sing "Poland is not lost while Poles still live" -- and
its still sung to this day.
The Polish national anthem is known as Dabrowski's
Mazurka. It became official in 1926 and it's opening
lines are "Poland has not yet perished, as long as
we live."
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(c) 1989 Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1989
European tour.
Details Upcoming
White House officials said that although the broad outline of the proposal
was prepared in time for today's speech, specific details are yet to be drawn up
for broad international action, and that it is uncertain whether the
$100-million fund that Bush plans to unveil will be in the form of loans or
grants.
Greeted by Jaruzelski
As Bush stepped from Air Force One at Warsaw's Okecie Airport on a warm,
humid evening, he was greeted by Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, the Communist Party
leader. Also in the welcoming party was Andrzej Wielowieyski, deputy Speaker of
Poland's new freely elected Senate and an adviser to Solidarity leader Lech
Walesa. It was the first time a Solidarity representative has been included at
an official Polish state welcome.
Upbeat as he embarked on his second trip as President to the changing
Communist world, Bush referred to the political reforms that have shaken Poland
in the past three months, declaring at the welcoming ceremony:
"These are great days for Poland. Solidarity is again legal. The beginnings
of a free press now exist. A new Parliament is in place. The Polish Senate has
been restored through free and fair elections.
"Poland is making its own history," he said. "And America, and the whole
world, is watching."
Jaruzelski, whose once-sure shot at the Polish presidency is now up in the
air as a result of the political turmoil, told Bush: "You are arriving in a
country in which a process of basic change is at work. You are going to see a
Poland that is following with determination profound socio-political and
economic reforms."
Describing democratization and reconciliation as an "indispensable promise,"
Jaruzelski said that "our Polish transformations are aided by positive trends of
detente in the international arena."
Call for 'Working Together'
And, he said, Poland subscribed to the idea that "the philosophy of enmity
should be replaced by that of rapprochement and working together."
For Bush, who was accompanied by First Lady Barbara Bush, the two-day visit
to Poland offers a sharp contrast to his previous journey here, in September,
1987. At that time, Solidarity was outlawed, and the then-vice president of the
United States irked his Polish government hosts with public displays of support
for the opposition movement.
But despite the sudden shifts in the political climate here -- parliamentary
elections produced an overwhelming victory for Solidarity, which took 98 of the
100 seats in the newly constituted Senate -- the President is still treading a
narrow line. His goal is to avoid pressing the Communist leadership too hard
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(c) 1989 Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1989
Much as he did during his first overseas trip as President, when he visited
China in February, Bush is focusing on the political and economic reforms
occurring in the Communist world -- in this case, in Poland and Hungary. He is
also calling for an end to the ideological, political, and economic barriers
that have divided the European Continent for four decades.
"Here in the heart of Europe, the American people have a fervent wish: that
Europe be whole and free," Bush said.
In an interview with four Hungarian reporters before he left the United
States, Bush, however, reflected the sensitivity of appearing too demanding.
Not a President's Role
"It is not an American President's role to say to those in another county,
'you have to have your system this way, matching our system, or else we can't de
business with you. That is not my role," he said.
"It would be inappropriate for the President of the United States," he said,
"to try to fine-tune for the people of Hungary how they ought to eat -- how the
COW ought to eat the cabbage, as we say in the United States. $
Bush's visit to Hungary will be the first by an American president. His
visit to Poland is the third, following one by Richard M. Nixon in 1972 and
another by Jimmy Carter in 1977.
It was on Carter's arrival that a State Department interpreter, in a mistaken
translation, said in Polish as he worked through Carter's speech: "I have come
not only to express our own views to the people of Poland but also to learn your
opinion and the understanding of your lusts."
GRAPHIC: Photo, COLOR, President Bush, escorted by Polish leader Gen. Wojciech
Jaruzelski, right, upon arrival in Warsaw where Bush is pressing ahead with his
call for a Europe that is "whole and free." Associated Press
OFFICIAL VISITS; UNITED STATES - FOREIGN AID -- POLAND; EUROPE; POLAND ---
ECONOMY; POLAND GOVERNMENT; POLAND - ELECTIONS; SOLIDARITY (UNION);
GOVERNMENT REFORM; COMMUNIST PARTY (POLAND); BUSH, GEORGE; JARUZELSKI, WOJCIECH
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12TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
The Associated Press
The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Associated Press.
May 2, 1989, Tuesday, PM cycle
SECTION: Washington Dateline
LENGTH: 145 words
HEADLINE: Polish Union Leader To Visit U.S. ; Attend AFL-CIO Convention
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
KEYWORD: Walesa-U.S.
BODY:
Lech Walesa, leader of Poland's Solidarity union, will make his first
visit to the United States in November and address the AFL-CIO's convention in
Washington, a federation spokeswoman said today.
AFL-CIO spokeswoman Lorrie McHugh said a Solidarity representative accepted
the invitation on behalf of Walesa on Monday. AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland
was to announce the planned visit today after the first day of the spring
meeting of the federation's governining body.
The AFL-CIO has invited Walesa to visit the United States several times in
the past but he has not been allowed to leave Poland, AFL-CIO officials said.
Kirkland also has been denied a visa to visit Poland.
But Solidarity, outlawed since its inception in the early 1980s, was
recognized this year by the Polish government and Walesa recently has been
allowed to travel outside of the country.
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11TH DOCUMENT of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Public Papers of the Presidents
Advance Test of Remarks at the Departure Ceremony in Gdansk,
Poland
25 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1082
July 11, 1989
LENGTH: 362 words
This has been the first visit of an American President to Poland in almost 12
years. That, in itself, is something of a milestone. And it has been a great
honor to be here. But what has made this visit most noteworthy, in my mind, are
the extraordinary opportunities and challenges now faced by Poland and her
people. In my 2 days here, I met with leaders of a government that is both
responsive and responsible, and determined that Poland shall find her own road
to recovery.
I met with the chairman of the Free Solidarity Trade Union, Lech Walesa,
whose courage and moral guidance have carried Poland's people from the dark of
night to the threshold of a brilliant future. I met with Senators and
Parliamentary leaders of a democratic opposition, now legalized. We discussed
their new and weighty responsibilities as Poland enters a new era. And I met
with Polish citizens, from all walks of life, including the citizens of the
great city of Gdansk, at a monument to courage and freedom.
Poland is blazing her own path to a better life for all of her people.
With every meeting, with every conversation, we have had meaningful discussions
about the possibilities and challenges of Poland's unique experiment in
reform. I have explained that the United States will respond with specific,
appropriate measures designed to encourage future economic and political reform,
reform that is crucial to Poland's long term economic health. But the real
work begins now, as Poland joins the community of nations committed to open
elections and open markets and the open exchange of ideas.
I add my voice to those of 50 many around the world who are impressed with
Poland's courage and committed to help a great nation fulfill its destiny.
Poland's wisdom and strength will be tested. But such a nation, fully engaged
in such an enterprise, need only summon the will of her people to succeed. The
world watches, confident that they will triumph.
Note: The President spoke at approximately 4:50 p.m. on the tarmac of Gdansk
Airport. The Office of the Press Secretary has issued this advance text, but a
transcript of the actual address has not been released.
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Copyright (c) 1989 Reuters
The Reuter Library Report
July 10, 1989, Monday, AM cycle
LENGTH: 537 words
HEADLINE: BUSH MEETS JARUZELSKI AS DEBT IS DEFERRED
BYLINE: By Michael Gelb
DATELINE: WARSAW, July 10
KEYWORD:
BUSH
BODY:
The United States agreed to defer one billion dollars of Poland's overdue
debt repayments as President George Bush met General Wojciech Jaruzelski on
Monday for talks on the country's political and economic future.
Bush, the first U.S. president to visit Poland since Jimmy Carter in
1977, had nearly an hour of private talks with the Polish Communist Party leader
on the first full day of his visit.
Secretary of State James Baker and Polish Foreign Minister Tadeusz Olechowski
signed two agreements formally deferring repayments of one billion dollars in
overdue debt to U.S. government agencies.
Under the agreement, payments that were due in 1985 and over a three-year
period beginning in 1986 will be deferred for five years.
The bulk of the money is owed to the Commodity Credit Corporation and the
U.S. Export-Import Bank -- government agencies that promote exports by providing
favourable credit terms.
Bush was also set to discuss possible U.S. and international assistance for
the struggling Polish economy in an address to the parliament later on Monday.
One senior U.S. official said the president would discuss possible relief of
a portion of Poland's 39-billion-dollar foreign debt.
In April, Bush unveiled a modest economic aid package in a bid to promote
continued economic and political liberalisation in Poland. Polish officials have
been seeking an expansion of U.S. aid.
But Bush and his aides have made clear that Poland will not receive massive
sums of American aid. U.S. officials have stressed the need for internal
austerity measures, and Bush said on arrival on Sunday night that Poles would
have to make further sacrifices.
The U.S. leader, who has vowed to do everything in his power "to open the
closed societies of the East", was greeted by warm crowds at every stop in
Warsaw.
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(c) 1989 Reuters; July 10, 1989
About 2,000 Poles turned out for Bush's arrival at the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier. The cheered robustly at the playing of the U.S. national anthem, belted
out a few verses of "America the Beautiful", waved American flags and chanted
"long live the president".
The president also laid a wreath at the Umschlagplatz memorial to Polish
Jews shipped from the Warsaw ghetto to their death in Nazi concentration camps
during World War Two.
Jaruzelski's 1981 declaration of martial law and suppression of the
Solidarity free trade union led to a major rift in U.S.-Polish relations.
But the Polish leader, in cooperation with a revived Solidarity, is now a key
force in a political reform movement that has resulted in the country's first
free election in over 40 years.
Bush praised Jaruzelski on Sunday for his "wisdom and courage" in supporting
an election process that resulted in a humiliating defeat for the Communist
Party.
The Solidarity opposition candidates won 260 of the 261 parliamentary seats
they contested in last month's balloting.
Bush is in Poland for the first stop in a 10-day tour of Europe that takes
him to Hungary, another East Bloc country in the midst of political and economic
liberalisation, and the July 14-16 economic summit of the industrial democracies
in Paris.
He is also due to make a one-day stop in the Netherlands before returning to
Washington on July 18.
SUBJECT:
DIPLOMATIC; ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
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4TH DOCUMENT of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Public Papers of the Presidents
Remarks at the Welcoming Ceremony for Prime Minister
Jozsef Antall of Hungary
$ A7
26 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1613
October 18, 1990
LENGTH: 1863 words
The President. Mr. Prime Minister, it's a tremendous pleasure to welcome you and
your wife Klara to the White House today.
Seven years ago, I became the highest ranking American official to visit
Hungary and, last year, the first American President to journey there. Even
though it was pouring rain when we arrived in Kossuth Square, the people of
Hungary gave us a very warm welcome. Barbara and I have seen few cities more
lovely than Budapest; and we've seldom seen a city more alive -- alive with
commerce, change, and above all hope; alive with a people who believe that, like
a lamp lighting the darkest night, liberty can light the globe.
The arrival at the White House of the first democratically elected Prime
Minister of Hungary in over 40 years is, indeed, sir, an historic event; and
it brings to mind the arrival 138 years ago of another Hungarian patriot at
another house which embodies freedom, the Congress of the United States. That
man was Lajos Kossuth. His statue stood behind us that day in the rain in
Budapest, in the square that bears his name. And in today's historic meeting,
his memory lifts us and teaches us. For his life was a celebration of bravery
and of dreams. He knew that a courageous people would not bow to bayonets and
barbed wire, and he knew that the light of liberty would shine forever.
Today in your homeland, from the streets of Budapest to the great plains to
the waters of the Danube and the gentle towns that grace its banks, Hungary's
new patriots believe that all things are possible for a nation and for a people;
and they proclaim the individual, not the state, as the voice of tomorrow.
Today, in Hungary, that voice is being heard. Hungary is no longer an emergency
democracy; Hungary is a democracy. The government you head is a sovereign,
pluralistic, democratic European state. The dream of Hungarians has been
fulfilled and carried beyond their own borders to others in central Europe. And
now, in 1990, Hungary has taken its natural place as a valued member of the
commonwealth of free nations.
During our visit to Budapest, we saw the Hungarian love of excellence in
careful craftsmanship, in bountiful harvests from family farms, in the pride of
scientists in their work. And American companies have already demonstrated
their faith in Hungary's economic potential by committing well over half a
billion dollars in new investments. General Electric is making lightbulbs in a
joint venture with Hungarian firm Tungsram. General Motors is producing auto
parts there. And I encourage more American businesses to find out what
Hungary has to offer.
Prime Minister Antall's government has demonstrated its determination to
integrate Hungary into the global market by developing an ambitious economic
reform program, and we pledge our continuing support for your courageous
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26 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1613
efforts. The Hungarian-American Enterprise Fund has announced its first
investment in a joint venture to market high-tech equipment. For the new fiscal
year, our administration has asked Congress for a $300 million economic aid
package for eastern Europe. Our Regional Environmental Center in Budapest
commenced operations last month. And we are offering $47.5 million in credits
for the purchase of about 500,000 tons of feed grains to compensate for the
effects of the severe drought that Hungary has experienced this year.
And we also know that, like all of us, Hungary and the other new democracies
of central Europe are paying a high price for resolutely supporting the United
Nations sanctions against Iraq. And we understand that the loss of export
markets and rising energy costs complicate your historic effort to transform a
centrally planned economic system to a free-market economy. And so, to help
ease this burden, I am announcing today that the United States is asking the
International Monetary Fund to increase its lending to the countries of the
region by as much as $5 billion, modifying its lending policies as appropriate.
And we also asked the World Bank to accelerate its assistance in the energy
field, drawing on the $9 billion now committed to central and eastern Europe.
The United States has been a partner of Europe for most of this century and
will remain 50. And we welcome Hungary and the other new democracies into a new
partnership in a new Europe -- a Europe whole and free. The United States is
committed to helping you find a secure place in the new Europe and is building
with you a new era of U.S. -Hungary relations. In that regard, I am pleased to
announce the lifting of the travel restrictions for Hungarian diplomats and our
agreement to your request to establish an Hungarian consulate general in Los
Angeles.
And so, Mr. Prime Minister, we welcome you amid dramatic times. We welcome
you amid a feeling of hope and promise. And as old friends and as new partners,
we welcome you amid a spirit of cooperation, looking forward to these
conversations that lie ahead.
And when Kossuth came to America, his reception showed how our two peoples
share a common love of liberty. And in New York harbor, an armada of ships
sounded horns to celebrate his arrival. Thousands rushed his open carriage.
Perhaps no visitor since Lafayette had been greeted so emotionally.
Like Hungarians, the Americans of that time believed in helping individuals
and nations who understood that real freedom makes all progress possible. For
they, like Hungarians and Americans today, were determined to ensure that the
light of liberty will shine forever.
So, welcome to America, Mr. Prime Minister; and Gos bless the friendship
between our two nations. Thank you.
The Prime Minister. Mr. President, Mrs. Bush, ladies and gentlemen, I feel
sincerely moved when standing here in the garden of the White House on this
occasion when you are receiving here the Prime Minister of Hungary, the first
freely elected Prime Minister of our free government.
We are proud of the fact that all the American ideals of liberty, those
ideals that used to be the constitutional treatise and credo of Washington,
Jefferson, and all the other famous American statesmen, belong also to us.
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26 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1613
We are proud of the fact that whenever you remember the wars, the battles you
came out as the triumphant party of, you and Hungarians taking side with you, in
support of you, who were there with you at those triumphant battles and wars.
We are also proud of the fact that a soldier of Hungarian origin, Milahy
Kovacs, who fought in your War of Independence. Yesterday we also felt very
much moved when paying tribute at the memory of your heroes in the cemetery and,
at the same time, we could also salute the memory of Hungarian heroes there.
We also take pride in the fact that there were also many Hungarians
contributing to building up your country. Whatever has been done in order to
make your country, the United States, be a great power had contribution on
behalf of Hungarian military men, Hungarian workers, Hungarian farmers, as well
as from Hungarian scientists.
Mr. President, you have just spoken about Lajos Kossuth, and you also
recalled your visit in Budapest. When standing in front of the statute of Lajos
Kossuth, you delivered your speech there. Lajos Kossuth represents freedom and
liberty for everyone. It happens not by chance that it is exactly the
personality of Lajos Kossuth that binds us together, because that is a token and
symbol of freedom for both Hungarians and Americans.
The era that created Lajos Kossuth, in fact, forms part of the Hungarian
historic mythology. Therefore, should there be any matter related to any war of
liberation or revolution, we always return to that particular period of our
history. It happened like that also in the year of 1956, when Hungary, as one
nation, took arms and started to fight the Soviets and made an attempt on that
occasion to establish the independent Hungarian democracy. It was that which
has brought us the spirituality, during which we, after a period of more than
three decades, set out in our country to demolish the building of dictatorship.
On this occasion, I would like to express my thanks to you because --
[inaudible] -- seems the time when America recognized that the Soviet power had
been extended onto the regions of eastern and central Europe and through all the
peoples living in that region has been very persistent in trying to defend the
grounds of the free world.
I would like to thank you for having elevated the issue of Human rights onto
governmental level. And you have been representing that important issue in the
last decades at that very high level.
I would also like to express my thanks to you for having forced the Soviet
power to enter into fierce competition of technology, military, and economic
nature. By doing so, you have contributed to helping reform politician in the
personality of Gorbachev to make an attempt to change the Soviet Union. And
also the peoples living in east and central Europe have been given more
opportunities to make use of their freedom.
We started the transformation of the political institution system, and
Hungary today is a parliamentary republic. We have also laid down the grounds
for a free-market economy. At the same time, we do not want to hide the fact
that to implement an economic change in the country is far more difficult than
execute a political one.
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26 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1613
You, Mr. President, have spoken about all those matters that I could have
also mentioned here when presenting my request or when speaking in form of
complaints. Well, I think this is an indication of the fact that we have come
here as friends. And WE are seeing friends here. We are being received by
friends who can perhaps read our thoughts.
All those that you have just spoken about and all of those that you were very
gracious and kind to promise us future prospective potentialities will help us
to survive this very severe crisis.
May I say thank you for receiving me and for receiving the members of my
delegation representing the Government of Hungary. And may I assure you that
Hungary is a faithful friend of yours and will remain so until the very end of
times. Without you, the system of dictatorships would have never been collapsed
in easter, central Europe.
And people realized all those that had been declared by Marxism, Leninism was
nothing else but a series of lies.
Twenty-five years ago I could cite in one of my articles that I wrote about
Lincoln one of the sayings of his: It is possible to cheat many people for a
short time. During a long time, it is possible to cheat one person. However,
it is impossible to cheat many people during a long time.
Thank you very much for receiving me, and thank you very much for the
benevolence of Americans. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
Note: The President spoke at 10:11 a.m. at the South Portico of the White
House, where the Prime Minister was accorded a formal welcome with full military
honors. The Prime Minister spoke in Hungarian, and his remarks were translated
by an interpreter. Following the ceremony, the President and the Prime Minister
met in the Oval Office.
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WALESA
RESOURCES MCMT
EXEC OFFICE-PRES
WHITE HOUSE INF
LECH
WASHINGTON
01
0
POLAND'S
ЦАНН
MAN OF THE YEAR
He Dared to Hope
Poland's Lech Walesa led a crusade for freedom
A
nyone could read him at a glance
ments. he held nothing back. But when things
When things were going well, when it
began to go wrong, when the tensions started
seemed for a while that the movement
to rise and the future he saw began to recede
he led would brighten and liberate the lives of
the face grew heavy. The familiar walrus mus-
his fellow Poles, the face that grew SO familiar
tache sagged and the brown eyes turned wea-
in 1981 radiated delight: delight in his cru-
TY. Again he held nothing back; and perhaps
sade delight in This vision of the future. delight
he could not if he tried Ecch Walesa is a man
in being at the center of it all Tn those mo-
of emotion, not of logic or analysis So was the
Man of the Year
movement, which he all but lost control of in the end, guided
more by hope and passion than by rationality. That was the cru-
sade's strength-and its weakness.
What had begun as Poland's year of liberty ended dramati-
cally in violence, bloodshed and repression. The beleaguered
government of General Wojciech Jaruzelski, pushed to the wall
by Walesa's challenging Solidarity union, confronted with total
economic collapse, and pressured by the furious Soviets, struck
back in the classic Communist fashion. Its minions came for
Walesa at 3 a.m. at his apartment in Gdansk, the gray Baltic
seaport whose windswept shipyards had given birth to Solidarity
in August 1980. They hustled him aboard a flight to Warsaw
and then held him in a government guesthouse south of the city.
They cut off communications with the outside world and im-
posed martial law. While the people slept, olive-drab tanks and
armored personnel carriers moved through the snow-filled
streets to take up positions in cities and towns across the
country.
t 6 a.m., Jaruzelski went on the radio "as a soldier and
A
the chief of the Polish government," to announce that
the nation was under martial law. He later repeated the
grim message on national television, dressed in full mili-
tary uniform with the white Polish eagle prominently displayed
behind him. The "growing aggressiveness" of Solidarity's "ex-
tremists" in the midst of an acute economic crisis, said Jaru-
zelski, had forced him to make his repressive moves "with a bro-
ken heart, with bitterness." He assured Poles that military rule
would be temporary and that the process of "renewal" launched
by Solidarity would be resumed once disorder had been curbed.
And nobody believed his assurances. Months of Poland's desires,
months of Poland's dreams had reduced themselves to one new,
pervasive, overwhelming condition: fear. Freedom and self-
determination had been the goal through the inspired days of
1981. Now the goal was survival.
The crackdown had been harsh, fiercely and unexpectedly
harsh. Military authorities rounded up thousands of Solidarity
members, dissidents, intellectuals, artists and some 30 former
government officials, including ex-Party Boss Edward Gierek.
Tanks ringed factories and mines, and soldiers and police used
force to clear out resisting workers, leaving at least seven dead
and hundreds injured when miners in Katowice fought back
with axes and crowbars. The shock was doubly traumatic be-
cause in the preceding months Poles had won more freedom
than any other nation in the Soviet bloc. The country had devel-
oped a thriving intellectual and cultural life. People felt free to
criticize the government openly; so, in fact, did some party
members. Then, literally overnight, the new freedoms
disappeared.
Tangled grammar, but an actor's sure sense of SW
Behind the Polish military move loomed the shadow of the
Kremlin. Indeed, if the government of General Jaruzelski had
locked in a struggle for control of the country'
not imposed the crackdown, the Soviets certainly would have.
leaders of Poland's Roman Catholic Church
The presence in Warsaw of high-ranking Soviet officers, includ-
tion of nationalism, appeared like a Greek
ing Marshal Viktor Kulikov, even suggested a direct Soviet role
warnings and admonitions to all.
in planning what amounted to an invasion by proxy. For more
The nation tottered on the verge of total
than a year, the Kremlin had made it clear that it would not in-
Not since the disaster of Germany's Weima
definitely tolerate the development of a union movement that
'30s had a modern industrial state faced a p
could challenge a Communist government as directly as Solidar-
failure of such catastrophic dimensions. As
ity had-a movement that was calling, in effect, for government
tered, the shortages of food, clothing and oth
by consent of the governed.
made queuing an increasingly exhausting and
Thus, as 1981 came to a close, the courageous little electri-
life, an ordeal made all the more cruel by the
cian from Gdansk stood out not only as the heart and soul of Po-
ally harsh Polish winter. In the end, Solidari
land's battle with a corrupt Communist regime, but as an inter-
ment were unable to reach an accommod
national symbol of the struggle for freedom and dignity. Both as
deepened.
a newsmaker in his own right and as a representative of millions
The Polish experiment showed that a C
of Poles striving for a better life, Lech Walesa is TIME's Man of
ment can be forced to make some reforms,
the Year.
give up a substantive measure of control with
There was almost a tragic inevitability about the whole se-
ing it all. Solidarity's hope that a totalitaris
quence of events that ended with Poland's night of the generals.
could be made accountable to society prove
The leading characters in the nation's drama seemed to be fol-
evidence that a Communist society cannot to
lowing a script for a catastrophe that both Walesa and Jaruzelski
is known in the West. Walesa and his move
could see coming, that neither wanted-and that neither could
travesty of Communism's pretensions in the
avoid. For 16 months, Solidarity and the government had been
An authentic proletarian revolution had rise
14
1
MARLOW-MAGKOM
Power center of the movement: striking workers of the Lenin shipyard gather row on row to hear Walesa call for Solidarity
FREY
Institutions dominating Gdansk: the Roman Catholic Church and the Lenin shipyard, whose employees assemble near the famed gates
predicted, only to be put down by the guns of the oppressor class:
lent region of the world was further shaken by the aggressive acts
the Communists themselves. However Solidarity's revolution
of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin,
may ultimately run its course, the movement brought the heady
which bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor; attempted to destroy a
taste of a new life to the Poles. That memory will die hard, if at
Palestine Liberation Organization headquarters in Beirut, kill-
all. Nor will the world forget the lessons in courage displayed
ing 300, mostly civilians; and in effect annexed the Golan
by the millions of Polish workers who were inspired by Lech
Heights.
Walesa.
U.S.-Soviet relations grew more tense as the Reagan Admin-
istration adopted a hard-line approach to its dealings on virtual-
ther people and events commanded their share of atten-
ly every issue with the Kremlin and with Communism world-
o
tion during 1981 (see following story). Ronald Reagan,
wide. As the Administration talked sternly, a powerful
whose sweeping electoral victory made him TIME'S
movement swept through Western Europe in opposition to the
choice as the Man of the Year in 1980, started a revolu-
planned deployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in NATO
tion in domestic policy that curbed a Federal Government which
countries. The antinuclear crusade threatened NATO'S solidarity
had been growing without restraint since the New Deal of
against the Warsaw Pact nations. Urged on by the Europeans,
Franklin D. Roosevelt in the '30s. Reagan also had his failings.
the U.S. met with the Soviets in Geneva on Nov. 30 to begin their
He had an uncertain touch on foreign policy and he made the as-
long-awaited talks on mutual reductions of their medium-range
tonishing discovery that his economic policies were projected to
missiles.
leave the U.S. with a $100 billion budget deficit in fiscal 1982.
For Americans, the most moving moment of the year was
In a year marked by widespread political violence, assassins
the return of the 52 U.S. hostages who had been held in Iran for
shot a U.S. President, a Pope and a Nobel laureate. The first two
444 days. The most reassuring moment occurred on April 12,
victims recovered. The third, Egypt's President Anwar Sadat,
when the space shuttle Columbia roared triumphantly into orbit,
died in a lash of bullets, casting a shadow over the cause of Mid-
trailing behind a fiery, orange-and-white plume-and all doubts
dle East peace that he had courageously espoused. That turbu-
about U.S. supremacy in space technology. The most delightful
TIME, JANUARY 4. 1982
15
Man of the Year
moment for Britons. and for about everybody else. came when a
demure 19-year-old with glowing cheeks and feather-swept
blond hair said yes to the future King of England. The spectacu-
LASKI-SIPA/
lar wedding of Lady Diana Spencer to Prince Charles lifted
hearts everywhere.
None of these developments in 1981, however. equaled the
drama of Poland's triumph and tragedy. At the center of the Pol-
ish revolution was one of history's more improbable heroes. With
a double chin, a bit of a paunch, and a height of only 5 ft. 7 in.,
Lech Walesa, 38, hardly has an imposing physical presence. His
working-class Polish is rough and often ungrammatical; his
voice, perhaps from years of heavy smoking. is hoarse and rasp-
ing. His speeches frequently are riddled with mixed metaphors
and skewed analogies: Solidarity's leaders admit that Walesa
(pronounced Vah-wen-sah) is more intuitive than intellectual.
He rather defiantly claims that he has never read a serious book
in his life.
Yet Walesa got through his message of hope to his country-
men. Said a Warsaw journalist: "Sometimes he doesn't even
make any sense. but he is always reassuring. He energizes peo-
Walesa and his bodyguard attending early morning services
ple." He could work a crowd like an actor onstage, never reading
a speech-not even when addressing the Pope-and never
speaking too long, stabbing the air with his oversize hands, mak-
ing all the right gestures with almost flawless timing. His real
strength as a speaker was an ability to reduce complex issues to
GORGONI-CONTACT
simple words and images that everyone could understand. Said
one Solidarity official: "He knows his audience. He can sense
what they want, and almost always he is right."
alesa showed little patience for the details of union
W
organization or the niceties of parliamentary proce-
dure. He loved to barnstorm the country, arguing, ca-
joling. sitting up half the night with workers while the
air turned blue with cigarette smoke. At the podium, and at the
bargaining table. where the arguments with government officials
stretched wearily on for hours, he was quick and voluble, and
guided by sure instincts. As his fame and power grew, he was
amused and sometimes delighted by his celebrity status, whatev-
er his disclaimers. There was, in fact, more than a touch of the
demagogue in him. When his policies were opposed by other
union leaders, he would sometimes threaten to take his case di-
rectly to the rank and file, or even to quit. "He is like De Gaulle
of France in that regard." says former Solidarity Spokesman
Janusz Onyszkiewicz.
There was something to that. Like De Gaulle, Lech Walesa
was a man guided by faith in himself and his destiny: he had no
qualms about speaking for the 10 million members of Solidarity.
He was certain that he knew what they-what the country-
wanted. "We eat the same bread," he would tell the crowds. An
A sea of worshipers crowds Victory Square in Warsaw to attend Mass d
urban worker with rural roots, he was, as he claimed, a son of the
people. Lech Everyman. Reflecting on his leadership role last
always the leader of the hooligans, the leader of the choirboys. I
month, he told TIME: "As a believer, I think this was my mission.
was always on top."
This is the way fate threw me into it."
In his treatise on heroes and hero-worship, Thomas Carlyle
The son of a carpenter, he was born in a clay hut during the
wrote that "Universal History is at bottom the History of the
Nazi occupation in the village of Popow, between Warsaw and
Great Men who have worked here." A lowly worker like Walesa
Gdansk. His father. Boleslaw. was conscripted by the Nazis to
would never have suited Carlyle's elitist view of greatness. Wa-
dig ditches during the war and died in 1946 from the exposure
lesa is a completely different kind of hero: a common man who
and beatings he suffered. His mother, Feliksa, seemed to have
has taken his fling at changing history not by leading govern-
the most effect on Walesa. The parish priest remembers her as
ments, winning great battles or writing books. but by embodying
"the wisest woman in the parish. She always had to be the most
the hopes, faith, courage, even the foibles, of the vast majority of
important person around and was a fantastic organizer. Lech is
his countrymen.
an extension of his mother and even looks like her. He has the
The national ideals that Walesa represents have their roots
same face, size. build and smile."
in more than 1,000 years of Polish history. "They are accus-
Walesa was only an average student at his parish grammar
tomed to liberty," wrote an anonymous Byzantine historian
school. Ironically. he got his worst marks in a subject that now
about the Slavs in the 6th or 7th century. Perhaps because they
deeply concerns him: history. One schoolmate remembers him
were so open to invasion by the Germans and the Russians, the
as a show-off. "always swimming out to the farthest point of the
Poles early developed a fierce sense of national unity. In addition
lake." At the state vocational school in Lipno, where he learned
to repeated foreign invasions. Poland suffered three partitions in
the electrician's trade. Walesa was reprimanded several times
the 18th century that wiped it off the map as a separate state un-
for smoking in the dorm. but he is also remembered as a good or-
til 1918.
ganizer. By his own account. Walesa early had a knack for tak-
Poles have revolted countless times against their oppressors,
ing command. "I had something in me that made me the leader
only to fail heroically. Almost every generation of Poles for the
of the gang." he says. "I was always the leader of the class, I was
past century and a half has risen in arms. This penchant for re-
TIME. JANUARY 4. 198
16
The close ties of church and union: priests hear the confessions of striking shipyard workers; Pope John Paul II greets Walesa in Rome
the Pope's momentous visit to his homeland in 1979: "They were hurling a challenge at their Marxist rulers"
bellion-evident again in Solidarity-prompted Karl Marx to
land's 36 million people are practicing Catholics. A deeply reli-
call Poland the "thermometer of the intensity and vitality of all
gious man, Walesa always wears on his lapel a badge depicting
revolutions since 1789." Successive occupations and uprisings,
the so-called Black Madonna, a portrait of the Virgin Mary and
moreover. gave Poles a deep-rooted mistrust of foreign-imposed
the Christ Child that is in the Czestochowa monastery, 125 miles
governments and sharpened their skills at organizing broad-
southwest of Warsaw.
based conspiracies. It also increased their pride in the past.
Many of Solidarity's buttons show the Polish eagle adorned with
eligion, patriotism and a tragic history fed a current of
the crown that was banned by the Communists.
R
romantic fatalism that runs deep in the Polish character.
The result of the defeated uprisings has left a scar on the na-
Grand gestures and heroic sacrifices come naturally to
tional psyche. a kind of ambivalence and fear that endure to this
the Poles, along with an alarming capacity for martyr-
day. "On the one hand." says Social Historian Wiktor Osia-
dom. The 19th century playwright Stanislaw Wyspianski called
tynski, "the Pole applauds the drive for democratic freedoms. On
long-suffering Poland "the Christ of nations" because of its ca-
the other hand, not far below the surface roils the thought that
pacity for anguish. Joseph Stalin is said to have remarked that
previous such efforts for national salvation have ended in
bringing Communism to Poland was "like trying to saddle a
catastrophe."
cow." He did it anyway, but a nation of rebellious, romantic anti-
Polish patriotism has been closely bound up with religion
Russian Catholics proved to be troublesome from the beginning.
ever since the baptism in 966 of the nation's first ruler. Prince
Most Poles never regarded the party in Warsaw as more than an
Mieszko I. During occupation periods, the Catholic Church kept
outpost of Soviet imperialism. As Walesa puts it: "For 36 years,
Polish language and culture alive and served as the main bastion
something foreign was injected into us."
of nationalism. After the Communist takeover in 1945, the
In 1956 Polish workers rioted to protest food shortages. In
church provided a unique alternative to a "godless" Marxist re-
1968 Polish intellectuals protested censorship and other curbs on
gime. Going to Mass became not only a religious act but a quiet
freedom. Seeking scapegoats for the rebellion, the government.
sign of rebellion against the state. Today, 75% to 80% of Po-
conscious of Poland's notorious anti-Semitism, launched an
17
TIME. JANUARY 4. 1982
Man of the Year
"anti-Zionist" campaign that forced many Jewish intellectuals,
artists and officials to emigrate.
In 1970 the most bloody uprising until then flared in the port
cities along the Baltic coast. The movement, touched off by price
hikes, was centered in the Gdansk Lenin shipyard, where Wa-
lesa had begun to work as an electrician in 1967.
For the first time, Walesa showed that he really was a natu-
ral rebel and leader, although even then he displayed his in-
stinctive fear of going too far. When his fellow workers from the
Lenin shipyard occupied the first floor of police headquarters,
Walesa persuaded a crowd of 20,000 not to attack the nearby
prison. Later, as the protests continued in the streets, Party Boss
Wladyslaw Gomulka's police and army units opened fire. Doz-
ens, perhaps hundreds, of workers died; the figures have never
been authenticated.
To this day, Walesa fears that he did not lead his fellow
workers with enough vigor or wisdom in 1970. What inspired
him during the rebellion that began in August 1980 was, he says,
"the blood of the workers who had put their trust in me. It was
my stupidity in not taking it to victory that time. I wanted to im-
prove on myself."
In the wake of the 1970 riots, Gomulka was replaced by Ed-
ward Gierek, a former coal miner who had earned a good repu-
tation for improving life in his fiefdom around the steel and coal
center of Katowice in southern Poland. Gierek promised dra-
matic gains in the nation's standard of living; mainly through a
massive influx of foreign investment. Instead he destroyed the
economy, and it was that which proved to be the fulcrum of Po-
land's crisis. The disintegrating economy helped create Solidari-
A rare relaxed moment for the former electrician
ty, and it remains the essential problem for General Jaruzelski.
ierek had the instincts of a high-rolling capitalist. His
G
decision to borrow heavily abroad to finance an expan-
sion of heavy industry was based on the optimistic, and
BURNETT-CONTACT
naive, theory that new factories, using the best equip-
ment and techniques, would turn out products that would be
sold to cancel the debts. In all, Gierek imported about $10 bil-
lion worth of modern capital goods. Then he wasted all of it in
textbook cases of how not to run an economy. For example, he
put nearly $1 billion into developing and producing a light trac-
tor designed by Massey-Ferguson and made at a gigantic new
Ursus tractor facility near Warsaw. But it turned out that the
company was not licensed to sell its products in the West and
that, moreover, they were too expensive to be sold in the East.
Besides, most Polish farm equipment did not fit the tractor. Re-
sult: production of about 500 tractors a year instead of the ex-
pected 75,000.
Gierek also made a deal with the RCA Corporation and the
Corning Glass Works to build a color television factory outside
Tombstones in Warsaw of heroes who died in World War II
Warsaw that was supposed to turn out 600,000 sets in 1981. Re-
sult: some 50,000 were produced this year, mainly because of
continuing to rise as Gierek planned, began to falter. Unable to
bad management and a shortage of parts. Says Marshall Gold-
lay off any workers-a taboo under the full-employment doc-
man, an economist who is associate director of Harvard's Rus-
trine of Communism-Gierek had to borrow more and more
sian Research Center: "It was like a heart transplant in which
money from the West to keep going. Poland's foreign debt rose
the system rejects the foreign body. The factories simply were
from $4.8 billion in 1974 to $25.5 billion in 1981. Servicing and
not working."
repayment of the loans, which are owed to 15 Western govern-
Meanwhile, to keep people happy, Gierek was allowing
ments and 501 Western banks, now consume all of Poland's
wages to rise 40% from 1970 to 1975, compared with an increase
hard currency export earnings, estimated at $6.5 billion for 1981
of only 17% over the previous decade. To give Poles enough
(see ECONOMY & BUSINESS).
meat, Gierek quadrupled imports of grain and fodder; the per
When Poland was forced to reduce its borrowing, the coun-
capita consumption of meat jumped from 132 lbs. per year in
try began to suffer from a lack of spare parts for the spanking
1970 to 154 lbs. in 1980.
new equipment already in place. Round and round the vicious
The state's pricing system, designed to hold down food costs
circle spun. The nation's factories operated in 1981 at only 60%
to consumers, was a blueprint for bankruptcy. The state was
of capacity. To make matters worse, poor harvests from 1974 to
paying farmers 10 zlotys for a liter of milk that it sold in stores
1980 ravaged the country's agriculture, which Gierek had fool-
for 4 zlotys. Live hogs were bought from farmers at 130 zlotys
ishly ignored in favor of industrial development, despite the fact
per kilogram and sold as butchered pork at 70 zlotys per kilo-
that agriculture accounts for 20% of Poland's domestic gross na-
gram. Farmers bought bread and fed it to their livestock because
tional product. Moreover, a disproportionate amount of supplies
it was cheaper than the wheat it was made from. Price subsidies
and equipment went to the inefficient state farms, while the far
began absorbing a staggering one-third of the national budget.
more productive private farmers, who own 75% of Poland's ara-
The whole absurd structure was bound to collapse, and it
ble lands, were shortchanged.
did. When the OPEC nations raised the price of oil in 1973-74
Fearing a national outcry, Gierek was reluctant to ease the
and caused a worldwide recession, Poland's exports, instead of
strain on the budget by raising prices. He was right. When he
18
TIME, JANUARY 4. 198
RUDIFREY
Coal miner In Katowice
A winter of hardship: Gdansk residents queue for food in a snowstorm; a bleak counter in a Warsaw store as the holiday season approaches
MARC RIBOUD
Images of a wayward economy: A private farmer relles on horsepower; shoppers at a flea market examine clothing and other hard-to-find goods
finally increased prices in 1976, there were major riots in Ra-
in June 1979. From the moment that the Pope knelt in Warsaw's
dom and at the Ursus tractor factory. The brutal repression of
airport to kiss the ground, he was cheered wildly by millions of
these riots led to the formation of the Committee for Social Self-
Poles. John Paul never criticized the Communist regime directly,
Defense (KOR), a precursor of Solidarity. The organization was
nor did he have to: his meaning was plain enough. "The exclu-
the first significant link between the dissident intellectuals like
sion of Christ from the history of man is an act against man," he
Jacek Kuron and the workers who later founded Solidarity. In-
told an enormous outdoor congregation in Warsaw. With that
spired by KOR activists, small independent-and illegal-labor
hardly veiled allusion to Communism, a deafening roar of ap-
unions cautiously began to form in various parts of the country.
proval filled the great city square. Says a Polish bishop of that
Lech Walesa joined such a unit and was arrested and briefly
day: "The Polish people broke the barrier of fear. They were
jailed scores of times.
hurling a challenge at their Marxist rulers."
Catholic intellectuals also began to work with the move-
ment. In Cracow, meanwhile, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla emerged
he spark that ignited Solidarity's revolution was a gov-
as a strong advocate of human rights and promoted an indepen-
T
ernment decree that raised meat prices in July 1980. As
dent intellectual life. In 1974 Communist Party Ideologue An-
they had done many times before, Polish workers reacted
drzej Werblan called the Cardinal "the only real ideological
with angry protests. But this time something was differ-
threat in Poland." The astuteness of Werblan's judgment be-
ent. This time the workers occupied the factories. Still, the move-
came dramatically apparent four years later when Wojtyla be-
ment had no focus. In Gdansk's Lenin shipyard, protest seemed
came John Paul II. The naming of the first Polish Pope caused
to be on the verge of dying out when a stocky man with a shock
an explosion of national pride in Poland. As had occurred so of-
of reddish-brown hair and a handle-bar mustache clambered
ten in the past, a religious act had become a patriotic cause for
over the iron-bar fence and joined the strikers inside. They all
the Poles.
knew Lech Walesa. He was an unemployed electrician, fired
If any one event created the psychological climate in which
eight months earlier for trying to organize an independent trade
Solidarity emerged, it was the visit of John Paul to his homeland
union.
TIME. JANUARY 4. 1982
19
Man of the Year
BULKA
The man who ordered martial law: Jaruzelski
Polish soldiers on parade in Warsaw; Soviet naval vessels anchored at the Soviet-Polish base in Swinoujscie near the East German border
Walesa took charge and became the head of an interfactory
resentatives stood side by side and sang the Polish national an-
strike committee that eventually became the bargaining repre-
them, Walesa signed what became known as the Gdansk
sentative for most of the 500,000 strikers. from the Baltic to the
agreement with a giant souvenir pen bearing the likeness of John
coal-mining heartland of Silesia, who had joined the revolt. Led
Paul II.
by Walesa, the committee launched a bold set of political de-
As workers rushed to join up at hastily improvised union lo-
mands, including the right to strike and form free unions, that
cals across the country, Walesa and the other ex-strike leaders
were unheard of in Communist countries and that authorities at
quickly found themselves at the head of a labor federation that
first refused even to discuss.
soon grew to 10 million members-fully a quarter of the Polish
Meanwhile, the Lenin shipyard was becoming the emotional
population. Organizing and controlling the loosely knit federa-
center of an extraordinary national movement. Festooned with
tion, which was divided into 38 semiautonomous regional chap-
flowers, white-and-red Polish flags and portraits of Pope John
ters, soon became a major challenge for Walesa and the national
Paul II, the plant's iron gates came to symbolize that heady mix-
commission that he headed in Gdansk. The job was complicated
ture of hope, faith and patriotism that sustained the workers
by an almost insatiable drive for democracy among a rank and
through their vigil. As the world watched and wondered if Soviet
file that had no experience with the democratic process. Most of
tanks would put an end to it all, Walesa and his fellow strikers
the Solidarity activists were young. They were both angry and ex-
stood their ground. Like soldiers before battle, they confessed to
uberant: bitter over the party's moral and material bankruptcy,
priests and received Communion in the open shipyard. To re-
giddy with the sense of new-found power. Their impatience for
duce the risk of violence, Walesa called for a ban on alcohol and
change fed radical tendencies opposed to Walesa's moderation.
insisted on strict discipline. Through it all. his plucky courage
And those currents would grow stronger as the months went by
and infectious good humor helped keep up the workers' spirits.
with no improvement in the country's economic situation.
Walesa also proved adept at hard bargaining once the
Even more important than the organizational problems for
Gierek government, afraid that the rebellion would spread,
Walesa and Solidarity was the question of defining policy and
finally agreed to negotiate. Meeting face to face across a wooden
strategy. In the beginning, Walesa insisted that Solidarity should
table in the shipyard's conference hall in August of 1980, Walesa
be a pure and simple labor movement. not a political opposition.
and his fellow strikers consistently outmaneuvered the govern-
On the day he showed up at a Gdansk apartment building to
ment team. Every evening, Walesa would climb the flower-cov-
open Solidarity's first makeshift headquarters, a wooden crucifix
ered main gate to give news of the talks to the crowd outside. His
under his arm and a bouquet of flowers in his right hand, Walesa
appearance was greeted by cheers and rousing choruses of Sto
told a crowd of reporters, "I am not interested in politics. I am a
Lat (May He Live a Hundred Years). He responded with his ac-
union man. My job now is to organize the union."
tor's instincts. regaling his audience with jokes and raising his
Matters would never again be quite that simple for him. al-
clenched fist in salute. Bantering with foreign journalists. he an-
though he began by winning an extraordinary concession from
nounced, "I am the leader. I am No. 1."
the government on a strictly labor matter: a five-day work week.
granted on Jan. 31 after decades of six-day work weeks in Po-
irmness and patience paid off: the government team final-
land. But that only aggravated the economic crisis by further re-
F
ly gave in on almost all of the workers' demands. In addi-
ducing production-especially in the coal-mining industry.
tion to the right to strike and form unions. the Warsaw re-
whose output fell by nearly 10% in 1981. In addition, the coun-
gime granted concessions extraordinary in a Communist
try was soon swept by a spate of wildcat strikes over local issues.
country. including reduced censorship and access to the state
In some cases. Solidarity chapters were taking on the Commu-
broadcasting networks for the unions and the church. At a na-
nist Party bureaucracy by demanding the ouster of corrupt local
tionally televised ceremony. where strikers and government rep-
officials or the conversion of party buildings to public hospitals.
20
TIME. JANUARY 4. 198:
Man of the Year
Worshipers waiting to see Black Madonna
Troops stop motorists in Warsaw to check their credentials; the army is in place on crackdown day, bottom right
For the first time, rank-and-file militants threatened to spin out
verge of total collapse. What was more, Solidarity's surge had
of Walesa's control. "We must concentrate on basic issues," Wa-
started another surprising movement in Poland: a grass-roots
lesa pleaded as the protests spread. "There's a fire in the
crusade for reform that sought to democratize the party from
country."
within. Adopting the workers' slogan of ODNOWA (renewal),
Putting out those fires kept Walesa busy through much of the
party reformers tried to make the leadership more responsive to
year. Since he hates to fly, he crisscrossed Poland in a union-
the rank and file. Party Boss Stanislaw Kania, a pragmatic poli-
owned white Polski-Fiat 125 P driven by his personal chauffeur
tician who had replaced Gierek in September 1980, shrewdly
and assistant, Mieczyslaw Wachowski. Walesa was at his best
adopted the cause of renewal in the hope of controlling it from
plunging into a midnight meeting of angry workers and then
the top and limiting its scope. At the same time, he cooperated
persuading them, by force of rhetoric, shouting or cajolery, to
with Solidarity to avoid a possibly disastrous confrontation.
end a strike. He made the 340-mile round trip between Gdansk
All the while, the Kremlin watched with rising anxiety. Soli-
and Warsaw countless times, tires screeching as Wachowski
darity's very existence was incompatible with the Communist
dodged plodding farm wagons. During those drives Walesa
Party's monopoly of power. But perhaps even more important,
would spend his time catching up on his sleep, or tuning in to
the drive for democracy within the Polish party challenged the
rock played by Radio Free Europe. Lately, he had been listening
Leninist doctrine of centralized party discipline. Poland's fester-
to English lessons on his tape recorder in preparation for a trip
ing economic crisis also put a drain on the whole Soviet bloc,
that he had planned to make to the U.S.
whose member nations' economies were interlocked within the
COMECON trade organization. And in Moscow's worst-case sce-
ut for all Walesa's skill as a moderator, Solidarity was in-
nario, the "Polish disease" might infect other East bloc countries
B
creasingly forced into the path of contentious political
and the Ukraine, posing a threat to the future of the Soviet
activism by the regime's failure to deal with its funda-
empire.
mental problem: the economy. The authorities could not
"Emotionally, the Soviet leaders must have wanted to inter-
act effectively because the party and government had fallen into
vene dozens of times in the past year," says a Western diplomat
a state of near terminal paralysis. Decades of blatant propagan-
in Moscow. But the Soviets also realized the diplomatic and eco-
da and economic failures had long since discredited the rulers in
nomic consequences would be costly: they would risk armed re--
the eyes of the public. If the government had actually produced a
sistance by the proud Poles, exacerbate relations with the U.S.
golden egg, gibed Dissident Kuron, "people would say that it was
and Europe, affront the Third World nations they were so ar-
not golden; second, that it was not an egg; and third, that the gov-
dently wooing, and take on responsibility for the Polish
ernment had stolen it."
economy.
Some 900,000 Poles quit the Communist party after August
The Kremlin kept constant pressure on the Poles with sallies
1980, reducing its strength to a mere 2.5 million, only 7% of the
of vituperative propaganda, sword-rattling threats and hints that
population. The resignations increased in October when the
a reduction of Soviet economic aid might put some backbone
Central Committee urged party members, about 1 million of
into Warsaw's faint-hearted leadership. Kania was summoned
whom belonged to Solidarity, to quit the union. In a strikingly
to Moscow and lectured at least three times. He and his fellow
candid statement, Central Committee Member Marian Arendt
centrists were forced to perform a precarious high-wire act: on
recently told a Polish weekly: "Mostly it is workers who are
the one hand, they sought to accommodate demands for liberal-
leaving [the party]. Once I was so naive as to think that a few
izations coming from Solidarity and from their own rank and
evil men were responsible for the errors of the party. Now I no
file; on the other, they had to protect themselves against Warsaw
longer have such illusions. There is something wrong in our
party hard-liners and convince the Soviets that they were still in
whole apparatus, in our entire structure." The party was on the
control.
22
TIME, JANUARY 4. 1982
Man of the Year
In June the Soviet Central Committee sent Warsaw a letter,
on the Lenin shipyard strike, and Andrzej Wajda's Man of Iron,
as ominous as a drum roll. that criticized by name the Polish
a fictionalized version of the Gdansk events (in which Walesa
Communists for tolerating counterrevolution: "We are disturbed
played a walk-on part), cleared the censors and played to packed
by the fact that the offensive by antisocialist enemy forces in Po-
houses in Poland.
land threatens the interests of our entire commonwealth and the
A liberal new passport law led to an unprecedented freedom
security of its borders-yes. our common security." In early July,
of movement. Lech Walesa, the Communist regime's most
a chill settled over Warsaw: Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei
prominent critic, traveled almost as freely as a Western jet-set-
Gromyko dourly descended upon the Polish capital with yet an-
ter. In January he made an emotional trip to Rome to see Pope
other admonition against any liberalizing tendency within the
John Paul II. Falling to his knees, Walesa kissed the papal ring
party.
and then briefly resisted the Pope's efforts to pull him to his feet.
Moscow's sobering warnings helped Kania curb his radicals
The union leader then had a rare private meeting with the Pope,
and marshal a safe, moderate centrist majority at a crucial party
which lasted for half an hour. Later, in his public remarks, John
congress in July. The party reformers were still strong enough to
Paul II warmly supported Solidarity. "I wish to assure you," he
purge most of the old Central Committee, and only five top party
told Walesa, "that during your difficulties I have been with you
officials, including Kania and Jaruzelski, were re-elected. But
in a special way, above all through prayer." He declared that the
control stayed in the hands of Kania's centrists, who, under pres-
right to form free associations was "one of the fundamental hu-
sure from Solidarity, had allowed an amount of freedom in Po-
man rights." But the Polish Pope also cautioned Walesa to follow
land that would have been unthinkable just twelve months
a moderate course.
before.
Thousands of less illustrious Polish travelers also crossed the
Indeed, perhaps the greatest
borders unimpeded, although
accomplishment of Solidarity
many failed to return: some
and Walesa was that they made
33,000 Poles fled to Austria and
it possible for Poles once again
became official refugees during
to speak their minds. In Solidar-
the year, a dramatic reflection of
ity bulletins and hundreds of
Poland's economic and political
newly established independent
uncertainties.
newspapers. articles regularly
appeared that would shock the
ne of the most striking
most tolerant censor in any oth-
O
cultural changes was
er East bloc country. Solidarity's
the frank treatment of
national weekly Solidarnosc, for
the Polish past. Solidar-
example, last month ran a blis-
ity persuaded the regime to
tering two-part exposé on the
throw out thousands of school-
privileges of top Communist of-
books that twisted and falsified
ficials. In student clubs, journal-
Polish history. The memory of
ists' groups and literary unions,
Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, Po-
there were open discussions of
land's popular anti-Soviet mili-
topics that had been forbidden
tary leader between the world
in the universities, such as Po-
wars, was rehabilitated and rec-
land's history between the world
Warsaw residents looking over a meager supply of Christmas trees
ognized even by the Warsaw
wars.
New
publications
government. Near the Lenin
bloomed like wild flowers. Edited by Catholic Intellectual Ta-
shipyard, three 138-ft. towers, crested by symbolically crucified
deusz Mazowiecki, the weekly Solidarnosc quickly reached a na-
anchors, were erected to commemorate the strikers killed by
tionwide circulation of 500,000, easily outdistancing the once-
government troops in 1970. Said a Polish historian: "The Poles
prestigious party weekly Polityka (circ. 350,000).
have gone on a memorial binge."
The Gdansk accords had promised Solidarity access to the
Freedom was being won. But the battle for bread was not,
state broadcasting networks, but it never was given regular tele-
and if this failed, all else would fail as well. Solidarity therefore
vision time. Solidarity protested so vehemently that top TV offi-
resolved to overhaul the country's crumbling economic system
cials at times literally barricaded themselves in their studios at
and to share with the government in running it. "We wanted to
night for fear that bands of workers might burst in and take over
make the authorities accountable to society," explained Bronis-
the station. Solidarity never went that far, but it did bar govern-
law Geremek, Walesa's chief theoretician. As a start, the union
ment camera crews from attending the Gdansk congress in Sep-
decided to attack the corrupt and inefficient nomenklatura sys-
tember and October 1981, thereby forcing Poland's state televi-
tem, under which the government chose plant managers not for
sion network to run British Broadcasting Corporation footage on
their skills but for their loyalty to the party. The union's strata-
their own news shows.
gem: force the government to approve a system of self-manage-
ment for the factories that would allow workers' councils to
he church too gained from the new liberalizations. Just
choose their own managers. Even Walesa was skeptical about
T
three weeks after the Gdansk accords were signed, the
the efficiency of such a system if it were put into effect. Said he:
voice of Bishop Jerzy Modzelewski, who was preaching
"I know we will fail. It's a bad solution. But I don't have a differ-
from the pulpit of Warsaw's Church of the Holy Cross,
ent solution, so I must accept it. Self-management is better than
echoed across the country. It was another first: the beginning of
what we had before."
regular Sunday radio broadcasts of the Mass, something the
On that issue, as well as on a number of other points, Walesa
church had been seeking in vain for decades. Other concessions
was coming under heavy pressure from the radicals in Solidari-
followed. Priests and nuns, for example, were allowed to do pas-
ty. During the first Solidarity congress in September, the dele-
toral work in hospitals and other state institutions.
gates passed a truculent resolution demanding a referendum to
Previously banned authors were published again, including
let the people choose between the union's program for self-man-
Nobel-prizewinning Poet Czeslaw Milosz, a prominent defector
agement and a government-proposed plan that would have left
of the '50s who returned to Poland for a triumphant visit last
all effective economic control in the hands of the state. If the
June. Adam Mickiewicz's Dziady, a 19th century play with anti-
government enacted its own bill, Solidarity threatened to boy-
Russian overtones, was shown on television. State employed ac-
cott the law and "carry out the reforms in our own way." Anoth-
tors elected a new director of the national Polish theater,
er militant resolution called for free elections to the parliament.
Kazimierz Dejmek, who had been ousted from the troupe during
But by far the boldest act was a declaration, which took Walesa
the 1968 purges. Political films like Workers 80, a documentary
by surprise, encouraging the workers of Eastern Europe and the
TIME. JANUARY 4. 1982
23
Man of the Year
Soviet Union to "struggle for free and independent unions."
reers." Andrzej Gwiazda, a radical who challenged Walesa for
Moscow called the act "openly provocative and impudent," as
the leadership post. contemptuously called him a "dictatorial.
100,000 Soviet troops staged maneuvers on the Polish border.
vain fool" and a "blockhead with a mustache."
Walesa. who had taken no part in shaping the offending res-
Walesa's populist style and personality, as appealing as they
olutions. concentrated on defusing the self-management issue
were to the public, irked many of his fellow union leaders. Miec-
before the second half of the congress met at the end of Septem-
zyslaw Lach, a regional union leader, charged that "Walesa
ber. On the eve of that session, he and three other members of
takes too many decisions himself. We often need quick, clear de-
Solidarity's twelve-man presidium accepted a compromise ver-
cision, but he has gone too far."
sion of the government's self-management bill. It would give
Walesa tried to show that he understood the forces that
workers' councils the right to choose managers at most enter-
drove his Solidarity critics, both at the local and national levels.
prises; the state could veto nominees it found objectionable. Par-
Said he: "You have to remember that in the factories people are
liament passed the plan into law the day before the union dele-
not normally interested in politics. They are just normal, gray
gates returned to Gdansk. A dangerous union-government
people, and they say, 'Look, it was pretty bad before August
showdown was thereby averted.
[1980], but at least we had our bread, we had some sort of living
It was a deft move, but it cost Walesa some of his popularity.
conditions, and life was possible then. Now, after you [Solidari-
When the Gdansk congress reconvened, Walesa's high-handed
ty] took over, it is worse.' So activists at the local level are under
style became the central issue. Attacked in speech after speech
pressure. Some people want solutions fast. This is the only thing
for compromising with the government without consulting the
we differ in. I want to be more careful: I don't want to see the re-
rank and file, Walesa had to fight three radical candidates to
newal collapse. But those guys want to make a blitzkrieg."
keep his job. He was elected, but his 55.2% of the vote showed
In the end, of course, a different blitzkrieg came, launched by
that his hold over the movement had slipped markedly since his
the distant, enigmatic figure who was trained to attack. On
Lenin shipyard triumph.
Feb. 9 General Jaruzelski had been made Premier by the gov-
Walesa was so angry that he scarcely showed up on the con-
ernment and had begun to spar with Walesa's union. But on Oct.
vention floor after the vote, preferring to watch the proceedings
18 the Communist Party's Central Committee accepted the res-
on a TV monitor in a well-guarded room near by. Nor did he
ignation of the ineffectual Kania and elevated General Jaru-
even bother to read the session's final resolutions, which called
zelski to the party leadership, the real source of power in the
for sweeping political, social and economic reforms. He charged
country. Jaruzelski was thus the head of the party, the govern-
that some of his radical opponents wanted "to destroy the Sejm
ment and the army. The very fact that the Soviets allowed the
[parliament] and government, take their place, and become
Poles to violate the Communist dogma that party civilians must
more totalitarian than they are."
always control the military was a sign of their dismay over the
Polish party's disarray, and of their faith in the Soviet-schooled
n turn, many of Walesa's critics felt that he had been too
general.
moderate toward an intransigent regime. "He has an enor-
Jaruzelski was a man whom Moscow could trust. He had
**
mous tendency to give in, to agree with the government,"
been trained by the Soviets and fought in the Red Army during
complained Economist Stefan Kurowski, the principal au-
World War II. In contrast to the corrupt leaders of the Gierek
thor of Solidarity's economic program. "He is not intelligent
regime, he had a clean personal record and a spartan life-style.
enough. He is prone to listen to advisers who want to make ca-
Although he had spent ten years on the Polish Politburo, he
martial law, the entire stock of one
The Struggle to Survive
butcher consisted of half a dozen large
salami sausages, which housewives ea-
As the year dragged on, one of the main
gerly bought in slices. The hooks that in
causes of Poland's resentment of the gov-
better times had held dangling sides of
ernment was the ceaseless, wearying, frus-
beef and pork were being used by one
trating day-to-day struggle to find enough
Warsaw butcher with a green thumb as
food, clothing and staples. A report, drawn
supports for a philodendron that was
from a number of TIME correspondents,
growing across the ceiling.
on what the Poles have faced:
Soap was in such short supply that a
doctor complained in a weekly newspa-
T
he lines would begin to form at dawn.
per that physicians were unable to wash
As winter drew on, the people would
their hands properly. New mothers were
bundle up in layers of thick clothing and
discharged from hospitals after only a
stand silently huddled together, shifting-
day for fear that their babies might con-
from one foot to the other to try to keep
tract an infection if they stayed longer.
warm. Outside of food stores the queues
Anxious faces on a crowded trolley
Indeed, because of the poor diet, the lack
would often stretch for 50 yards or more.
of medicines and even rudimentary hy-
The ordeal was particularly hard on el-
with zlotys to spare began hiring pen-
gienic supplies, the population was suf-
derly couples and on young mothers who
sioners who had time on their own to
fering from an epidemic of viruses.
had to find someone to care for their in-
stand in the hated queues that curled
As the value of currency plummeted,
fants at home.
through the gray streets of Poland. Some
Poles bought almost anything they could
To ease the strain, apartment com-
parents even "rented" their young or dis-
find. The reason was simple enough. One
plexes formed associations whose mem-
abled children to shoppers who used
man's expendable Chinese rug might
bers took turns standing in lines for the
them as an excuse to jump the lines.
turn out to be another man's treasure.
group. Some stores honored what was
But even after waiting for hours,
The result: a primitive system of barter.
called the "night list": shoppers reserv-
Poles might enter a store and find it
A cab driver with a can of oil could trade
ing a place in the next morning's queue
cleaned out. Meat was in particularly
with a café manager for a pound of cof-
by signing a piece of paper attached to
short supply, especially the pork that
fee. A pair of leather boots would get a
the door. Still, to be on the safe side,
Poles consider to be a staple of their diet.
sack of potatoes, and a bottle of vodka
many Poles showed up at 5 a.m. Families
In Warsaw, just before the imposition of
was pure gold. A Warsaw schoolteacher
24
TIME. JANUARY 4. 1982
stayed aloof from the political and ideological infighting within
more than 30 million Polish Catholics. For two hours and 20
the party. As Defense Minister. moreover, he controlled the re-
minutes. Jaruzelski. Walesa and Archbishop Jozef Glemp, the
gime's only disciplined and organized institution: Poland's
Polish Primate, discussed the state of their troubled nation. Wa-
210,000-man army, which still had the respect of the people.
lesa came away with Jaruzelski's offer to open negotiations with
In contrast to Walesa. the balding. stern-faced general pro-
Solidarity on a wide range of social issues. The three leaders also
jected no charisma. His image of cold detachment was height-
discussed the general's plan to involve the union and the church
ened by the dark glasses he normally wore because of a chronic
in the government's recovery effort. Glemp pronounced himself
eye inflammation. But the people respected him because of his
"a little more optimistic" after the meeting.
well-known refusals in the past to use the military against strik-
Before Walesa went to the summit meeting, Solidarity's rul-
ers, and his celebrated declaration, "Polish soldiers will not fire
ing body had chastised him for presuming to represent 10 mil-
on Polish workers." On hearing of Jaruzelski's appointment as
lion workers on his own. "We want democracy, not a dictator-
Premier, ex-Army Draftee Lech Walesa commented: "Jaru-
ship!" one angry union official had shouted. "All right, let's vote
zelski is a military man, and Poland loves its soldiers."
that we don't want talks with the Primate and the Premier!"
One of Jaruzelski's first acts after assuming power was to
yelled Walesa, tears of frustration running down his cheeks.
call out the army. Using a sure touch that foreshadowed what
"But then you go out and explain your vote to the nation." Now
was to come, he sent some 3,500 officers and enlisted men to
that the Warsaw meeting was over, Solidarity grudgingly en-
2,000 towns and villages scattered across the country during the
dorsed the tripartite dialogue. It threatened, however, to call a
last week of October. Their ostensible mission: to help clear up
general strike if the negotiations brought its members no satis-
food distribution bottlenecks and tackle other economic prob-
faction within three months. The commission also refused to en-
lems. But the officers were also filling their notebooks with in-
dorse Walesa's call for an end to wildcat strikes around the
formation on the corruption and negligence of local party offi-
country.
cials and, presumably, on the activities of Solidarity. The
Though Walesa and Jaruzelski continued to talk of entente
operation was generally popular with the people, who welcomed
and national unity after their meeting, the idea was not gelling.
the soldiers as harbingers of efficiency and order. In retrospect,
As always, the union was suspicious of government motives, and
the deployment seems to have been a rehearsal for the military
with good reason. The government wanted Solidarity to support
crackdown.
an economic plan to raise prices, but it had never given the
union any concrete guarantees that its rights would be respect-
efore he resorted to that extremity, however, Jaruzelski
ed. The authorities seemed to be stalling in hopes that the eco-
appealed for national unity. He asked Solidarity and the
nomic crisis would wear down Solidarity's popular support and
church to join with the party in a "front of national ac-
split the union. In fact, the regime had never fully carried out
cord" that would cooperate on economic recovery. The
any of its major promised reforms. Now the authorities were
overture raised hopes that Poles might at last find a way out of
even talking about curbing the right to strike, which had been at
the impasse by forging the vital element that had been missing
the heart of the hard-won Gdansk accord. The obdurate posi-
from their body politic for more than three decades: a true social
tion of the government, which made any concessions seem in-
compact.
creasingly unlikely, goaded the radicals in Solidarity to press
On Nov. 4 a potentially historic meeting took place at the
even harder for reforms and made the final confrontation
government's Parkowa guesthouse in Warsaw. There the be-
inevitable.
medaled boss of Poland's Communist Party received the head of
As the split between the union and the government grew
a to million-member labor union and the spiritual leader of
wider, the church was wary of getting too closely involved in try-
marveled when one enterprising boy in
cost, one place to go was Warsaw's bus-
her class announced that he was willing
tling outdoor market in the Praga dis-
to trade girl's boots that his family had
trict, across the Vistula River from the
snatched up in the frantic buying binge
historic Old Town. As the political crisis
for a pair he could wear. He closed the
developed, eggs sold for the equivalent of
deal in minutes.
50c each in zlotys in the Praga market.
In the scramble for dwindling food
One brawny peasant woman pulled a
supplies, more and more urban dwellers
live chicken from a sack, killed and
traveled into the country to deal directly
plucked it on the spot and sold it for $15
with farmers. Although such exchanges
in zlotys. When a photographer ap-
were illegal, they traded scarce items like
proached an elderly woman selling two
cigarettes for eggs and other staples. The
packets of butter, however, she hid her
workers at a mine, for example, might
face in her hands with embarrassment.
decide to deal in bulk, exchanging a ton
She was dealing with her monthly ration.
of coal for two tons of potatoes. And a
A striking blond woman with three pairs
group of friends willing to pay $8 in zlotys
of Western-made blue jeans hung over
per kilo of pork would split the cost of an
Polish militia check a driver's papers
her arm also turned away, saying: "I am
entire pig.
ashamed to be here."
Fearing the worst, many Poles were
an was peddling in Warsaw, she curtly
Many Poles had no choice. When a
hoarding just about anything they could
replied: "I will only sell for hard curren-
young man was asked why he was ped-
get their hands on. Some cupboards were
cy. My daughter is getting married and I
dling a rug rolled under his arm, he
jammed with food, and bathroom
have to buy vodka. Ten cents an egg."
pointed to a crack in the sole of his shoe.
shelves were piled high with toilet paper,
Few Poles had any dimes to spare, espe-
A young father standing in the snow with
as if the nation was preparing for a long
cially when the price, converted into zlo-
a cardboard carton containing two live
siege.
tys at black market rates, proved to be
rabbits explained that he needed to buy
Poland turned into such a seller's
five times what people used to pay in
baby food for his infant son. Said a wom-
market that many private entrepreneurs
stores. The enraged customer put his
an office worker: "It has always been
accepted only dollars that could be used
foot down, literally, stomping the old
necessary to know how to get around the
on the black market at 17 times the offi-
woman's basket of eggs to the cheers of
system, but today it is essential. I don't
cial rate (33 zlotys for $1). When a man
bystanders.
know how people survive by following
asked the price of eggs that an old wom-
For Poles ready to make a deal at any
the rules."
25
TIME. JANUARY 4. 1982
Man of the Year
ing to work out a political agreement. The Pope. says a bishop in
lems of governing Poland and building its economy. The Poles'
the Vatican. felt that it was "the duty of the church to pro-
suspicion of the government prevented them. and Solidarity,
claim the rights of man. including the right to form trade unions.
from cooperating with Warsaw to aid the economy. That mis-
but the organizational work should be done by laymen." Walesa
trust will run even deeper now that the officer who had promised
shared the Pope's beliefs and his concerns. He told TIME: "We
never to shed Polish blood has done so. Moreover, the workers
cannot put the church at risk, because we do not know how this
could totally sabotage the economy. As Walesa put it in a discus-
will end. We may be wrong. but the church has to be right."
sion with TIME editors last October, "We can be defeated, but we
As the unity talks dawdled, an astonishing event occurred
will not be compelled to work. Because if people want us to build
that showed how much the Communist Party itself had disinte-
tanks, we will build streetcars. And trucks will go backward if we
grated during the turmoil set in motion by Solidarity. Trying to
build them that way. We know how to beat the system. We are
put more pressure on the union, Jaruzelski asked the parliament
pupils of that system."
to approve a bill banning strikes during declared emergencies. In
Nor can Jaruzelski expect much help from the Western
Communist countries, anything the regime wants, the parlia-
banks and governments. Indeed, the banks are resisting Poland's
ment automatically approves; the party controls all governmen-
attempt to rewrite its present loans, and President Reagan has
tal institutions. But Jaruzelski was told in early December that
ordered a series of economic reprisals against the country. The
the parliament would not pass the antistrike bill, stark proof of
Administration is also urging its European allies to consider in-
the collapse of party discipline.
voking trade sanctions against the Jaruzelski
With the party disintegrating, the Sovi-
regime. To help stave off disaster, Poland has
ets pressing him to take stern action and the
applied for membership in the International
economy in ruins, Jaruzelski turned to the
Monetary Fund. But the IMF will undoubted-
one institution he still trusted: the army. Qui-
ly demand economic reforms painful for a
etly, he began to complete plans for impos-
Communist regime. Among them: decentral-
ing martial law while gradually taking the
ized planning and a price rise that would
offensive against Solidarity. With army units
lower the standard of living. In any event, the
held in reserve, he used riot police to break
presence of martial law will indefinitely de-
up an eight-day sit-in at Warsaw's Fire
lay IMF action on Warsaw's application. So
Fighters Academy by students who were de-
Poland may have to turn even more to the
manding academic reforms. Next, the gov-
Soviet Union and the other East bloc coun-
ernment went on radio with illegally ob-
tries and thus automatically be pulled back
tained tapes of Walesa warning, at a
into the morass of Communist control.
hot-tempered Solidarity meeting, that "the
As long as Solidarity existed, Jaruzelski
confrontation is unavoidable and will take
had some chance of enlisting its help to sell a
place." The union leader did not deny the
skeptical nation on the need for belt tighten-
quotes; he only said that they had been dis-
ing. But the general has now cut his main
torted by being taken out of context. The
link to the people. The church, moreover,
tone of the government's attacks reached a
has accused the government of turning the
new pitch. For the first time Walesa himself
country into a "nation terrorized by force."
was singled out for criticism: the army news-
Having silenced all dialogue, Jaruzelski may
paper called him "a great liar and provoca-
be condemned to continue his rule by force.
teur" leading a group of "madmen" striving
thereby giving the world yet another glaring
for "anarchy and chaos."
example of Communist government by re-
Then on Dec. 12 Solidarity radicals gave
pression. And should he fail to restore order,
Jaruzelski the excuse to do what he probably
the Soviets are still poised to come in and
had been planning all along. From the start,
finish the job for him. If it comes to that, a
the government and the Kremlin had made
chapter of Polish history that began in hope
it clear that they could not tolerate a chal-
will truly have ended in catastrophe.
lenge to the existence of Poland as a Commu-
"There are few virtues that the Poles do
nist state, or any loosening of ties with the So-
Gdansk Memorial to victims of 1970 riots
not possess," Winston Churchill once re-
viet Union. That is precisely what the
A nation that does not forget.
marked, "and there are few mistakes they
radicals voted to do at their last meeting in
have ever avoided." To an extraordinary de-
Gdansk. While Walesa looked on in frustrated silence, they
gree, Lech Walesa embodies the Polish virtues of courage, faith.
called for a national referendum on the future of the Communist
patriotism, spontaneity. But neither he, nor his lieutenants, nor
government and a re-examination of Poland's military alliance
the men who ruled the country were able to avoid the errors that
with the Soviet Union.
finally led to tragedy. They were unable to reach a compromise
to save the "renewal" that they all claimed to have wanted.
hat was the perfect pretext for the government to impose
Perhaps the root of that failure lay in the fundamental in-
martial law. Near the end of the session, when communi-
compatibility of Marxism-Leninism with freedom. A Leninist
cations with the outside world had already been cut, Wa-
party must assume that it is infallible; it can brook no opposi-
lesa stood up. raised both arms in a gesture of despair,
tion. That system, as imposed on Poland by the Soviet Union,
and angrily told his fellow leaders: "Now you've got what you've
almost seemed capable of making significant changes during the
been looking for."
past 16 months. But the survival instincts of the party and the
The end had begun. Within hours, most of the union leaders
geopolitical realities facing Poland doomed Walesa's mission.
had been arrested, Walesa had been flown to Warsaw, and army
Lech Walesa had the overwhelming majority of the Polish
vehicles were clanking across the country. By the time Jaruzelski
people behind him, and to them he conveyed a compelling mes-
appeared on television, Solidarity's tumultuous revolution had
sage of hope. The Poles will not forget-they never have. During
been gagged and shackled. No one could know if Warsaw's lead-
Poland's 16-month awakening, the priests and parishioners of a
ers would honor their pledge to restore the people's freedoms
church in central Warsaw used to sing together joyfully: "O
once "order" returned. But one thing was certain: the flame that
Lord, please bless our free fatherland." On the first Sunday after
was lighted in August 1980 had brightened all Poland, and Poles
martial law was declared, the words of that hymn were changed
do not give up easily. In the words that emblazon the tomb of the
back to those traditionally sung when the country was under
venerated Marshal Pilsudski: "To be defeated and not to surren-
foreign domination. "O Lord," the congregation sang, "please
der, that's victory."
return us our free fatherland." -By Thomas A. Sancton. Reported by
Jaruzelski's brutal crackdown will only multiply the prob-
Richard Hornik and Gregory H. Wierzynski/Warsaw, with other bureaus
26
TIME. JANUARY 4. 1982
Man of the Year
A Common Touch, a Bit of Vanity, and Growing Anxiety
A
$ the months went by and the con-
play 26 international
that he could watch the
frontation that he feared came clos-
tunes. He would play a
evening news. When he
er, the strain began to tell on Lech Wa-
song named Kalinka and
found that his surprised
lesa. His face turned puffy, he smoked
smile slyly. "You recog-
host was celebrating his
as many as two packages of cigarettes
nize this?" he would ask
saint's day, Walesa
daily (often Dunhills given him by
with a laugh. "Russian."
stayed to drink vodka
newsmen), he developed a chronic,
When Solidarity pub-
with the family.
hacking cough and began to suffer from
lished a Who's Who of
Compared with the
migraine headaches. He was seldom
the leadership, it includ-
majority of Poles, Soli-
alone, seldom out of reach of someone
ed pictures and bio-
darity's leader lived well.
who had a problem to solve. One night
graphical notes of Wale-
His union salary came to
he was awakened by a person whose car
sa's secretary and
about $700 a month,
had broken down. He read (in transla-
bodyguard. Quipped one
Walesa's
Popowo
bir
thplace
three times the Polish av-
tion, if necessary) every letter addressed
Solidarity adviser: In
erage. (To cover Solidari-
to him (sometimes just to "Lech Walesa,
the next edition, he'll include his dog."
ty's $235 million annual budget, each
Poland") and dictated a polite reply, no
Whatever his disclaimers, Walesa
member pays 1% of his salary as dues to
matter how bizarre the issue being
gave numerous outward signs of relish-
the organization.) Before the August
raised.
ing his fame. He once remarked, accu-
1980 strikes, Walesa, his wife and their
Every day, when he was in town,
rately, that no other man, not even the
six children occupied a two-room apart-
Walesa ran a meeting of the twelve-
Pope, had remained the top item in the
ment. But afterward, the government al-
man Solidarity presidium at the union's
news in Poland for so long. Bogdan Bor-
located the family a six-room apartment
national headquarters in Gdansk. The
usewicz, one of the original organizers of
in a drab district of prefabricated high-
five-story building used to be a cheap
the shipyard strike, said this month that
rises outside of Gdansk. The apartment
hotel for itinerant shipyard workers.
he could no longer stand "the pharaoh-
has three bathrooms, a small palm tree
Black plastic numbers were still over
like style of Walesa."
in the living room, fairy tales painted on
the doors. Walesa's two-room suite (No.
Still, he remained through it all a
the walls of the children's rooms and a
63) was furnished with grimy, Scandi-
son of the working class and seemed to
small TV room equipped with a color
navian-style chairs. A large closet had
draw strength from his contacts with or-
set.
been strategically placed to hide the
dinary Poles. He liked nothing better
Danuta Walesa, 32, a handsome,
stained washbasin. On the walls were a
than to show up unannounced at the
forthright woman who was a florist be-
crucifix and a bas-relief of Pope John
home of an average family. Driving
fore she married the electrician in 1969,
Paul II. A shelf held souvenirs from
back to Gdansk from Warsaw one eve-
was uncomfortable with the attention
Walesa's barnstorming visits around the
ning, Walesa suddenly directed his driv-
her husband and family were receiving.
country: three miner's lamps, a steel-
er to stop at the next private home so
Now pregnant with her seventh child,
and-porcelain statue of a steel-
she was spared the ordeal of stand-
worker, two dolls in peasant dress.
ing in queues by Solidarity aides,
Walesa often seemed ill at ease
but she went out enough to hear an
in the hubbub of the headquarters,
occasional envious and nasty re-
protected by two secretaries and
mark about her new status. While
connected to the world by one
shopping for flowers for herself and
gray telephone. Confessed an aide:
a friend, she overheard a waiting
"When he sits in the office, he
customer mutter, "Well, Mrs. Wa-
doesn't know what to do." The ex-
lesa can afford anything." Some
citement and euphoria of the early
people walked by her apartment
days of Solidarity had long since
regularly, she said, "to see how of-
dissipated and been replaced by a
ten we change our curtains."
growing anxiety. Clutching brief-
But what really hurt was the
cases, frowning young union offi-
fact that she saw her husband so
cials brushed past each other in
rarely and that he was invariably
the narrow corridor with its grub-
exhausted when she did see him.
by carpet of faded red. There was
Correspondents joined Walesa at
a thick haze of cigarette smoke
breakfast (hot tea, hot cereal, kiel-
and the constant sound of slam-
basa sandwiches) and interviewed
ming doors. Solidarity's staff ha-
him as he shaved at 7 a.m. Walesa
bitually closed themselves in, part-
tried to reserve Sundays to go to
ly to keep out the cold, partly
the beach or fish in a nearby lake
because of a deep-rooted East
or play soccer with his four sons,
European sense of caution and
who range in age from five to elev-
secretiveness.
en. He tried, but he did not often
As he became famous, Walesa
succeed.
grew vain in minor ways. He de-
I would like him to stop this
lighted in receiving presents from
activity," said Danuta. "I am wor-
admirers: a bottle of champagne or
ried about his health
Her
a fancy new Irish pipe. One acqui-
voice trailed off. "The people ex-
sition he liked to show off was a
pect him to fulfill all their desires.
Japanese digital watch that could With Wife Danuta, who Is expecting their seventh child
That is impossible."
TIME. JANUARY 4. 1982
33
Man of the Year
An Interview with Lech Walesa
"You have to give everything you 've got to your life"
He was exhausted. The pressures on him and the union were
least in the most basic ones: spiritual things and those for the
becoming unbearable; martial law. not yet imposed, was only days
body. I got faith from my parents, and I'm feeding faith, and I try
away. He had been awakened at 4 a.m. by a Solidarity delegation
to multiply in a maximum way what I have got. So instead of just
from the city of Radom, which warned him it was going to call a
making the sign of the cross, I say the Lord's Prayer.
general strike that would affect an important armaments factory.
Walesa was furious to find such a strike was being considered,
Q. But your religion also has political benefits as a way of linking your
and the men had argued for hours. At breakfast, he made peace
mass movement with an even bigger one.
with the delegation, which agreed to put off the strike. "I am abso-
lutely finished and run down," he said later. "I have more prob-
A. Yeah, but not only that. My faith gave me something else. Be-
lems than the hairs on my head. Then, in his last major interview
lievers tell me that I was helped by spiritual powers and disbe-
before the military takeover, Lech Walesa talked to TIME Corre-
lievers tell me that I had other people to lean on. When things
spondent Richard Hornik about his work, his hopes and discour-
got tragic or critical, I would say, "Mother Mary, I'm losing, now
agements, and the forces that drive and sustain him. It was an ex-
what are you going to do about it?" Then I would take some time
traordinarily personal and revealing conversation that went on for
for myself. And I would say, "What will be, will be. O.K., it's
90 minutes. Excerpts:
your thing. How will you solve this?"
I could lean back because right behind
Q. Outwardly you seem to be a religious man. Is
that true?
"I know that I
me I knew there was another leader [the Vir-
gin], and I would rely on that leader, and I
A. Religion is my private affair, and there-
will lose today,
would have a chance to relax for a while
longer and I could think. The question is: Did
fore I don't believe, for example, in hold-
ing Mass at Solidarity meetings. Of course, I
and tomorrow
the Virgin really help me or did I just have
time to relax and pass the baton on to some-
think that the church should do things for
will be
one else? You choose your thing. I don't
the spirit of man. But Solidarity should
know what it was.
see to the body. Solidarity has to do it hon-
estly, justly, and the church has to do
a victory."
Q. You have had no time off for a couple of years.
the same for the spirit. So, many slogans
You've been under great psychological and phys-
coming from the church agree with ours, and
ical pressure
we can use them, but of course all of us
cannot be dressed as priests. Somebody has
A. No, no. I'm not scared. I always have
to be in the factory, somebody must commit
Mother Mary behind me.
sins, and somebody must give money to the courts.
Q. Not scared, under pressure.
Q. And that is your role?
A. No, I'm not under pressure, because I've got my other leader.
A. Sure. Privately I'm a sinning believer. As any other man, I
Secondly. I know there was the Grunwald battle [when the Poles
have my faults and my weaknesses. But I am a believer. and I
and Lithuanians freed their lands in 1410 by defeating the Ger-
practice my religion. And I fall down, and I come up again.
mans]. And I know there was also a 1939, when the Germans
came again. I know that I exist and that people will come after
Q. Have the experiences of the past eleven years had an Impact on
me. I know another thing: I know that I will lose today, and to-
your private religion?
morrow will be a victory. I know that I will succeed today and
fail tomorrow. I know that Christ as man was crucified, but as
A. Of course. I would not make it through this struggle if I were
God, he won.
not a believer. I had more than one very comfortable proposition
[offered to me by the government]. I did not accept them because
Q. I have heard you tell crowds that Poles had something more than
I preferred to struggle for my cause.
Americans, or the French or Italians or Germans-an internal spirituai
Of course, I do go to church quite often. There I gather my
content that is destroyed by material goods. Is there a danger that if
spirits together, and there I think: yeah. there were great men in
you succeed in material terms, you will lose the spiritual content?
Poland once, but today there aren't any. I'm a little guy, though
some people think that I am great. But nobody will tell me I was
A. No, for thousands of years we have always been treated as a
a swine in my day. Nobody will ever spit at my children. There-
game-both as the board and the pawns. In 1939 and before
fore I will persevere. And the church helps me in this. Without it,
that, we only had one pair of shoes, or we didn't even have that,
I would drop on my face and die, because I am very tired. I think
but we had something that we still have, pride, something within
every man needs at least half an hour per week in church to look
us. Today we have cars. and we still have the internal thing. I
at what's back there-ruins and things burned out. Can I make a
have thought about this. Where does it come from? I think that
U-turn? Is there still enough time to retreat? A man needs this
the geographical position helps and the experience from the past
moment of stopping and paying some attention to himself.
centuries. We were always the cheated ones, everybody was
against us, so our instincts are more acute.
Q. But isn't that more like meditation than a spiritual experience?
Think about the past 36 years [since Poland was made Com-
munist]. We were ordered to love somebody else. We were or-
A. No, my philosophy is based on something else. I think that if I
dered to be atheists, and we were taught atheism, and look what
got a bicycle from my father. I should give a car to my son. In
happened. Almost the whole nation is religious. We learned
order to pass the exam of life, you have to give at least what you
good things in a bad school. Look at the American example. You
got from your parents, more or less in every sphere of life. or at
were free to choose whatever you want, and I am not convinced
34
TIME
which of us is happier. There will always be a glow within us. and
me. This is not fun for me. I understand life in different terms. I
it suddenly might catch fire. This is traditional: it has been con-
think that beauty is everywhere. and everything is needed. What
veyed across centuries. There will always be this spark.
would happen if there were no people to clean up? Worms would
eat us. There is beauty too in cleaning up.
Q. What are the talents you have for swaying people?
How many charwomen are buried in graveyards? How
many generals? I once watched a cemetery being liquidated, and
A. I have none. and this is the problem. The trouble is that when
they were raking bones out. I looked at one of the big femurs and
I was an electrician, I tried to be the best electrician. If I were a
then at a little bone and said, "Man, this must have been a Presi-
militiaman, I would try to be the best one. If I were the cook, I
dent and this must have been some poor bastard." The whole
would like to be the best cook. And if I grab hold of something, I
problem now is that you don't even know who the guy was, so
do it with conviction. Then when I get kicked out, or I quit, I
why give a damn?
don't even look back at it.
You have to be happy and enjoy life but that does not mean
When I leave Solidarity-or get kicked out-I promise that
you have to fool around and get drunk all the time. O.K., I will
for two years I will avoid the street where I sweated so much. I
get drunk once, and then I will have a hangover, so I will say,
will not even look to see if the building is still there, I am so fed
"Ah, come on, I am not going to do that again." Or you might
up with it. But first I will do everything to ensure that the ma-
love three or four women at the same time, but is that good? No.
chinery will keep on revolving and that it will win because I am
This is the way you have to censor yourself and make choices
where I am now. I do my best wherever I can. When I am at
that bring you the most happiness. You can always find things to
home, I try to be a good husband, a good lover,
be happy about. I try to be satisfied with every-
a good father. And I do everything to do my
thing, and I have reached the conclusion that
best because this is my conviction. This is my
leadership is not the source of satisfaction. You
duty. I don't know if it's my philosophy, but this
lose too much of your health and have too much
is the way it should be.
of only superficial happiness because even if
you make 1,000 people happy, you will always
Q. So what you really convey is this commitment?
hurt one person. And I do not want it: I tasted
it. I take it as a great honor. And now I want to
A. Yes, I am here and I must do everything,
step down, peacefully, to look at it, to relax,
and this is something subconscious. Perhaps
take it easy, to enjoy fishing with my children,
because I was down in the gutter for 20 years, I
nature, to wear loose and warm boots. Let oth-
can hear the people's voice and I know when I
ers have a go at it. I will stick to my philosophy.
have screwed up something. I know when I
have to improve something because I am not
Q. When do you think you would be able to do that?
conceited, and I know what people like, and I
know what they don't like.
A. We are at the summit now. Either in a short
period of time or two more years. But it is inde-
Q. Do you intuitively know what the people at the
pendent of me. If I were the boss then I would
lower level want?
go fishing today, because the weather is O.K.
But first I have to be deprived of the responsi-
A. I have always had this intuition.
bility and have to do some things to guarantee
that it will go on winning so that people would
Q. Your job and doing the best you can mean that
not spit at me, because my intentions were
you cannot be the best family man. You rarely see
good. I suggest you burn all newspapers and in-
your family, and when you do, you are exhausted.
terviews-I was not here. But it is impossible.
Hell, that would be the best thing.
A. I told my wife that the maximum that I can
stand this thing is four years, but I don't think
Q. What is the Poland that you dream about?
I'll even last four years. I don't like it, and I
don't want it, because I don't want to waste my
A. Simply a better Poland than today.
health and my life. My wife knows it, and she
Throughout history it has been improved 1,000
knows that pretty soon it will be completely
times, it has been destroyed 1,000 times. We
different.
will never reach the point that we will be so sat-
isfied that we cannot improve it. There are no
Q. I asked your wife if she ever dreamed of having a normal life. She
perfect solutions, and there will be no perfect solutions because
said every day. Do you have the same dream?
that would be the end of humanity. There will be falls and
rises-here and in your country. We will just build something
A. What do you call normal? Today I'm O.K. I have no money,
that somebody will come in and damage.
and this is normal. For you, you have to have $1,000 to feel nor-
I suggest that you take a good look at an anthill. I look at ants
mal. I am happy with $1,000, and for you it's not much. It's all
very often. Man, look at the millions of ants there. They have
relative. It is different for everybody. And the same here. What is
streets, they have traffic signs. They carry out the dead. And
normal for me? There are some people who strive for this arm-
there are very few collisions. And I look at them and wonder if
chair I am sitting in right now. I don't want it. For them it will be
somebody above is watching us the same way. He might say.
normal when they take my place. For me, it will be normal to go
"Well. they've got their little cars, they've got money which
out fishing, it will be normal to drive a car. You have to be happy
changes hands all the time. Why not take a stick and stir the ants
with what you have got. And you have to give everything you've
a bit?"
got to your life; you have to remember that you have only one life
So say you take a box of ants and move them from one ant-
not two.
hill to another. Look what will happen. The inhabitants will
I will do this thing. And I will run away, and what I will do
then have their own slogans and will do away with the newcom-
next I don't know. Perhaps I will just pick up rocks. I don't
ers. The other ants will bring their destroyed hill back to its origi-
know, but I will not suffer. Or I can be a charwoman somewhere.
nal shape, or even improve on it.
Why not? People need charwomen.
Man tends to look up and tries to figure out what is happen-
ing up above and at the same time he cannot even figure out the
Q. But don't you enjoy the excitement and the stimulation of your job?
ants. I wish I could figure out ants. I suggest let's deal with ants.
If we get the chance to understand them. this world would run on
A. No, I hate it. What do 1 have? People take off their hats to me,
a different basis. Without understanding ants, I don't think we
they clap their hands, but tomorrow they might throw stones at
can understand other things.
TIME. JANUARY 4. 1982
35
EXTRA
The Harvard C
CAMBRIDGE. MASS., THURSDAY. JUNE 9. 1983
FREE COPY
'In Every Factory, Mine
The Speech Lech Walesa Sent Harvard
The following is a full
In late January. President Bok wrote
cepts used in your language and embed-
Walesa at his Gdansk home, inviting him
ded in your awareness have no counter-
transcript of the remarks
to deliver the main address at today's
parts in Poland, and the same can be said
Lech Walesa, the Polish
ceremonies and receive an honorary Har-
of the opposite situation. Such concepts
labor leader, sent to Harvard
vard degree. "Because this event re-
as politics, exercise of government,
ceives wide attention, your speech would
propaganda, the right, the left,
for its Commencement exer-
undoubtedly reach the entire nation and
socialism, realism, and many others that
cises today.
receive wide media coverage," the presi-
we use daily have different meanings in
dent wrote.
such countries as the United States and
University officials re-
On April 7, the University announced
Poland.
fused yesterday to reveal
that Walesa had accepted the invitation.
Comprehension of the meaning of
how they obtained the text,
But later that day, and throughout the fol-
concepts which I mention is the more dif-
saying only that it arrived at
lowing week, reports from Poland
ficult-as applied to the situation in Po-
quoted Walesa as saying he would not
land-since they are understood diffe-
Harvard yesterday morning.
make the trip to Cambridge, because he
rently by the State authorities and by the
President Bok will repor-
feared Communist authorities would
overwhelming majority of society. And
block his return to Poland.
yet we must communicate and under-
tedly read excerpts from
Harvard officials continued to hold out
stand each other, seek that which is com-
Walesa's speech at this after-
hope that Walesa would still deliver the
mon and avoid that which divides.
noon's portion of Harvard's
address, and stressed that they had re-
Much has happened in Poland and
ceived no formal communication from
surely it can be stated without
332nd Commencement cere-
the 39-year-old labor leader except his
megalomania that what has happened has
monies. The reading would
letter of acceptance. They also disclosed
had impact on the political relations in
precede the principal address
that Walesa had proposed sending a writ-
this part of Europe. Many commentators
by Carlos Fuentes.
ten speech, should he prove unable to ap-
have assessed these events as simply
pear at Commencement in person.
continuations of past Polish uprisings in
The speech paints a broad
At the same time, David A. Aloian
the quest for independence, classifying
picture of the development of
'49, executive director of the Harvard
them as romantic and beautiful deeds,
Alumni Association and Harvard's chief
but ineffective and devoid of realism.
Solidarity, from the Gdansk
correspondent with Walesa, endeavored
Solidarity was ascribed traits characteris-
shipyard strike of August
to re-establish contact with the Solidarity
tic of 19th century Utopian movements,
1980, through the imposition
leader through two unidentified jour-
was said to be divorced from the political
nalists who secretly helped Harvard
and economic realities of present-day
LECI
of martial law in December
carry messages back and forth to Gdansk
Poland. This view requires correction
1981, to the present, with
throughout the spring.
and I am glad that I can speak about this
ment
martial law lifted but tension
On April 25, Aloian heard from one of
from such an important tribune to people
tem
increasing as Communist au-
the journalists who had met with Walesa
who mold public opinion in the United
yet th
at his home. The labor chief would defi-
States.
EXTRA
arvard Crimson
CAMBRIDGE. MASS.. THURSDAY. JUNE 9. 1983
FREE COPY
ctory, Mine and Shipyard'
esa Sent Harvard
it Bok wrote
cepts used in your language and embed-
inviting him
ded in your awareness have no counter-
SS at today's
parts in Poland, and the same can be said
onorary Har-
of the opposite situation. Such concepts
is event re-
as politics, exercise of government,
speech would
propaganda, the right, the left,
re nation and
socialism, realism, and many others that
'e," the presi-
we use daily have different meanings in
such countries as the United States and
ty announced
Poland.
he invitation.
Comprehension of the meaning of
ghout the fol-
concepts which I mention is the more dif-
from Poland
ficult-as applied to the situation in Po-
he would not
land-since they are understood diffe-
e, because he
rently by the State authorities and by the
rities would
overwhelming majority of society. And
yet we must communicate and under-
ed to hold out
stand each other, seek that which is com-
ill deliver the
mon and avoid that which divides.
they had re-
Much has happened in Poland and
lication from
surely it can be stated without
er except his
megalomania that what has happened has
also disclosed
had impact on the political relations in
ending a writ-
this part of Europe. Many commentators
unable to ap-
have assessed these events as simply
person.
continuations of past Polish uprisings in
id A. Aloian
the quest for independence, classifying
the Harvard
them as romantic and beautiful deeds,
arvard's chief
but ineffective and devoid of realism.
1, endeavored
Solidarity was ascribed traits characteris-
the Solidarity
tic of 19th century Utopian movements,
entified jour-
was said to be divorced from the political
ped Harvard
and economic realities of present-day
LECH WALESA
rth to Gdansk
Poland. This view requires correction
and I am glad that I can speak about this
ment, even suppressed hatred for the sys-
style of describing and evaluating the
d from one of
from such an important tribune to people
tem which surrounded them everywhere;
world cannot comprehend how beautiful
t with Walesa
who mold public opinion in the United
yet they felt impotent. They looked upon
and communicative can be the ordinary
dis-
language of truth.
ers.
sity arranged for another main speaker--
was rapidly moving toward dis
Polish workers today are
Carlos Fuentes-and crossed Walesa's
rowed money-so recklessly
'not indifferent and apathetic
name off the list of honorary degree rect-
the authorities was running
as they once were," Walesa
pients. Officials did not rule out the pos-
newspapers in Poland contint
sibility that a speech might surface in
about achievements rising
states. "Through small daily
time for Commencement, although a
dards and universal contentr
acts of courage, they imple-
week ago, Aloian expressed pessimism
pite warning by economists
ment the ideals of our union.
that it would ever materialize. The full
ers-even those close to
story of how the speech did arrive, 24
elite-that such policies we
They do not support under-
hours before the ceremonies, remains to
nowhere, a propaganda of SL
takings promoted by the mar-
be told.
sway. Words such as diss
tial law authorities, but read-
crisis, or strike had been eras
ficial vocabularies.
ily join in any Initiative
At the same time social bon
which may lead to reform."
D
istinguished Mr. President, Mem-
ural solidarity that is creat
Such people, he con-
bers of the Managing Board, Ladies and
shared national experience an
Gentlemen,
everyday existence, were d
tinues, "are everywhere, in
When on the morning of August 14,
ing. Replacement of authen
every factory, steel mill,
1980 I scaled the fence surrounding the
communities with mass ideo
mine and shipyard, every-
Gdansk Shipyard to lead a strike for the
ganizations and the party
most fundamental worker rights, few
caused a sense of isolation an
where-even in the pro-
people supposed that that would mark the
the individual, and, in conse
secutors' offices, courts, the
beginning of a great process of transfor
practically the entire society.
police and security service
mations in Poland. And surely no one ex-
of psychological pressure-
pected that three years later my. words
modernly organized ideolog
In the speech, Walesa calls
would be read at Harvard University.
substitutes for direct terror-
Harvard a school which is a
I am immensely proud of this distinc-
veloped a conviction that no
symbol of free science and
tion, but also impressed by the impor-
be done in this system and th
tance of this place. I am also intimidated
was impossible. "It is better
world scholarly achieve-
by the fact that many profound experi-
ciled with injustice because
ments," and expresses hope
ences are difficult to express in human,
anything by myself anyway;
that he will someday visit the
understandable language; they are sim-
just waiting for me to reveal
ply inexpressible. Cliches cannot be used
tions. These were the most
United States. Americans'
to explain what happened in Poland, the
opinions at the time. Over the
"sympathy and solidarity are
coincidence of dramatic and conflicting
cisely such a mentality of
so important to me and my
circumstances. At times it was necessary
had been shaped.
to have experienced them personally to
My friends from
compatriots," he concludes.
understand their significance. Many con-
that
pre-August
period,
ful
1MAJA
SWIETO SOLIDARNO
Papers and posters of the Solidarity labor movement, from a recent Widener Library exhibition
ker- was rapidly moving toward disaster, bor-
persons, or controlled by the police, The
ing it, but also the authorities. Not only
lesa's rowed money-so recklessly spent by
fact that I was getting thrown out from
the governing team changed but the
e
reci- the authorities-was running out, while
one work enterprise after another was to
style of government and of communicat-
e
pos-
newspapers in Poland continued writing
them confirmation that their appraisal of
ing with society changed in many impor-
ace in
about achievements, rising living stan-
the situation was realistic. Its main com-
tant ways. Dialogue dommated until De-
ugh a
dards and universal contentment. Des-
ponent was the conviction that nothing
cember 13, 1981 despite numerous ten-
imism
pite warning by economists and advis-
was worth attempting because nothing
sions and problems which could not be
he full
ers-even those close to the power
could be changed anyway.
solved. It is too early yet to assess fully
ve, 24
elite-that such policies were leading
Yet the strike in August 1980 suc-
that short, eventful period:
ains to
nowhere, a propaganda of success held
ceeded; the dreams considered too bold
The introduction of martial law brut-
sway. Words such as dissatisfaction,
materialized; Free Trade Unions (and)
ally demonstrated the limits of progress
crisis, or strike had been erased from of-
Solidarity were established, numerous
attainable. in Poland today. Solidarity
ficial vocabularies.
new social and political organizations
was banned, many of its activists were
At the same time social bonds, the nat-
changed Poland beyond recognition.
interned and imprisoned, many are ar-
Mem-
ural solidarity that is created through
These changes became the beginning of
rested and are still awaiting sentencing.
es and
shared national experience and common
the introduction of reality into the pro-
For thousands of my compatriots. drama
everyday existence, were disintergrat-
cesses taking place in my country.
became a daily reality.
ist 14,
ing. Replacement of authentic organic
What hope can we have living in Po-
communities with mass ideological or-
T he August breakthrough demon-
ng the
land today. when social conflicts are set-
or the
ganizations and the party apparatus
strated to the authorities in Poland the
tled by force and dialogue has been bro-
few
caused a sense of isolation and apathy of
simple commonplace that ignoring real-
ken offY What can we count on and
ark the
the individual, and, in consequence, of
ity, treating it as secondary to doctrine
where can we seek consolation? Most
ensfor-
practically the entire society. As a result
and underestimating the objective laws
frequently it is spectacular dramatic
of psychological pressure-which in
of economics, lead-to an inevitable and
facts which reach public opinion through
ne ex-
words
modernly organized ideological states
dangerous crisis. It proved that the old
the mass media; it is they which have the
ity.
substitutes for direct terror-there de-
methods, preventing influence of society
strongest impact on the imagination and
istine-
veloped a conviction that nothing could
on public affairs, could not be used to
shape views:
mpor-
be done in this system and that progress
govern effectively
Internment imprisonment. prison
idated
was impossible. "It is better to be recon-
After the strike at the shipyard and the
bars they are 1 painful problem, which
:xperi-
ciled with injustice because I can't do
establishment of Solidarity, everyone
do not permit one to sleep in peace. Simi-
anything by myself anyway; 'They' are
could take part in the social work for re-
larly, demonstrations and marches brut-
uman,
e sim-
just waiting for me to reveal my convic-
form, could personally learn what free
ally dispersed by Zomo arouse emotions
e used
tions." These were the most widespread
elections meant, what the hitherto mythi-
difficult to control, The impact of
nd, the
opinions at the time. Over the years, pre-
cal democracy meant in practice. Mil-
tragedy, death and everything that causes.
licting
cisely such a mentality of enslavement
lions of people again became citizens
terror is always stronger than the biriA of
had been shaped.
Those events also helped us to realize
something new Yet the site ion jumy
cessary
My friends from: the factory were, in
better that it is not only the authorities but
country should not be only in
ally to
that pre-August period, full of resent-
all of us who are responsible for the fate
that light.
con-
of the country, its economy and political
When on December: 13, 1981. tanks
life. The events initiated in Gdansk also
rolled into the streets of towas in Poland.
showed to the world the extent of the true
many people said: "This had to happen!
problems of a nation of 36 million in
The authorities had long been. preparing
Europe. If realism has its foundation in
the coup!" However, few thought at the
objective knowledge about political and
time that it was the end of everything.
economic reality, then the establishment
Martial law slowed the process of reform
of Solidarity certainly enriched that
but did not halt it. For the change in rela-
knowledge.
tions between people, between institu-
A rejection of the world of fiction. that
tions and individuals is achieved not only
SWIETO SOLIDARNOSCI.
introduction of reality, was perhaps most
through passage of new laws or cancella-
evident in the system of communicating
tion of old ones. but to a greater extent
in Poland. People began expressing
through changes in awareness which bid
loudly and publicly their genuine
one to either respect or ignore these laws.
thoughts, what was tormenting their
The legal system in Poland did not
minds and souls and not what they should
change in a fundamental way, but in
be saying in accordance with official in-
practice enormous changes have taken
structions.
place. Until recently people working to-
That pillar of the old system. the magic
gether in the same room feared to talk
language of "Newspeak" stopped func-
sincerely with each other: they feared
tioning since it referred to a world which
each other. and today they constitute one
still existed only in the textbooks of
underground Solidarity cell. They are not
ideologists. propagandists and censors.
indifferent and apathetic as they once
Someone ho has not lived for many
were. Through small. daily acts of cour-
brary exhibition
years hearing everywhere an Orwellian
(continued on back page)
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
November 7, 1989
NOTE FOR CHRISS WINSTON:
Attached for use in preparing the
remarks for the Walesa Medal of Freedom
ceremony is a copy of the remarks he
was scheduled to deliver during a trip
to the US in 1983. (Walesa cancelled
for fear the Polish government would
not let him back in the country.)
I've taken the liberty of highlighting
a few interesting quotes from the
speech, on human rights and his desire
to visit the US in particular. On a
more personal note, you may also want
to mention that Walesa and the President
share a love of fishing.
Thanks.
John
John S. Gardner
The speech he was to
give @ Harvard's 183
commencement - he was
afraid to leave the country,
so it wasn't delivered
NOTE:
You may wish to use examples illustrating our commitment to
democracy and enterprise in Poland, our shared goals and vision.
-- POTUS declared our support during the '89 trip. See
Nexis copies of remarks.
-- Later Mosbacher visited Poland to follow up on that,
signing several agreements. See Nexis articles.
-- POTUS signed a trade and investment treaty too -- the first
one we signed with a newly democratic Eastern European
country. See Nexis article.
-- Cheney visited last December -- the first US defense
official to do so in many decades. See Nexis articles.
-- Peace Corps volunteers. See fax from Peace Corps and cable
commending their work.
-- The Poles have asked us to sign a Joint Declaration of
Principles
we should know later this week whether the
General signs off on this.
-- Lastly, from a historical perspective:
General Kosciuszko's Act of Insurrection document,
modeled closely after our Declaration of
Independence. See his quotation: "Liberty,
Security, Property" -- it fits with the aims
of the Solidarity movement led by Walesa.
The Polish "May 3 Constitution" -- enormous
symbolic value to Poles and the one that
the current government is adhering to. This
is its Bicentennial year.
and of course, Paderewski's remains being
returned now that Poland is free.
ADD TO THIS TRADE INITIATIVES
FROM USTR (to come)
n all players have
traditional game of
ary betting round.
$ many cards, of the
; that player wishes
in the preliminary
the dealer. The pl
ing period. If
yer to his left
ts conclusion, all
eir entire hands in
ards. e player remains
oker each player is di
ole card"), then anoth
ed by a betting inter
he highest visible
tting round. Each pla
e cards face up, one
and after each card.
est visible combination
ig round. After the
1 showdown.
FRANK K. PERKINS
lumnist, Boston "Herald"
h African perennial herb
EASTFOTO
mamental for its show
nt, Kniphofia uvaria, and
Warsaw's Old Town, systematically destroyed by the Germans in World War II, has been completely restored.
enus Kniphofia are some
ilies. They are classified
ceae.
like leaves, 2 to 3 feet
a flower stalk that grows
5-1.5 meters) tall. The
in a dense, 6- to 10-inch
POLAND
ster of flowers, each
(2.5-3.7 cm) long. The of
ally scarlet and the lower
7 attached to the cluster,
cur.
CONTENTS
oes best in a sheltered.
Section
Page
Section
Page
ation. It is not reliably
1. Land and Natural
4. Culture
309
ere winter cold but may
Resources
300
5. Education
310
F dry soil in a cool place.
2. The Economy
301
6. Government
311
ds or by divisions. Often
3. The People
306
7. History
312
ker plant is an attractive
arieties, differing in time
Coat of Arms
of flowers, have been
POLAND, põ'land, is a country that lies in the
plain of northern Europe. It is the largest and
JOHN W. THIERET
most populous of the East Central European
n Kentucky State College
countries. Poland is bordered by Communist
states and is a member of both the Warsaw Pact
INFORMATION HIGHLIGHTS
and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
Official Name: Polish People's Republic (Polska
coarse, strong-smelling
(COMECON, or CMEA), a military and an eco-
Rzeczpospolita Ludowa).
cca americana, native to
and naturalized in parts
nomic alliance between the USSR and its Euro-
Head of State: Chairman of the Council of State.
est in moist places, and
pean satellites.
Head of Government: Chairman of the Council of
or pokeberry.
Throughout its history, Poland has been over-
Ministers (premier).
shadowed by its powerful neighbors to the west
Legislature: Sejm (Assembly).
a height of 12 feet (3.6
and to the east. The eastward expansion of Ger-
Area: 120,725 square miles (312,677 sq km).
k, fleshy, poisonous root
many, beginning in the Middle Ages, was at the
Boundaries: North, Baltic Sea; east, USSR; south,
ith emetic and purgative
Czechoslovakia; west, East Germany.
b fairly succulent stem,
expense of Poland. But Poland was able, during
Elevation: Highest point, Rysy (8,199 feet, or 2,499
periods of Russian weakness, to spread into ter-
meters) in the High Tatra mountains.
green to purple, bears
lance-shaped leaves and
ritory that now belongs to the Soviet Union. In
Population: (1982 est.) 36,100,000.
wers in long racemes. Its
the late 18th century, when both Prussia (which
Capital: Warsaw (Warszawa).
erry that contains poison-
later became the core of a united Germany) and
Language: Polish.
the berry was once used
Russia were strong, the Polish state was extin-
Major Religious Group: Roman Catholic.
guished and divided between those nations and
pokeweed are poisonous
Austria.
Monetary Unit: 1 zloty = 100 groszy.
dible if properly cooked.
Poland was not revived until 1918, when Rus-
Weights and Measures: Metric system.
sia was in the throes of the Bolshevik Revolution
Flag: Horizontal halves of white over red.
d when they are about 10
and Germany had been defeated by the western
National Anthem: Jeszcze Polska nie zginela
and boiled until tender,
Allies. By 1939 both Germany and the Soviet
(Poland is not yet lost).
to remove any acidity.
Union were again powerful and well armed.
299
4.
slovakia follows the Karkonosze and Carpathia
for the movement of trade
made to cut a canal throug]
mountains, and over most of this distance there
is no dispute. There has, however, been bitter-
to link the Odra Valley with
Climate. Poland typically
disagreement between the two countries regard.
with a July average of 64°-
ing the small territory of Teschen (Polish, Cie-
and long, cold winters. T
szyn), important for its coal and steel. At pres-
ent the territory is divided between them.
ranges from 23° F to 30° F
Winters are increasingly sev
1. Land and Natural Resources
and the east, where the gro
Poland is a country of the plain. Except in
two or three weeks shorter t
the mountains, which form Poland's southern
west. Although there is a p
over most of the country, th
boundary, its surface rarely rises to more than
tion is in the summer, when
1,000 feet (300 meters) above sea level. Relief,
are not infrequent. Total I
except in the mountains, is gentle, and the coun-
try consists essentially of the valleys of two riv-
low over the plain, ranging
ers-the Odra and Vistula (Wista)-and of their
25 inches (483-635 mm), 1
near the Baltic coast and a
tributaries. Both rise in the mountains that bor.
der Czechoslovakia on the south, and flow north-
to 40 inches (1,016 mm)-ir
ward to discharge into the Baltic Sea.
Vegetation and Soils. Pola
The rocks that make up the plain are mostly
forested. Today at least on
soft and easily eroded. But areas of older and
under forest, with a heavy
harder rock are found in south central and south-
ests in the poor sandy soil
Poland. Broad-leaved trees
ern Poland, which account for small zones of
bolder relief. The most important of these areas
with conifers increasing in in
is formed by two hilly ridges known respectively
mortheast. Recent plantation
of softwood, so that the cha
as the Holy Cross Mountains (Góry Swiętokrzys-
kie) and the Kraków Jura (Jura Krakowska).
slowly changing.
During the Quaternary Ice Age most of the
The soil quality varies
plain was covered by ice sheets, which spread
the thin and stony soils of 1
gradation is found from heav
southward from Scandinavia. On their retreat
they left behind a vast, uneven sheet of sand,
clays to blowing sands. Mos
soils of southern Poland ano
CZESLAW MOMATIUK, PHOTO RESEARCHERS
gravel, boulders and clay, known as bolder clay.
The Tatra Mountains on Poland's border with Czecho-
Although this has been largely eroded away from
occur over large areas in the
Mineral Resources. Poland
slovakia attract vacationers and skiers in the winter.
southern Poland, it covers the northern districts
fuels and minerals. Foremos
of Pomorze (Pomerania) and Mazury (East
Prussia). Much of the clay land is poorly drained,
large reserves of soft coal, m
Their invasion of Poland in September 1939
and is dotted with large and small lakes, of
sin of Upper Silesia, and sm:
again destroyed the Polish state, which in turn
roal or lignite in central P
which Mazury has thousands.
precipitated World War II.
lesia, coal underlies an area 0
As the ice melted away at the end of the Ice
By 1945, Germany had been defeated and the
Age, vast torrents of water made their way to the
miles (5,180 sq km). Seams
military strength of the Soviet Union was unchal-
sea, scouring a series of small valleys as they did
relatively shallow depths, m
lenged in eastern Europe. The part of Poland
so. These now lie across the country in a roughly
for mechanical extraction. P
that had been incorporated into the Soviet Union
as occur in southern Polar
east to west direction, forming shallow depres*
in 1939 was retained by the USSR. In compen-
searing exhaustion.
sions that have been of great importance in cut.
sation, Poland received land in the west that had
ting canal links between the main rivers of cen-
been German. Today the territory of Poland is
tral Europe.
about 20% smaller than it was on the eve of
Over much of southern Poland a dustlike de-
World War II.
posit, known as loess, has been blown from the
Since World War II, Poland has been de-
drying boulder clay to the north. It gives rise to
pendent on the Soviet Union for economic aid,
a well-drained and fertile soil, which makes the
and Soviet troops have been stationed, though
loess regions agriculturally the most productive
unobtrusively, on Polish soil. These circumstances
in Poland.
have severely limited Poland's freedom of action.
The mountains that form the southern bound
Despite a revolt against Soviet control in 1956,
ary of the plain belong to two separate systems
Poland remains one of the most docile of the
To the southwest are the Karkonosze Mountains
Soviet Union's satellites.
part of the massif of hard, ancient rock that
Poles, however, have resented their subser-
forms Bohemia. To the south lie the higher and
vience to the Soviet Union. Much of their his-
more complex mountains of the Carpathian sys
tory has been marked by war with the Russians,
tem. These consist of a series of parallel ranges
beach at Sopot, on the Gu
and Poles have always tended to see themselves
across which movement is difficult. They cut
Danzig, is a popular resort wit
as guardians of Western civilization against East-
minate in the Tatra (Tatry) Mountains, whose
the Poles and foreigners.
ern barbarism, with which many Poles identify
highest point reaches 8,199 feet (2,499 meters).
located only a few miles fro
Soviet Communism. Polish fear of Germany has
The Polish Carpathians, known as Beskidy, are
cities of Gdynia to the nort
been as conspicuous as Polish contempt for the
mostly a beautiful forested region, containing
Gdańsk (Danzig) to the soutl
Russians. In particular they have dreaded a re-
number of resorts, of which Zakopane is the best
surgence of German nationalism, which might
known.
threaten Polish occupation of the formerly Ger-
The two ranges are separated by a gap known
man territory on the west ( the Western Terri-
as the Moravian Gate, which provides an easily
tories). Even though Poland's boundaries are
negotiated route from southern Poland, across
recognized by both West and East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, to Vienna and the Danube basin role
there remains a feeling that Poland is dependent
on the Soviet Union for the protection of its fron-
The Moravian Gate has played an important the
in Polish and East European history, guiding
tier along the rivers Odra (Oder) and Nysa
movement of invaders in the past and today and act
(Neisse). The southern boundary with Czecho-
ing as a funnel for road and railway traffic
300
POLAND
301
e Karkonosze andistarpathum
the movement of trade. Plans have been
There are valuable sulfur deposits. Zinc and
ere has,
er most a
made for to cut a canal through the Moravian Gate
lead are mined in Upper Silesia, and copper in
to link the Odra Valley with that of the Danube.
Lower Silesia. Reserves of iron ore are small.
een the two countries regard
Climate. Poland typically has warm summers,
tory of Teschen Polish, Cie-
with a July average of 64°-68° F (18°-20°
2. The Economy
or its coal and steel. At pres.
and long, cold winters. The January average
Poland suffered severely during World War
divided between them.
ranges from 23° F to 30° F (-5° C to 1.1° C).
II. The whole country was twice fought over,
Winters are increasingly severe toward the north
and the destruction of factories, farms, and farm
ral Resources
and the east, where the growing season may be
stock was enormous. Recovery was hindered both
untry of the plain. Except
or three weeks shorter than in the south and
by the postwar exactions of the Soviet Union and
hich form Poland's southern in
two west. Although there is a prolonged snow cover
the changes of boundaries and consequent migra-
ace rarely rises to more than
over most of the country, the heaviest precipita-
tion. Poland lost its eastern provinces, notable
eters) above sea level. Relief,
tion is in the summer, when severe thunderstorms
chiefly for their agricultural and forest resources.
itains, is gentle, and the coun-
not infrequent. Total precipitation is quite
But it regained the Western Territories, which
ally of the valleys of two riv.
low are over the plain, ranging from less than 19 to
were more richly endowed in mineral resources
Vistula (Wisła)-and of their
25 inches (483-635 mm), but somewhat higher
and better developed. The Western Territories,
ise in the mountains that bor.
near the Baltic coast and a great deal higher-up
however, were almost depopulated by the emi-
on the south, and flow north
to 40 inches (1,016 mm) -in the mountains.
gration of much of their German-speaking popu-
into the Baltic Sea.
Vegetation and Soils. Poland was once densely
lation. This loss was far from offset by the immi-
make up the plain are mostly
forested. Today at least one fifth of its area is
gration of Poles from the territory ceded to the
ded. But areas of older and
under forest, with a heavy concentration of for-
Soviet Union. Because Poland thus suffered a
nd in south central and south.
ests in the poor sandy soil region of northern
severe shortage of labor at a time when mechan-
account for small zones of
Poland. Broad-leaved trees formerly prevailed,
ical equipment was scarce and the task of recon-
most important of these areas
with conifers increasing in importance toward the
struction overwhelming, rebuilding was slow.
illy ridges known respectively
northeast. Recent plantations have tended to be
Nationalization of Industry and Commerce. The
Mountains (Góry Swiętokrzys-
of softwood, so that the character of the forests
state nationalized all natural resources and most
ów Jura (Jura Krakowska),
is slowly changing.
of the means of production, and attempted to re-
aternary Ice Age most of the
The soil quality varies greatly. Apart from
construct the society and economy along Com-
by ice sheets, which spread
the thin and stony soils of the mountains, every
munist lines. To some degree, nationalization
candinavia. On their retreat
gradation is found from heavy and poorly drained
was inevitable, since about one third of the coun-
vast, uneven sheet of sand,
clays to blowing sands. Most fertile are the loess
try's assets had belonged to Germans who left
d clay, known as bolder clay,
soils of southern Poland and the loam soils that
Poland at the end of the war.
een largely eroded away from
occur over large areas in the center of the country.
Rebuilding and development were directed
covers the northern districts
Mineral Resources. Poland has rich reserves of
by a series of economic plans prepared and im-
erania) and Mazury (East
fuels and minerals. Foremost is coal. There are
plemented by the Central Planning Board (later
the clay land is poorly drained.
large reserves of soft coal, mainly in the coal ba-
the State Commission' on Economic Planning),
h large and small lakes, of
sin of Upper Silesia, and small reserves of brown
set up by the Council of Ministers. By the end
thousands.
coal or lignite in central Poland. In Upper Si-
of 1946 less than 10% of gross industrial produc-
ed away at the end of the Ice
lesia, coal underlies an area of about 2,000 square
tion came from privately owned undertakings,
f water made their way to the
miles (5,180 sq km). Seams are thick and lie at
and by 1953 this had fallen to less than 1%.
es of small valleys as they did
relatively shallow depths, making them suitable
Wholesale and retail trade also passed from pri-
cross the country in a roughly
for mechanical extraction. Petroleum and natural
vate to public hands, and the government used
ion, forming shallow depres.
gas occur in southern Poland, but reserves are
its powers to control the supply of goods to pri-
n of great importance in cut.
nearing exhaustion.
vate retailers and thus drive them out of business.
ween the main rivers of cen-
EASTFOTO
outhern Poland a dustlike de-
SS, has been blown from the
to the north. It gives rise to
fertile soil, which makes the
ilturally the most productive
hat form the southern bound-
long to two separate systems.
re the Karkonosze Mountains,
of hard, ancient rock that
the south lie the higher and
ntains of the Carpathian sys-
of a series of parallel ranges
The beach at Sopot, on the Gulf
ment is difficult. They cul-
of Danzig, is a popular resort with
a (Tatry) Mountains, whose
both the Poles and foreigners. It
es 8,199 feet (2,499 meters).
is located only a few miles from
ians, known as Beskidy, are
the cities of Gdynia to the north
forested region, containing a
and Gdańsk (Danzig) to the south.
f which Zakopane is the best
are separated by a gap known
ite, which provides an easily
om southern Poland, across
ienna and the Danube basin.
has played an important role
European history, guiding the
:rs in the past and today act-
road and railway traffic and
POLAND
Total Population, 34,113,000
Bilgoraj, 13,600
F 3
Jarocin, 18,300
C3
Miedzyrzecz, 15,200
B 2
Rydultowy, 19,500
D3
Wieruszów, 3,650
D
3
Blonie, 12,500
E2
Jaroslaw, 29,500
F
4
Mielec, 27,700
E 3
Rypin, 10,200
D 2
Wloclawek, 79,900
D2
Bochnia, 15,000
E
4
Jasto, 17,800
E4
Mikolów, 21,800
84
Rzeszów, 83,900
F
4
Włodawa, 7,354
F 3
PROVINCES
Bogatynia, 12,300
B
3
Jastrzebie-Zdrój, 34,400
D3
Minsk Mazowiecki; 24,900
E 2
Sandomierz, 17,300
E3
Wodzislaw Slaski, 27,500
D 4
Biala Podlaska, 283,200
F 3
Boguszów-Gorce, 11,900
B 3
Jawon, 15,700
C3
Mlawa, 20,600
E
2
Sanok, 22,100
F
4
Wotomin, 24,100
E2
Jaworzno, 64,500
B 4
Monki, 9,560
F
2
Siedice, 39,600
F 2
Wolów, 10,600
C
3
Bialystok, 613,800
F
2
Boleslawiec, 31, 400
B 3
Bielsko, 765,500
D
4
Braniewo, 12,400
D1
Jedrzejów, 13,700
E3
Morag, 9,681
E2
Siemianowice Slaskie, 67,800
A
4
Wroclaw, 557,200
C 3
Bydgoszcz, 982,100
C
2
Brodnica, 17,700
D2
Jelenia Góra, 56,200
B3
Mragowo, 13,700
E2
Sieradz, 19,000
D
3
Wrzesnia, 18,400
C 2
2
Wschówa, 10,100
C3
Chelm, ,000
F
3
Brzeg, 31,500
C 3
Kalisz, 82,400
D3
Myslenice, 12,400
E 4
Sierpc, 12,900
D
Ciechanów, 398,500
E
2
Brzeg Doiny, 10,900
C
3
Kamienna Góra, 21,200
B3
Myslowice, 45,100
B4
Skarzysko-Kamienna, 39,700
E3
Wysokie Mazowieckie, 5,296
F 2
E
3
Kamien Pomorski, 8,725
B2
Myszków, 18,300
D
3
Skawina, 16,300
D 4
Wyszków, 12,200
E2
Cracow, 1,097,600
E
4
Brzesko, 10,800
Cracow (city),
E
4
Brzozów, 8,591
F 4
Kartuzy, 10,800
C1
Naklo nad Notecia, 17,000
C
2
Skierniewice, 25,800
E3
Zabki, 16,200
E
2
Czestochowa, 723,200
D
3
Busko-Zdrój, 11,400
E3
Katowice, 317,700
B 4
Namysłow, 11,200
C 3
Slawno, 10,900
C
1
Zabkowice Slaskie, 14,400
C
3
Zabrze, 200;790
A 4
Elblag, 419,800
D
1
Bydgoszcz, 305,500
C 2
Kazimierza Wielka, 8,571
E3
Nidzica, 10,000
E2
Slubice, 12,200
B
2
Gdansk, 1,220,500
D
1
Bytom, 192,000
A
3
Kedzierzyn, 34,200
D3
Nisko, 10,200
E
3
Siupca, 8,634
D
2
Zagan, 21,700
B3
C 3
Nowa Ruda, 18,300
C
3
Stupsk, 69,900
C1
Zagórze, 13,000
B 4
Gorzów, 428,700
B 2
Bytów, 10,900
C
1
Kepno, 10,300
Jelenia Góra, 483,400
B
3
Chelm, 40,000
F 3
Ketrzyn, 19,600
E1
Nowa Sól, 34,000
B
3
Sochaczew, 21,000
D 2
Zakopane, 27,200
D 4
Kalisz, 640,300
D
3
Chelmno, 18,100
D 2
Kety, 12,000
D4
Nowy Dwor Gdanski, 7,146
D
1
Sokólka, 10,300
F
2
Zambrow, 14,500
E2
F 3
D3
Cheimza, 14,500
D2
Kielce, 138,700
E3
Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, 17,200
E
2
Sokolow Podlaski, 9,569
F
2
Zamost, 35,600
Katowice, 3,439,700
E3
Chodziez, 14,300
C 2
Klobuck, 12,500
D3
Nowy Sącz, 42,100
E 4
Solec Kujawski, 10,800
D
2
Zary, 28,500
B3
Kielce, 1,030,400
C 2
Kłodzko, 26,300
C 3
Nowy Targ, 22,600
E
4
Sopot, 48,500
D1
Zawiercie, 39,800
D3
Konin, 423,700
D2
Chojnice, 24,000
Koszalin, 428,500
C
1
Chojnów, 11,100
B 3
Kluczbork, 18,200
D3
Nysa, 33,100
C
3
Sosnowiec, 148,300
B 4
Zdunska Wola, 29,500
D3
Krosno, 418,000
E
4
Chorzów, 154,300
B4
Knurow, 30,600
A 4
Oborniki, 10,300
C 2
$rem, 16,400
C 2
Zgierz, 44,100
D
3
Sroda Wielkopolska, 15,000
C
2
Zgorzelec, 28,800
B3
Legnica, 405,600
C
3
Choszczno, 10,200
B 2
Kolno, 7,980
F
2
Olawa, 18,500
C 3
Leszno, 340,600
C3
Chrzanów, 29,300
B4
Kolo, 13,400
D 2
Olecko, 9,120
F1
Stalowa Wola, 31,100
F
3
Zielona Góra, 75,000
B 3
Lódź 1,063,700
D3
Ciechanów, 23,500
E
2
Kolobrzeg, 26,600
B1
Olesnica, 28,100
C 3
Starachowice, 43,700
E3
Zlocieniec, 10,400
C 2
Lódz (city), 777,800
D
3
Cieplice Slaskie-Zdroj, 15,600
B3
Konin, 42,800
D 2
Olkusz, 16,500
D
3
Stargard Szczecinski, 45,600
B 2
Zlotoryja, 12,400
C 3
Lomza, 320,600
F
2
Cieszyn, 25,600
D 4
Konskie, 13,700
E3
Olsztyn, 104,300
E2
Starogard Gdanski, 34,200
D 2
Zlotów, 12,100
C
2
Konstantynow tódzki, 13,000
D3
Opatow, 9,784
E3
Staszów, 8,449
E3
Zwolen, 5,216
E3
Lublin, 875,300
F 3
Cracow (Kraków), 651,300
E 4
Nowy Sacz, 600,300
E 4
Czechowice-Dziedzice, 25,700
D
4
Koscian, 19,000
C 2
Opoczno, 12,400
E3
Strzegom, 14,400
C 3
Zyrardów, 33,300
E
2
Olsztyn, 654,400
E2
Czeladź, 32,700
B
4
Kościerzyna, 15,500
C
1
Opole, 37,800
C3
Strzeice Opolskie, 15,000
D3
Zywiec, 22,900
D 4
E
2
Strzemieszyce Wielkie, 11,500
B 3
Opole, 961,600
C3
Czerwionka, 10,600
A
4
Kostrzyn, 11,700
B2
Ostróda, 21,600
Ostroleka, 360,700
E
2
Czestochowa, 193,400
D
3
Koszalin, 66,800
C
1
Ostroteka, 23,000
E2
Sulechów, 10,500
B2
OTHER FEATURES
Piła, 414,000
C 2
Dabrowa Górnicza, 62,400
B 3
Kowary, 11,400
B
3
Ostrow Mazowiecka, 15,200
F
2
Suwalki, 26,500
F 1
Baltic (sea)
B1
Piotrków, 581
D3
Dabrowa Tarnowska, 9,703
E
3
Kozle, 13,300
D3
Ostrow Wielkopolski, 50,300
C3
Swarędz, 12,200
C 2
Plock, 479,700
D2
Darlowo, 11,500
C
1
Krapkowice, 14,200
D
3
Ostrowiec Swiętokrzyski, 51,400
E
3
Swidnica, 48,200
C 3
Beskids (mts.)
D 4
E3
Krasnik, 14,700
F3
Oświęcim, 40,200
D
3
Świdnik, 23,100
F 3
Brda (river)
C 2
Poznan, 1,156,500
C 2
Debica, 23,600
Przemysl, 373,100
F
4
Deblin, 14,900
E3
Krasnik Fabryczny, 13,800
F
3
Otwock, 40,200
E2
Swidwin, 12,600
B2
Brynica (river)
B
3
Radom, 674,400
E3
Debno, 11,000
B 2
Krasnystaw, 12,700
F
3
Ozorków, 18,400
D3
Swiebodzice, 18,900
C 3
Bug (river)
F
2
B
2
Danzig (gulf)
D1
Rzeszów, 602,200
F 4
Dzialdowo, 10,500
E
2
Krosno, 27,200
E 4
Pabianice, 63,500
D3
Swiebodzin, 15,200
Siedice, 602,100
F 2
Dzierzoniów, 33,400
C
3
Krotoszyn, 22,200
C3
Parczew, 6,952
F 3
Swiecie, 18,300
D2
Dukla (pass)
E 4
Sieradz, 388,000
D3
Elblag, 91,400
D1
Krynica, 10,400
E 4
Pasłek, 8,030
D
1
Swiętochłowice, 200
A 4
Dunajec (river)
E4
Skierniewice, 388,300
E
3
Elk, 27,900
F 2
Kutno, 30,600
D2
Piaseczno, 20,500
E2
Swinoujscie, 28,800
A
2
Gwda (river)
C
2
Stupsk, 352,900
C1
Gdansk, 394,000
D1
Kwidzyn, 23,400
D
2
Piekary Slaskie, 36,600
B3
Szamotuly, 14,800
C 2
Hel (pen.)
D 1
F3
Pila, 44,500
C 2
Szczecin, 355,600
B
2
High Tatra (mts.)
D4
Suwalki, 412,700
F 1
Gdynia, 207,600
D
1
tancut, 12,300
Szczecin, 841, 400
B 2
Gizycko, 18,500
E
1
Laziska Górne, 10,900
A
4
Pinczów, 7,080
E3
Szczecinek, 29,500
C
2
Klodnica (river)
A 4
Tarnobrzeg, 532,200
E3
Gliwice, 178,300
A
4
Lebork, 25,300
C1
Pionki, 14,000
E
3
Szczytno, 17,900
E 2
Lyna (river)
E1
F
Tarnow, 573,900
E 4
Glogow, 22,700
C
3
Leczyca, 13,900
D 2
Piotrkow Trybunalski, 60,800
D3
Szprotawa, 11,500
B3
Mamry (lake)
1
Torun, 580,500
D2
Głowno, 13,200
D 2
Ledziny, 12,800
B
4
Pisz, 11,400
E 2
Szydlowiec, 6,240
E3
Masurian (lakes)
E
2
E
Pleszew, 13,700
C 3
Tarnobrzeg, 21,300
E
3
Narew (river)
E
2
Walbrzych, 709,600
C 3
Glubczyce, 11,500
C3
Legionowo, 21,000
2
Warsaw, 2,117,700
E2
Glucholazy, 13,400
C
3
Legnica, 76,800
C 3
Plock, 74,100
D2
Tarnow, 87,200
E
4
Neisse (river)
B
3
Warsaw (city), 1,377,100
E2
Gniezno, 1,300
C
2
Leszczyny, 12,100
A 4
Plonsk, 11,900
E
2
Tarnowskie Gory, 35,000
A
3
Notec (river)
B2
Whoclawek, 402,000
D
2
Goldap, 8,886
F1
Leszno, 34,600
C
3
Police, 13,200
B 2
Tczew, 42,100
D1
Nysa Klodzka (river)
C
3
Wroclaw, 1,014,600
C 3
Goleniow, 15,000
B 2
Lezajsk, 9,647
F
3
Polkowice, 10,600
C 3
Tomaszów Lubelski, 12,800
F 3
Nysa Luzycka (Neisse) (riv.)
B
3
C 2
Tomaszów Mazowiecki, 55,600
E
3
Oder (Odra) (river)
B
2
Zamosc, 472,300
F 3
Góra, 9,905
C 3
Libiaz, 10,700
D3
Poznan, 495,200
Zielona Góra, 575,000
B 3
Gorlice, 16,000
E
4
Lidzbark Warminski, 13,200
E1
Prudnik, 20,400
C 3
Torun, 139,000
D
2
Orava (res.)
D 4
Gorzów Wielkopolski, 76,200
B
2
Lipno, 11,100
D 2
Pruszcz Gdanski, 13,100
D
1
Trzcianka, 11,200
C 2
Pilica (river)
D3
Pomeranian (bay)
B
1
CITIES and TOWNS
Gostyn, 13,300
C
3
Lodz, 777,800
D
3
Pruszków, 43,500
E
2
Trzebinia Siersza, 19,600
C 4
Gostynin, 12,200
D2
Lomza, 26,400
F
2
Przasnysz, 11,400
E2
Tuchola, 9,439
D2
Prosna (river)
C
3
F
2
Losice, 4,197
F 2
Przemys1, 53,800
F 4
Turek, 18,700
D
2
Przemsza (river)
B
4
Aleksandrow Lódzki, 14,800
D
3
Grajewo, 11,400
Andrespol, 12,500
D3
Grodziec, 10,200
B
3
Lowicz, 21,100
D 2
Pulawy, 36,400
F
3
Tychy, 72,800
B
4
Rysy (mt.)
D 4
Andrychow, 14,300
D 4
Grodzisk Mazowiecki, 21,000
E
2
Lubaczów, 8,298
F 3
Pultusk, 12,800
E2
Ursus, 30,900
E
2
San (river)
F 3
Stupia (river)
C
1
Augustów, 20,200
F2
Grójec, 10,400
E
3
Luban, 17,500
B 3
Pyskowice, 23,300
A
3
Wabrzezno, 11,900
D 2
Bartoszyce, 15,700
E
1
Grudziądz, 76,600
D2
Lubartów, 10,300
F
3
Rabka, 10,800
D4
Wadowice, 12,000
D 4
Sniardwy (lake)
E
2
Lubin, 31,900
C 3
Racibórz, 40,600
C 3
Wagrowiec, 16,000
C 2
Sudeten (mts.)
B
3
Bedzin, 42,500
B 3
Gryfice, 13,600
B
2
Belchatów, 9,230
D3
Gryfino, 7,446
B
2
Lublin, 254,700
F 3
Radom, 166,000
E3
Walbrzych, 127,400
C
3
Uznam (Usedom) (isl.)
B1
Belzyce, 5,333
F 3
Gubin, 15,000
B
3
Lubliniec, 20,100
D3
Radomsko, 31,600
D
3
Wałcz, 19,200
C
2
Vistula (river)
D2
Warmia (reg.)
D
Biala Podlaska, 26,700
F
3
Hajnowka, 14,600
F2
Lubon, 17,000
C 2
Radziejow, 4,165
D 2 Warsaw (Warszawa) (cap.),
Bialogard, 20,800
C.1
Hrubieszów, 15,500
F 3
Lubsko, 13,000
B3
Radzionków, 28,200
A 3
1,377,100
E
2
Warta (river)
Bialystok, 182,300
F 2
Hawa, 17,100
D2
Lukow, 16,300
F3
Rawicz, 14,300
C
3
Wegorzewo, 8,522
E
1
Wieprz (river)
C
Wisla (Vistula) (river)
Bielawa 31,300
C 3
liza, 4,419
E
3
Malbork, 31,500
D1
Ruda Slaska, 146,200
A
4
Wejherowo, 34,600
1
Blelsk Podiaski 14,600
Inowrockaw 55,900
D
2
Makow Mazowiecki 7,694
E
2
Rumia, 23,800
D
1
Wieliczka, 14,000
E
3
Wkra (river)
114,200
Janow Lubelski, 5,944
1
Miedzyrzec Podiaski, 13,900
F3
Rybnik, 44,000
D
3
Wielun, 14,900
D
3
Wolln (ist.)
2
Server
am.
-
SCALE OF KILOMETERS
Roszalin
PROGIER
*Bartospyce
Wegorzewo
0
20
40
60
80
(Frist)
Bytow
Now Staw
Trzeblatow
Elblag
Lidzbark
(etrzyn
Jet.
Mamry
Olecko
Sejny
Bialogard
Koscleriyna
Tezen
Orneta
Warm.
Swinouliscie
*Reszer
Gizycko
Capitals of Countries
Volin Kamiert Pomorski
Malbork
*Pastek
Miastko
Gustron
Walin
Gryfice
Starogard Gd.
Extum
Dobre Miasto
Mragowo
Other Capitals
dwin
Oder-Haff
Pelplis
Morag
Orzysz
Nowpgard
Disztyn
Biskupiec
Augustow
International Boundaries
Gniew
Czersk
Prabuty
Neubrandenbur
Czluchów
Barczewo
Szczecinek
Chojnice
Kwidzyr
Sniardwy
Grajewd
Internal Boundaries
Police
Lobe
Ostroda
Now
1
Goleniów
Zineleniec
Debizno
Illawa
Szczytno
Techola
(Pisz
Canals
Müritzseel
Szozedin
Stargard
Drawsko
Sepóino
Lubawa
Olsztynek
Grudziadz
Sokolka
Railroads
Neustrefitz
Pomorskie
Jastrowie
Sicz.
Wecbor
Kraj.
Swiecie
Nowy Miasto
M
Kolno
Gryfind
Chelmno
Lubewskie
Monki
Crurna
Walcz.
Zidton
Koronowo
Nidzica
Wabrzezno
Lidsbark
Biat.
Poland is divided into 49 provinces (bear-
Pyrzyce
Choszczno
Wyrzysk
Bydgoszc
Chorzele
Chelmza
Lomza
WasilRow
ing the same name as their capitals) and
Pita
Brodnica
the autonomous cities of Warsaw, Lodt
F
Choina
Trzcianka
Solec
Dajaldowo,
and Cracow,
Golub
Ostrolaka
Bialystok
Gostyn, 13,300
C3
Looz, 111,000
CITIES and TOWNS
Lomza, 26,400
F 2
Przasnysz, 11,400
D2
F 2
F 4
Turek, 18,700
D 2
Przemsza (river)
Gostynin, 12,200
Aleksandrów Łódzki, 14,800
Grajewo, 11,400
Losice, 4,197
Przemyśl, 53,800
D3
F 2
D2
Pulawy, 36,400
F 3
Tychy, 72,800
B4
Rysy (mt.)
D 4
D3
B3
towicz, 21,100
F 3
E2
Ursus, 30,900
E 2
San (river)
F 3
Andrespol, 12,500
Grodziec, 10,200
D4
Grodzisk Mazowiecki, 21,000
Lubaczów, 8,298
Pultusk, 12,800
E2
Pyskowice, 23,300
Wąbrzeźno, 11,900
D2
Stupia (river)
C 1
A3
Sniardwy (lake)
E2
Andrychów, 14,300
F 2
Grójec, 10,400
E3
Luban, 17,500
B3
Augustów, 20,200
D2
Lubartów, 10,300
F
3
D4
Wadowice, 12,000
D4
Rabka, 10,800
Wagrowiec, 16,000
C 2
Sudeten (mts.)
B3
Bartoszyce, 15,700
E1
Grudziądz, 76,600
B 2
Lubin, 31,900
C 3
Racibórz, 40,600
C 3
B3
F 3
E3
Wałbrzych, 127,400
C 3
Uznam (Usedom) (isl.)
B1
Będzin, 42,500
Gryfice, 13,600
Lublin, 254,700
Radom, 166,000
D3
Wałcz, 19,200
C 2
Vistula (river)
D2
Gryfino, 7,446
B2
Belchatów, 9,230
D3
D3
Radomsko, 31,600
Warmia (reg.)
D1
Belzyce, 5,333
F 3
Gubin, 15,000
B3
Lubliniec, 20,100
F 2
Lubon, 17,000
C 2
Radziejów, 4,165
D 2
Warsaw (Warszawa) (cap.),
A3
1,377,100
E 2
Warta (river)
B 2
Biala Podlaska, 26,700
F3
Hajnówka, 14,600
C 1
Hrubieszów, 15,500
F 3
Lubsko, 13,000
B3
Radzionków, 28,200
F 3
C 3
Węgorzewo, 8,522
E1
Wieprz (river)
F 3
Białogard, 20,800
Hawa, 17,100
D2
Łuków, 16,300
Rawicz, 14,300
Białystok, 182,300
Malbork, 31,500
Ruda Slaska, 146,200
A 4
Wejherowo, 34,600
C 1
Wista (Vistula) (river)
D2
F 2
D1
Wieliczka, 14,000
E 3
Wkra (river)
E
2
Hza, 4,419
E3
C 3
Rumia, 23,800
D
1
Bielawa, 31,300
Inowroclaw, 55,900
D2
Maków Mazowiecki, 7,694
E2
3
Rybnik, 44,000
D
3
Wielun, 14,900
03
Wolln (ist,)
Bielsk Podlaski, Biata, 14,200 14,600
F2
Janów Lubelski, 5,944
F
3
Międzyrzec Podlaski, 13,800
D
Pomeranian Bay
Useam
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Rostock
Koszalin
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Wegorzewo
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Proszcz
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m
of
40
64
(Usedom)
Bytów
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a
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Trzebiatów
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Sejny
Bialogard
Kościefzyna
Tczew
neta
Warm.
Swinoujsci
Wolin Kamien Pomorski
Malbork
"Pastek
Reszel
Gizycko
Capitals of Countries
Miastko
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Wolin
Gryfice
Starogard Gd.
Sztum
Dobre Miasto
Mrágowo
Other Capitals
dwin
Pelpli
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Qder-Haff
Orzysz
Augustów
International Boundaries
Polczyn-Zdrój
Gniew
Prabuty
Olsztyn
Biskupied
Nowogard
Człuchów
Czersk
Barczewo
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Sniardwy
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Internal Boundaries
Police
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Goleniów
2
Debizno
Now
Szczylno
Canals
adeleniec
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on
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lastrowie
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Poland is divided into 49 provinces (bear-
Chorzele
Choszczno
Bydgoszca
Wasilhow
ing the same name as their capitals) and
Lomza
the autonomous cities of Warsaw, Lódz
2
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Wyrzysk
Chelmza
2
Pyrzyce
Brodnica
Działdowo
and Cracow.
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Trzcianka
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tapy
Dobiegniew
Szubin
Hypin
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aberswalde
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Inowroclaw
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Pultusk
Berlin
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Kostrzy
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Podlaski
Wronki
Oborniki
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Kruszwica
Włocławek
Plonsk
Warta
Nasielsk
Bug
Pniewy
Szamotuly Gniezno
Strzelno
lock
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Brandenburg
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Frankfurt
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ski
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stynin
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POLAND
Copyright HAMMOND INCORPORATED Maplewood, N.J.
RYSY
A
14°
B
16°
C
D
Longitude
20°
East of
E
Greenwich
22°
F
24°
304
POLAND
In spite of the extensive nationalization of
Poland's Role in the Communist Trading Bloc.
Po
production, the state continued to tolerate, and
land's economic plans have been integrated
may even have tacitly encouraged, small private
through the machinery of COMECON ("Council
workshops, primarily because the quality of their
for Mutual Economic Assistance), with those
output was generally higher than that of the
other East European countries, Yugoslavia and
state-run operations.
Albania excepted. COMECON calls for a degree
Collectivization of Agriculture. The attempts of
of specialization and mutual trade between mem-
the Polish government to control all aspects of
bers of the bloc, and it became Poland's role
the economy were, however, rebuffed in agricul-
this integrated system to concentrate on the man-
ture. Poland traditionally was a land of large
ufacture of steel and heavy engineering equip-
estates, which were owned by the aristocracy.
ment. While Poland welcomed this particular
Between the two world wars there had been a
role, it has generally opposed the policy of
measure of land reform, which involved the
complete "socialist division of labor" and has
breaking up of some of the estates into peasant
aimed at a more broadly based economic devel-
holdings. After 1945 the peasants expected this
opment than envisaged by COMECON.
process to continue. But the government, follow-
ing the Soviet model, planned to combine small
MINING, POWER, AND MANUFACTURING
holdings and estates into collective farms that
Beginning with the plan of 1950-1956, large-
were to be operated by government-appointed
scale capital investments were made in mining
officials. In those parts of Germany that passed
hydroelectric development, and iron and steel
to Poland after World War II, many German-
production. New coal mines were opened up,
owned estates were taken over by the Polish
and coal production rose from 50 million metric
authorities, and many were run as state farms,
tons in 1946 to 130 million in 1970, almost all of
particularly in the Western Territories.
it from the Upper Silesian field. Poland became,
Elsewhere, the peasants strenuously resisted
after Britain and West Germany, Europe's largest
attempts to establish collective farms, and forced
producer of coal. Coal mining did not suffer as
the government to postpone its plans. These
acutely from the competition of other forms of
Mechanization of farm
were revived, however, in the 1950's. The gov-
fuel as happened in many other countries, part-
ernment played upon the jealousy of the poor
ly owing to its relative cheapness. Furthermore,
peasants toward the rich, and gradually elimi-
Poland retained a significant export trade in
Tye to wheat. The
nated the latter. However, the peasants, with
coal.
primarily as fodder,
very few goods available to them on which to
Zinc and lead mining continued to be impor-
don of potatoes, wh
spend their income, withheld produce from the
tant, and copper mining was developed in Lower
tran diet, doubled.
market to protest the attempts at collectivization.
Silesia. Poland ranked among the leaders in the
which are grown in
This led to acute hardship in the cities. Pres-
production of sulfur.
better soils, rose th:
sure mounted against the government, which
The development of power sources other than
portant in the warm
after the uprising of 1956 was compelled virtual-
coal was also one of the goals of the national
Poland has resto
ly to abandon, at least for a time, its plans to
economic plans. Power generators were built
of livestock on i
collectivize agriculture. Collectivization remains,
with Soviet aid, the hydroelectric potential of
sittle. Few peasant
however, a long-term objective.
the mountain streams was utilized, and energy
bough cattle raising
About 80% of all cultivated land is in private
was made available to factories and workshops
17 swine, the size
hands. However, the percentage of land in state
The iron-smelting and steel industry has been
creased in an attem
or collective farms is slowly increasing. It is
concentrated on the Upper Silesian coalfield. Its
rying standard. Tl
noteworthy that productivity is somewhat greater
capacity was greatly increased by the incorpora:
pricted by the sca:
on this public land and, more importantly, that
tion of the previously German sector of the coal
Horses are less in de
the ratio of output to labor is significantly higher
basin.
eplacing them for f
than on peasant land.
Large additions were made to existing steel
The Postwar Shift in the Economy. In the decades
plants. A new works was built near Warsaw, and
that followed World War II, manufactured goods
integrated iron and steel works were built at
formed a steadily increasing proportion of total
Częstochowa and to the east of Kraków, where
production, so that Poland was transformed from
the planned city of Nowa Huta was founded in
a predominantly agricultural country into one
1949 for the workers in the nearby factory. Since
primarily engaged in manufacturing. At the end
Poland's reserves of iron ore are small, much of
of this period over half of the gross national
the ore for the furnaces is brought by rail from
product was derived from manufacturing, mining,
the Soviet Union.
and power production. Less than 20% came from
The mechanical and electrical engineering in-
agriculture.
dustry was greatly expanded; particularly in
During this same period there was a conse-
quent shift in employment. Agriculture, which
Wrocław (Breslau), Poznań, Bydgoszcz, and Up- at
per Silesia. Shipbuilding has been developed
had employed more than half the population be-
Szczecin (Stettin) and Gdańsk (Danzig), and
fore the first national plans went into effect after
the manufacture of automobiles at Warsaw.
Other important industrial products include
great steel city of
the war, accounted for only 38% in the 1970's. At
founded just east
the same time employment in manufacturing in-
chemicals, textiles, and artificial fertilizers. Food
1949. It is a major IT
creased.
processing is another important industry. An
senter, based on Polis
Poland's concentration on capital-goods in-
aluminum industry which is based on Hungarian
dustries in the first national plans meant that the
bauxite and domestic brown coal, has also been
ore that is importe
the Soviet Union.
production of consumer goods received little en-
developed.
couragement. Clothing, footwear, and all forms
of domestic equipment were continuously in short
AGRICULTURE
supply, and housing construction was inadequate
The expansion of agriculture in the decades
for local needs. These conditions began to change
following World War II was little short of It
very slowly in the 1970's, as the state planners
markable. Gross
diverted more resources from capital-goods to
80% between 1950
consumer-goods industries.
increased twofold,
18 Communist Trading Bloc
ery
ans COMECON COME
c
1 countries, Yugoslavia
OMECON calls for a degree
mutual trade between
I it became Poland's role mém
I to concentrate on the
1 heavy engineering equin mai
I welcomed this particul
, opposed the policy
livision of labor" and of
dly based economic deve
d by COMECON.
AND MANUFACTURING
plan of 1950-1956, lar
nts were made in mining
nent, and iron and stea
[ mines were opened
se from 50 million metri un
llion in 1970, almost all
sian field. Poland became of
Germany, Europe's largest
mining did not suffer
EASTFOTO
etition of other forms
any other countries, part.
Mechanization of farm operations is widespread on government-run farms but has lagged on peasant holdings.
cheapness. Furthermor
nificant export trade
rye to wheat. The area planted to oats, grown
TRANSPORTATION
g continued to be impors
primarily as fodder, also expanded. The produc-
was developed in Lower
tion of potatoes, which supply much of the hu-
Poland's internal transportation network was
among the leaders in the
man diet, doubled. The output of sugar beets,
almost completely destroyed during World War
which are grown in rotation with cereals on the
II. Rebuilding railroads and bridges and re-
better soils, rose threefold. Corn is locally im-
equipping docks became a major objective.
power sources other than
portant in the warmer southern districts.
A network of main roads radiates from War-
ae goals of the national
Poland has restored and expanded the num-
saw to all parts of the country. They are well
generators were built
ber of livestock on its farms, especially pigs and
maintained but narrow. Cross-country roads,
droelectric potential of
cattle. Few peasant farms are without pigs, and
however, are often in very poor condition.
as utilized, and energy
though cattle raising is less important than rais-
The railroads are relatively more important
actories and workshops.
I steel industry has been
ing swine, the size of the herds has been in-
for both passengers and freight than in western
creased in an attempt to improve the country's
Europe. The total length of track is about 14,-
er Silesian coalfield. Its
living standard. The number of sheep is re-
425 miles (23,214 km), of which at least 2,000
eased by the incorpora
stricted by the scarcity of good grazing land.
miles (3,220 km) are electrified. The railroads
rman sector of the coal
Horses are less in demand since small tractors are
are much more developed in areas taken from
made to existing steel
replacing them for farm work.
Germany than in the rest of the country.
built near Warsaw, and
I works were built at
K. KAMINSKI, TAURUS PHOTOS
east of Kraków, where
Huta was founded in
e nearby factory. Since
ore are small, much of
; brought by rail from
ectrical engineering in
nded, particularly in
i, Bydgoszcz, and Up.
as been developed at
dańsk (Danzig), and
biles at Warsaw.
The great steel city of Nowa Huta
rial products include
was founded just east of Kraków
icial fertilizers. Food
in 1949. It is a major metallurgical
ortant industry. An
center, based on Polish coal and
based on Hungarian
Iron ore that is imported primarily
1 coal, has also been
from the Soviet Union.
RE
lture in the decades
as little short of re-
output rose by over
Cereal production
gnificant shift from
305
however, now take the form of animal products
with pork products among the most important of
to about 2,288,000. T
its food exports. The amount of grain that must
ther by migration du
be imported increases as agriculture declines in
When migration effec
relative importance in the country's economy and
1940's, the German-sp
as the population expands. Helping to offset
land had dropped to b
these imports are significant exports of chemicak
000. In 1975 a treaty
textiles and clothing, footwear, and fishing and
West Germany relating
other vessels.
of Germans from Polar
Apart from the Communist countries, West
by West Germany in
Germany is Poland's largest trading partner, fol-
issuance by Poland, in
lowed by the United Kingdom and the United
of exit visas to over 10
States. In the 1970's, Poland became increasingly
man extraction wishing
dependent on the United States for grain.
Cermany.
This enormous mis
3. The People
World War II was OI
The Poles are a Slavic people. The core of
Immigration of about
their country was established in the 10th century
eastern territories of F
by Slavic tribes called the Polane (Poljane), who
the Soviet Union, an
lived along the bend of the Warta River. Gradu-
about 2,266,000 Poles
ally other Slavic tribes to the north and the east
Cermany as forced lal
were brought under. their rule. The Poles then
the armies of the west
spread across the Vistula, where they partially
A census taken in
absorbed the Prussian, Lithuanian, and Ruthe-
population of Poland
nian peoples.
was about 24 million.
Language. The early Slavic tribes of east-
during the following
central Europe had their distinctive dialects.
rose steadily. By 1960
K. KAMINSKI, TAURUS PHOTOS
These were gradually replaced by standard Polish
Thereafter the rate of
Shipbuilding at Gdańsk (above) and Szczecin (Stettin)
in the area ruled over by the descendants of the
birthrate declined from
provide Poland with one of its most profitable exports.
Polane. Standard Polish was derived from the
than 25 per 1,000 to
speech of the Polane tribes. Traces of the earlier
1982 the estimated po
dialects still exist, however, among the Kaszub
lion.
Rivers and canals are of comparatively little
of eastern Pomerania and in a language akin to
Religion. The Pol
importance as transportation routes. However,
Slovak in some areas of the Polish Carpathians.
whelmingly Roman C
the Odra is used for freighting Silesian coal to
Population Growth and Composition. The growth
tury the Reformation
the port of Szczecin (Stettin) and for importing
of the Polish population was particularly rapid
this was reversed duri
iron ore. Coal and iron ore are also shipped
during the Middle Ages, when the Poles suffered
Jon. During the follow
along the Gliwicki Canal, which links the Upper
much less severely than the rest of Europe from
faced with the hostili
Silesian coalfield with the Odra. The Vistula
the ravages of the Black Death. Although the
the one Lutheran, the C
(Wisła) is too shallow for modern barges.
population suffered serious declines during the
was to intensify the C
Trade with fellow members of the Communist
wars of the 17th century, it recovered during
deed, Russian interfere
bloc goes largely by rail. Seaborne trade with the
the relative peace of the 18th century and again
of Poland and Russia's
rest of the world is mainly through the ports of
grew rapidly during the 19th and early 20th
atloning of Poland in the
Gdańsk and Szczecin. (Szczecin, on the west
centuries.
Immediate cause the
bank of the Odra, was included in Poland after
The population of Poland on the eve of
Orthodox population ir
World War II since the Odra basin, which
World War II was more than 35 million. Of this
the country. During
formed its hinterland, lay mainly in Poland.)
total almost one third belonged to minority peo:
Poland had ceased to
Gdańsk embraces for administrative purposes the
ples, the most numerous being the Ukrainians or
Rate, the Roman Cath
port of Gdynia, developed between the two world
Ruthenians, who made up nearly 14% of the total
role in keeping alive
wars chiefly for the handling of bulk commodities
population. The Jewish community numbered
Without the village pri
such as coal and iron ore. Gdańsk-Gdynia is
nearly 3 million, most of whom spoke Polish and
to the church with lo
served mainly by rail and road since the Vistula
were fully integrated into Polish life. The Ruthe
Poland, it is possible th
is of little value for commerce.
nians and a high proportion of the Jewish popu in
become assimilated with
lation lived in the eastern provinces, which
With the establishr
FOREIGN TRADE
September 1939 were annexed to the USSR.
munist state after Wor
The volume of foreign trade steadily in-
It is difficult to estimate the extent of Po-
tence of the church W
creased in the post-World War II period. About
land's wartime population losses, but these, in-
other Soviet-bloc count
two thirds of it is with other members of the
cluding the liquidation of Polish Jews, cannot
to tenacious in resistin
Communist bloc. The most important trading
have been less than 6 million.
munism, which is comn
partner is the Soviet Union. The integrated spe-
Poland's overall reduction in population after
Atheism. In the decade
World War II was due largely to the loss of Ger
relations between state
cialization in production among members of
COMECON has had the effect of increasing the
mans. The Germans who had been living in the
Lated: at times the sta
volume of their mutual trade, since their econ-
area that became postwar Poland numbered more
some kind of partial
omies are complementary rather than competitive.
than 8,765,000 before World War II. They were
thurch; but more fre
Poland has become an important supplier as
concentrated in Pomerania, Silesia, in the former in
has been marked with
well as importer of machinery and equipment.
German province of Posen, in Gdańsk, and to
Hripped the church of
Coal has long been a very important export, but
East Prussia. Their numbers had increased
which has proved to be
it is approximately balanced by the import of
well over 10 million during the war by the settle
Jewish Population. 1
ment in German-occupied Poland of refugees
Poland numbered abou
petroleum. The latter comes largely from the
War II, almost 80 tim
Soviet Union by way of the "Friendship Pipe-
from Allied bombing in Germany.
As the war drew to its end, many Germans
The Jews lived chiefly
line." Iron ore and textile raw materials are sig-
nificant imports.
fled before the Soviet troops advancing on Ger re
urban dwellers a highe
Poland at one time was a major exporter of
many. By 1946 the exodus of Germans had
than in western P
grain to western Europe. Agricultural exports,
duced the German population in Polish territory
Pale of Jewish se
uring the Russian Cza
306
mong the most important
ne form of animal products.
about 2,288,000. This was reduced even fur-
S as
amount a grain that mes in
ther to by migration during the following year.
When migration effectively ceased in the late
xpands.
the economy and
1940's, the German-speaking population of Po-
ificant exports
land had dropped to between 125,000 and 300,-
footwear,
000. In 1975 a treaty was signed by Poland and
West Germany relating to the further migration
Communist countries, West
of Germany in 1976. It provided for the
Germans from Poland. The treaty was ratified
argest trading partner, fol.
Kingdom and the United
by exit visas West by Visas Poland, in the succeeding four years,
to over 100,000 individuals of Ger-
Poland became increasingly
ted States for
man extraction wishing to leave Poland for West
Germany. This enormous migration from Poland after
World War II was only partially offset by the
lavic people. The core
olished in the loth cent whe
the Polane
a 1.5 million Poles from the
Poland that had passed to
the Soviet Union, by the repatriation of
F the River. Gradu-
about 2,266,000 Poles who had been taken to
to the north and the east
Germany as forced labor or who had served in
heir rule. The Poles then
the armies of the western Allies.
ula, where they partially
A census taken in 1946 revealed that the
Lithuanian, and Ruthe-
population of Poland within its new boundaries
was about 24 million. The birthrate was high
ly Slavic tribes of east-
during the following years, and the population
their distinctive dialects.
rose steadily. By 1960 it had reached 30 million.
placed by standard Polish
Thereafter the rate of increase slackened, as the
HANS KRAMARZ
by the descendants of the
birthrate declined from its postwar peak of more
Hundreds of thousands of Polish Roman Catholics make
h was derived from the
than 25 per 1,000 to 18 per 1,000 in 1974. By
a pilgrimage in August to Częstochowa monastery.
bes. Traces of the earlier
1982 the estimated population totaled 36.1 mil-
ever, among the Kaszub
lion.
nd in a language akin to
Religion. The Polish population is over-
In some small towns in eastern Poland the
f the Polish Carpathians,
whelmingly Roman Catholic. In the 16th cen-
Jews formed, if not a majority, at least a large
Composition. The growth
tury the Reformation made some progress, but
minority. In Warsaw, where they formed a large
n was particularly rapid
this was reversed during the Counter-Reforma-
and closely knit community, they chiefly inhab-
when the Poles suffered
tion. During the following centuries Poland was
ited the Muranów suburb, to the northwest of
the rest of Europe from
faced with the hostility of Prussia and Russia,
the Old City. Although they were to be found in
k Death. Although the
the one Lutheran, the other Orthodox. The effect
all walks of life, they were most numerous in
ous declines during the
was to intensify the Catholicism of Poland. In-
urban retailing and in handling the cash sales of
iry, it recovered during
deed, Russian interference in the internal affairs
the peasantry. Their role in landowning and
18th century and again
of Poland and Russia's involvement in the parti-
farming was limited.
e 19th and early 20th
tioning of Poland in the 18th century had as their
The liquidation of Polish Jewry began soon
immediate cause the Polish treatment of the
after the German conquest of most of the country
Poland on the eve of
Orthodox population in the eastern provinces of
in September 1939. Two of the most notorious
than 35 million. Of this
the country. During the 19th century, when
extermination camps-Oświęcim (Auschwitz),
longed to minority peo-
Poland had ceased to exist as an independent
near Kraków, and Majdanek, near Lublin-were
being the Ukrainians or
state, the Roman Catholic church played a vital
on Polish soil. Continued harassment of the Jews
? nearly 14% of the total
role in keeping alive the spirit of nationalism.
provoked the so-called Ghetto Rising in Warsaw
community numbered
Without the village priests who identified loyalty
in April 1943, when Muranów was barricaded
whom spoke Polish and
to the church with loyalty to the concept of a
and defended by its Jewish population. Its resis-
Polish life. The Ruthe-
Poland, it is possible that many Poles would have
tance, however, was short-lived. Muranów was
on of the Jewish popu-
become assimilated with their powerful neighbors.
completely destroyed, and those of its inhabitants
rn provinces, which in
With the establishment of the Polish Com-
who survived were sent to concentration camps.
exed to the USSR.
munist state after World War II, the very exis-
The Jewish population of Poland today is es-
nate the extent of Po-
tence of the church was threatened. Yet in no
timated to be about 35,000, but no official count
1 losses, but these, in-
other Soviet-bloc country has Catholicism proved
has been made. Furthermore, the Polish gov-
of Polish Jews, cannot
so tenacious in resisting the onslaughts of Com-
ernment has adopted to some degree an anti-
llion.
munism, which is committed to the promotion of
Semitic policy.
tion in population after
atheism. In the decades following World War II,
Cities, Towns, and Villages. When the Polish
gely to the loss of Ger-
relations between state and church have oscil-
Republic was established in 1918, only about one
had been living in the
lated: at times the state seemed to be seeking
quarter of the population lived in cities and
Poland numbered more
some kind of partial reconciliation with the
towns. Economic development during the inter-
rld War II. They were
church; but more frequently their relationship
war years led to a considerable increase in the
Silesia, in the former
has been marked with hostility, as the state has
size of cities. Nevertheless, the urban population
n, in Gdańsk, and in
stripped the church of all but its spiritual power,
was only slightly more than 30% by 1939. As a
pers had increased to
which has proved to be beyond the state's grasp.
result of World War II, Poland lost the lightly
the war by the settle-
Jewish Population. The Jewish population of
urbanized eastern provinces, but gained the more
I Poland of refugees
Poland numbered about 2,750,000 before World
heavily urbanized German provinces in the west.
rmany.
War II, almost 80 times larger than it is today.
Despite the wartime destruction of such cities
end, many Germans
The Jews lived chiefly in the cities, and of these
as Warsaw and Wrocław, the urban population
ps advancing on Ger-
urban dwellers a higher proportion lived in east-
in 1950 made up 40% of the total, and this in-
S of Germans had re-
em than in western Poland. In eastern Poland
creased to more than 50% in the 1970's.
ion in Polish territory
the Pate of Jewish settlement was established
The largest city is Warsaw, with a population
during the Russian Czarist period.
of almost 1.6 million. It replaced Kraków as
307
War I, its populatio
Hitler's Reich. It W
ing in 1945, when
Army and severely
port were rebuilt a
quarters were recon
Wrocław, in traditic
Poles were eager to
a Polish city before i
ROHATERSKA
Gdynia, 12 miles (1
WARSZAWN
was built up as a I
lacks distinction or c
PRACY
porciu
Szczecin (Stettin),
mouth of the Odra,
during World War Il
was driven out. It W
Polish immigrants fro
Other important in
(Posen), Bydgoszcz
Częstochowa. There
small towns.
Generally, the CC
both sides of a stre
and are built of WOOC
traditional designs, W
the country to anot]
DPI, FLORENCE TOMCZYR
still worn in some a
The Russian-built Palace of Culture and Science, viewed from a modern hotel plaza, is Warsaw's tallest building.
festive occasions.
4. Culture
Poland's capital in 1596 because of its central
is deplorable. But the Polish government has
Few European pe
location. The castle (zamek) was built overlook-
established new residential towns around the
scious of their past t
ing the Vistula. To the north lay the Old City;
periphery of the region, made up largely of row
flected in their presei
to the west and south there developed elegant
houses, which are generally superior to the
in the postwar rebuilc
suburbs, in which the Polish aristocracy built
earlier forms of workers' housing. The largest
customs that in other 1
magnificent urban palaces. Many of them sur-
towns within the industrial region are Katowice,
have been condemned
vive, most of which house departments of the
Zabrze, Bytom, and Chorzów, inhabited mainly
A great deal of P
Polish government. Industrial and residential
by miners and workers in the metal industries.
cratic quality. The I
suburbs, including Muranów, grew up at a great-
Łódź, the second-largest city, is southwest of
shortsighted though th
er distance from the city center, some of them
Warsaw. A large, sprawling industrial town, it
theless set a standar
across the Vistula to the east.
is engaged largely in textile manufacture. It
other sections of socie
Warsaw's growth was very rapid in the late
grew up in the mid-19th century and at one time
tried to approximate.
19th and early 20th centuries, and by 1939 it
was notorious for its squalor.
music and dancing, e'
had a population of 1,289,000. It was then more
Other important urban centers are Kraków,
tionships, this quality
than three quarters destroyed in the fighting in
Wrocław, Bydgoszcz, and the port cities of
September 1939 before it capitulated to the Ger-
Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Szczecin.
mans, during the Ghetto Rising in 1943, and
Kraków (Cracow), the medieval capital of
above all during the general rising against the
Poland, is a city of great beauty and charm. It
Germans in 1944.
is located within a bend of the Vistula, and is
Rebuilding began soon after this. The Polish
dominated by its castle, the Wawel, now a mu-
government decided on the slow and costly pro-
seum and art gallery, and the cathedral, which
cess of reconstructing the Old and Inner City
contains the tombs of many of the early kings of
in their traditional styles. They used as models
Poland. It was considered to be a conservative
Malbork (Marienburg) C
the paintings and drawings made between 1770
and aristocratic city, and it is said to have been
one of the largest medieva
and 1780 by Bernardo Bellotto, known as the
for this reason that the Communist regime lo-
buildings in Europe. It A
"Younger Canaletto," when he was court painter
cated the largest of its new iron and steel works
by the Teutonic Knights in
to the last king of Poland. The result was widely
and its workers' colony of Nowa Huta a short
century after they had CO
praised as a prime example of period restoration.
distance from it. Nowa Huta has been incorpo-
Prussia. The headquarter
The cost was immense, and the rebuilding of
rated into Kraków, which has thus been trans-
knights in what is now
housing was unquestionably starved of resources
formed into a mainly working-class city.
Poland, this castle withst
as a result. Warsaw became a museum of Polish
Wrocław, formerly the German city of Breslau
eral sieges before the Po
history, as it was intended to be, and it was in-
and capital of the former province of Silesia, is
possession of it in the 15th
dicative of the prevailing mood of patriotism that
an industrial town lying on the Odra River. Be-
scarcely a voice was raised in protest against this
fore World War II it was a city of great historical
example of extravagance.
interest and an important center of the engineer.
After Warsaw and its surrounding region, the
ing and metallurgical industries. It however,
most highly urbanized areas of Poland are Upper
defended by the Germans against the advancing
Silesia and the Lódź region. Upper Silesia, with
Russians in 1945 and reduced to ruins. The older
a population of about 1.5 million, is the leading
part of the city has been rebuilt in traditional
center of heavy industry. Although some of its
style.
closely spaced cities antedate the rise of modern
Gdańsk (Danzig), the old port city near the
industry, most grew up in the 19th century, and
mouth of the Vistula, was
are among the worst examples in Europe of
man-speaking before World War
unplanned urban growth. Much of the housing
had been constituted a "free
308
POLAND
309
I,
its population was highly sympathetic to
and gentry were of the same ethnic stock as the
Haler's
Reich. It was the center of heavy fight-
peasantry and shared with them the same lan-
1945, when it was overrun by the Red
guage. By contrast, the upper classes in the
Amy and rebuilt and reequipped. The older
in severely damaged. The city and its
Czech lands tended to be German, and in south-
eastern Europe they were for a long time Turkish.
were reconstructed, as in Warsaw and
Literature. The Polish cultural tradition took
Wroclaw, in traditional Renaissance style. The
shape between the 16th and 19th centuries. By
were eager to emphasize that Gdańsk was
the 16th century a flexible and versatile written
Poles Polish city before it passed under German rule.
language had evolved. A literary tradition began
Gdynia, 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Gdańsk,
to develop, and within a century a large and
built up as a port city in the 1920's, and
varied literature had come into existence. Prom-
was
inent among a large number of Renaissance writ-
is a port city near the
ers was Mikołaj Rej, whose most important work
during World War II, and its German population
mouth of the Odra, was almost wholly destroyed
was one in prose on the rural life of the Polish
gentry. Among early poets was the 16th century
driven out. It was rebuilt and colonized by
humanist Jan Kochanowski, who created a na-
Polish was immigrants from the lost eastern provinces.
tional poetic literature in the classic and human-
Other important industrial cities are Poznań
istic spirit. Outstanding writers in the 18th
Posen), Bydgoszcz (Bromberg), Lublin, and
century included the political reformer Hugo
Czestochowa. There are many medium-sized and
Kołłątaj, the real drafter of the Constitution of
sinall towns.
1791; and Ignacy Krasicki, a poet and the author
Generally, the cottages in the villages line
of Poland's first novel, The Adventures of Miko-
both sides of a street, usually have one story,
taj Doświadczyński (1776).
and are built of wood and thatched according to
The Romantic period was the most distin-
traditional designs, which vary from one part of
guished in Polish literature, because the deeply
DPI, FLORENCE
the country to another. Peasant costumes are
felt tragedy of the partitions and the demise of
za, is Warsaw's tallest building
still worn in some areas on holidays and other
the Polish state gave rise to intense literary ex-
festive occasions.
pression. It was dominated by the work of three
poets, Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki, and
4.
Culture
the Polish government has
Zygmunt Krasiński. Mickiewicz fled his country
idential towns around the
Few European peoples are more deeply con-
with the failure of the 1830-1831 rising against
on, made up largely of row
scious of their past than the Poles. This is re-
Poland's Russian rulers and became the literary
leader of the Poles in exile. He published many
generally superior to the
lected in their preservation of traditional styles
kers' housing. The largest
in
the postwar rebuilding of ruined cities and of
poems, but he is chiefly known for his epic poem
ustrial region are Katowice
customs that in other Communist countries would
Pan Tadeusz, which presented a sympathetic
Chorzów, inhabited mainly
have been condemned as bourgeois.
picture of rural life in Lithuania. Thanks to him,
A great deal of Polish culture has an aristo-
Polish literature came into the orbit of world
'S in the metal industries,
largest city, is southwest of
cratic quality. The Polish nobility and gentry,
literature. Słowacki was a poetic dramatist of
rawling industrial town, it
shortsighted though they were politically, never-
great power and intensity, whose work revolved
n textile manufacture.
theless set a standard of graceful living that
around the tragedy of the Polish nation. Krasiń-
)th qualor. century and at one time It
other sections of society have in varying degrees
ski, the last of the three great figures of Polish
tried to approximate. In art and architecture,
Romanticism, was also a dramatist whose plays
irban centers are Kraków
music and dancing, even in daily personal rela-
had a deep political purpose. He was a prom-
tionships, this quality is apparent. The nobility
inent exponent of what has been called Polish
Szczecin. and the port cities of
the medieval capital of
HANS KRAMARZ
eat beauty and charm. It
nd of the Vistula, and is
e, the Wawel, now a mu-
and the cathedral, which
nany of the early kings of
ered to be a conservative
Malbork (Marienburg) Castle is
d it is said to have been
one of the largest medieval secular
e Communist regime lo-
buildings in Europe. It was built
new iron and steel works
by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th
of Nowa Huta a short
century after they had conquered
Huta has been incorpo-
Prussia. The headquarters of the
ich has thus been trans-
knights in what is now northern
orking-class city.
Poland, this castle withstood sev-
e German city of Breslau
eral sieges before the Poles took
er province of Silesia, is
possession of it in the 15th century.
on the Odra River. Be-
$ a city of great historical
it center of the engineer-
ustries. It was, however,
as against the advancing
uced to ruins. The older
en rebuilt in traditional
e old port city near the
vas predominantly Ger-
rld War II. Though it
"free city" after World
Music. Poland has a rich legacy of folk song
and dance, which was refined for performance in
Russian, Ukrainian, Czecl
were used.
the homes of the gentry. Most Polish composers
made use of traditional materials, and none more
Education in Communis
War II the Communist
than Chopin, Poland's most famous composer.
Karol Kurpiński and Stanisław Moniuszko were
more uniform and closely
leading operatic composers of the 19th century,
system. Few concessions
minorities, and the role
who used the stage to present various aspects of
Polish life and aspirations. The 20th century
in education, in particular
blocked. Education in the
composer Karol Szymanowski, while never for-
on Marxist-Leninist lines
getting the national tradition in music, reflected
written to fit the new e
more closely the impressionist trends of western
The history books now
Europe. Witold Lutosławski and Krzysztof Pende-
Union as Poland's savior.
recki reflect contemporary trends in musical
thought.
teaching of the Russian la
pulsory, and training in r
Architecture and Painting. Though architecture
in Poland has always been influenced by foreign
tific subjects was strengthe
styles, it has never lost its traditional and na-
Below the university le
tional flavor. This is shown in the Renaissance
nized into three stages. C
architecture of the cities of southern Poland. In
attend nursery schools fro
indoctrinate them at an ear
the 18th century the landowners built rural
their mothers to take facto
manor houses and urban palaces in the restrained
classical style known as Palladian. Warsaw con-
pulsory schooling continue
tains some of the finest Palladian architecture
is followed by an optional
during which the student
in Europe. Every effort is made to preserve the
scientific subjects. In att
older buildings as part of Poland's cultural her-
declared objective of cr
itage. This is particularly true in the carefully
literate work force for a n
rebuilt parts of Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań, and
ety, Poland has undoubte
Wrocław.
able success with this edu
Painting developed later than literature and
K. KAMINSKI, TAURUS PHOTOS
price has been the suppress
architecture. Bernardo Belloto, an Italian, por-
The royal castle on Wawel Hill in Kraków was the seat
tion, the loss of the richi
trayed Polish life in the late 18th century. Paint-
of the kings of Poland in the 14th-16th centuries.
system that was adjusted 1
ing in the 19th century was romantic and nation-
alist, and Jan Matejko, the best-known artist of
differences, and the imposit
Leninist philosophy.
the period, portrayed heroic scenes from Poland's
messianism-the view of Poland, "the Christ
Before 1939, Poland a
history.
among the nations," as suffering, dying, and ris-
five universities. The Jagi
As in the case of literature, socialist realism
ing again.
Kraków, founded in 1364,
was the dominant style in the post-World War
The Romantic tradition gave way to a more
in Europe. The others wer
II period. However some artists, working with-
realistic vein after the failure of the final rising
Lwów, and Vilna. The las
out public sanction, painted in the same mod-
against Russia in 1863-1864. Polish writing be-
Soviet Union. In addition,
ernist styles that were current in the non-Com-
came less visionary and concerned itself more
University at Lublin, supp
munist world.
with economic and social improvement within a
the church. This still surviv
Cinema. Two Polish film directors gained an
political framework that clearly could not be
university in the whole C
international reputation after World War II.
changed in the near future. The short stories
Andrzej Wajda directed a trilogy consisting of
result of boundary changes,
and novels of Bolesław Prus, pseudonym of Alek-
A Generation (1954), Kanal (1957), and Ashes
sander Głowacki, were of paramount importance
founded five new universit
university of Wrocław (B
and Diamonds (1958). Roman Polanski's Knite
for the development of the art of realistic narra-
Cdańsk, Katowice, and 1
in the Water appeared in 1962. On the strength
tion in Poland. Best known to the West of the
Lublin was clearly designed
of this work he was welcomed by foreign pro-
writers of this period was Henryk Sienkiewicz,
face of the Catholic Univers
ducers and continued his work in the United
who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905
short distance away on the
States and elsewhere.
for The Teutonic Knights. His Quo Vadis had
There are in addition te
a world circulation in the millions.
5. Education
in which instruction is
At the turn of the century, realism gave way
In 1918, Poland faced the enormous task of
industry; seven agricultur
to symbolism and modernism. One of the out-
overcoming the inadequacies of the educational
and specializing in economi
standing poets of the new era was Jan Kasprowicz,
systems as they had developed in German-, Ruse
a lyric poet. The gifted novelist Stefan Zeromski
sian-, and Austrian-held Poland. In Russian
music academies, schools of
a number of training
brought an unprecedented lyrical vividness to
Poland, illiteracy was high. In German Poland,
cational schools that provi
his descriptions of poverty, suffering, and social
education had been subordinated to other objec
which were formerly attache
those already employe
evil. The novelist Władysław Reymont won the
tives of the state, two of which were to counter
Nobel Prize for literature in 1924 for his novel
the influence of the Roman Catholic Church
were walth. A number of new ac
now dependent directly
The Peasants. The most creative dramatist of
and to destroy Polish nationalism.
the period was Stanislaw Wyspiański.
The educational system devised for a united
founded in the 1950's.
In the first decade of Poland's rebirth as a
Poland reduced illiteracy to 12% by 1939. School the
At the summit of the Po
is the Academy of Scien
sovereign nation, lyric poetry predominated, un-
ing was made compulsory for all between
der the aegis of a group called the Skamandrites.
it is modeled directly on
Its outstanding poet was Juljan Tuwim. The nov-
two stages, primary and secondary,
ages of 8 and 15. Education was organized
%onding with special fields
a of institutes
elists generally were realists.
stage for selected students between
After World War II, socialist realism took
16 and 18. Private organizations, in particular
primarily a teaching in:
root, with literature tending to serve the political
the Roman Catholic important
aims of the state. However, when Nikita Khrush-
provide Warsaw. Its purpose is to c
close links with
chev came to power in the Soviet Union in 1956,
ities permitted a the
role in education. The Polish
large number of these were spoken. thania
Nigher Mademic bodies, and, above
a link between th
a temporary "thaw" ensued in Poland that per-
in communities
mitted greater literary freedom.
education and resear
principles of Marxis
310
POLAND: 5. Education-6. Government
311
a rich legacy of folk
Czech, Yiddish, and Hebrew
6. Government
refined for performance
try. Most Polish composol
Ausslan, Ukrainian, Education in Communist Poland. After World
Before World War II, Poland was, according
1 materials, and none
II the Communist authorities imposed a
to its constitution, a parliamentary democracy.
S most famous compos mo
War uniform and closely controlled educational
However the spirt of the constitution was violated
Stanislaw Moniuszko
concessions were made to linguistic
when Marshal Pilsudski, minister for war and
osers of the 19th century were
of private organizations
inspector general of the army, exercised almost
present various aspects
that of the church, was
dictatorial control in the decade before his death
tions. The 20th centur
schools was organized
in 1935. This constitution effectively lapsed with
anowski, while never
lines. Textbooks were re-
the fall of the republic in 1939, though appeal
adition in music, reflect
to fit the new educational philosophy.
was constantly made to it by the postwar govern-
essionist trends of western
written history books now portrayed the Soviet
ment. A temporary constitution was adopted in
awski and Krzysztof Pends,
Union The as Poland's savior. At the same time the
1947, but it was continuously modified in the
orary trends in musical
of the Russian language was made com-
direction of the Soviet Union's.
training in mathematics and scien-
A new constitution was adopted on July 22,
ting. Though architectu
was strengthened.
1952. Openly modeled on Stalin's constitution of
een influenced by foreign
university level, education is orga-
1936, it provides for a single chamber assembly,
t its traditional and
into three stages. Children are required to
or Sejm, elected for a four-year term by all
hown in the Renaissan
attend nized nursery schools from 4 to 6, in part to
citizens over 17 years old. There is, however,
S of southern Poland
landowners built
palaces in the restrained runs
their mothers to take factory or office jobs. Com-
indoctrinate them at an early age, in part to allow
a single list of candidates, so that the elector can
vote only for or against the official nominee.
Palladian. Warsaw cons
pulsory schooling continues to the age of 15 and
The chief function of the Sejm is to choose
followed by an optional period of three years,
the Council of State, which corresponds to the
it Palladian architectur
is made to preserve
during is which the student usually specializes in
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet within the
scientific subjects. In attempting to fulfill its
Soviet Union. The chairman of the Council of
of Poland's cultural her.
declared objective of creating a skilled and
State is the titular chief of state. The council
-ly true in the carefully
literate work force for a modern industrial soci-
serves as a kind of collective sovereign body for
, Gdańsk, Poznań, and
Poland has undoubtedly achieved consider-
the Polish state. It can issue binding decrees in
able cty, success with this educational system. The
time of emergency and is the supreme interpreter
ater than literature
Belloto, an Italian, por and
price has been the suppression of religious educa-
of the constitution in cases of dispute. It does
tion, the loss of the richness and variety of a
not, however, exercise executive functions under
ate 18th century. Paint
system that was adjusted to ethnic and regional
normal conditions. These are vested in the Coun-
as romantic and nation.
differences, and the imposition of a crude Marxist-
cil of Ministers, a kind of cabinet, presided over
he best-known artist
Leninist philosophy.
by a chairman who serves as premier. The
bic scenes from Poland
Before 1939, Poland as it then existed had
Council of Ministers is elected by the Sejm. It is
five universities. The Jagiellonian University in
the duty of the Council of Ministers to prepare
rature, socialist realism
Kraków, founded in 1364, was one of the oldest
the budget and to formulate the economic plans,
n the post-World War
in Europe. The others were at Warsaw, Poznań,
all of which must be submitted to the Sejm for
artists, working with
Lwów, and Vilna. The last two are now in the
ratification. This constitution establishes certain
ted in the same mod.
Soviet Union. In addition, there was a Catholic
outward forms of democracy, including the re-
rrent in the non-Com-
University at Lublin, supported and staffed by
sponsibility of the premier and Council of
the church. This still survives as the only private
Ministers to the Sejm. They are, however, nomi-
Im directors gained
an
university in the whole Communist bloc. As a
nees of the party, as is the Sejm itself. Further-
after World War
II
result of boundary changes, Poland acquired the
more, the Council of State also includes nominees
1 trilogy consisting
of
university of Wrocław (Breslau). It has also
of the Communist party.
hal (1957), and Ashes
founded five new universities at Lódź, Lublin,
Communist Party Structure. The Communist
oman Polanski's Knife)
Gdansk, Katowice, and Torun. The one at
party of Poland, known as the Polish United
1962. On the strength
Lublin was clearly designed to counter the influ-
Workers' Party (Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robot-
omed by foreign pro-
ence of the Catholic University of Lublin, located
nicza), was formed in 1948 by a fusion of the
work in the United
a short distance away on the same street.
Communist Polish Workers' party with the Polish
There are in addition ten technical universi-
Socialist party. Its membership, always quite
ties, in which instruction is geared to the needs
small, is about 2.5 million. This is in keeping
of industry; seven agricultural colleges; six insti-
with the general Communist practice of preferring
the enormous task of
tutes specializing in economics and social sciences;
a small party of indoctrinated and dedicated
es of the educational
and a number of training colleges for teachers,
cadres to a larger group of doubtful loyalty. The
bed in German-, Rus
music academies, schools of art and drama, and
party is more highly organized and more active
Poland. In Russian
vocational schools that provide part-time training
in the industrial cities and the western parts of
In German Poland
for those already employed. Medical schools,
the country than it is in the east, where the rela-
nated to other object
which were formerly attached to the universities,
tively conservative peasantry is numerically dom-
hich were to counter
are now dependent directly on the ministry of
inant.
an Catholic Church
health. A number of new academies of medicine
The local Communist parties elect members
nalism.
were founded in the 1950's.
to the central committee of the party, which in
devised for a united
At the summit of the Polish educational sys-
turn delegates control over all political activity
12% by 1939. School
tem is the Academy of Sciences. In its organiza-
to its politburo (political bureau). The most
for all between the
tion it is modeled directly on the Soviet Academy,
powerful person within both the central commit-
on was organized in
with a number of institutes or divisions corre-
tee and its politburo is its first secretary.
ondary, with a third
sponding with special fields of knowledge. It is
Power in Poland ultimately rests with the
between the ages of
not primarily a teaching institution, though its
central committee and its first secretary, since
ations, in particular
staff has close links with the University of
they in fact control all the institutions of govern-
played an important
Warsaw. Its purpose is to carry on research, to
ment provided for in the constitution. This is
The Polish author
provide a link between the government and
not to say, however, that they are beyond the
on-Polish languages
academic bodies, and, above all, to ensure that
reach of public pressure. In 1956, in 1970, and
were spoken. In
higher education and research conform strictly
in 1980, rioting led to shakeups in the party
erman, Lithuanian,
with the principles of Marxism-Leninism.
and the replacement of the first secretary.
%
312
POLAND: 7. History
Local Government. Following the reform of the
7. History
state. From here it и
administrative structure in 1973-1975, the num-
their successors in ab
ber of provinces (województwa) was increased
The Polish state was born in the middle years
Mieszko converte
from 22 to 49, of which three are the metropoli-
of the 10th century. It appears in recorded his-
Poland under the di
tan cities of Warsaw, Lódź, and Kraków. In each
tory in 963, and this date is commonly taken to
Gniezno became the S
there is a twofold structure of civil government
mark its beginning. Poland was formed by Slavic
it remained until th
and party organization. At the local level of
tribes that lived in the area between the Odra
seat of the archbishop
administration there are 2,365 gminy (communi-
and the Vistula rivers. The most important of
moved to Warsaw.
ties); which have replaced the earlier and more
these Slavic tribes were the Polane Poljane),
The political hist
complex structure of counties, municipalities, and
literally "the people of the plain." It is from
next 500 years is ext
communes. In each of these lower-order units,
them that Poland derives its name.
country continued unt
peoples' councils; similar to the soviets in the
The Polane, originally a loosely knit group of
be ruled by members
USSR, exercise jurisdiction over local affairs.
tribes, were first brought under a common
for much of this period
These major reforms in local administration
leadership in the early 10th century. To the
country. It was the pr
had the effect of reducing the size of the bureauc-
north of the Polane lived the Slavic Pomorzanie,
make provision for y
racy, since thousands of jobs were eliminated
literally "the people beside the sea, whose name
them a duchy or provi
with the demise of the counties (powiaty).
survives in the regional name of Pomorze (Pomer-
king continued to ha
Furthermore, increasing the number of provinces
ania). The Slavic Mazowszanie lived to the east
over the whole countr
meant the reduction of each in size. In this way
in the Vistula Valley. These regional groupings
effective only in those
Warsaw was able to dilute the political impor-
of Slavic tribes persisted through the Middle
direct control. Periodic
tance of the provincial party chiefs.
Ages in Poland and were reflected in Poland's
families holding appana
Defense. Poland is a member of the Warsaw
political divisions. Some of the tribes continued
die out, and their territ
Pact (the Eastern European Mutual Aid Treaty).
to exist in almost complete independence.
king. As a result, the
It maintains a standing army with paramilitary
The Piast Dynasty. The first historically veri-
integrated and drew tog
units. It is organized on the Soviet model, with
fiable member of the family that dominated the
Among the rulers W
three military areas based on Warsaw, Bydgoszcz,
area between the Odra and the Vistula was
country were Casimir
and Wrocław. Polish youth are subject to con-
Mieszko I. He founded the Piast dynasty, Piast
Odnowiciel, the "Restor
scription at the age of 18, and may be recalled
being the name of one of his family's legendary
Boleslav III, nicknamed
for service up to 50.
ancestors. Mieszko (reigned about 963-992), who
mouthed" (reigned 110
There is also an air force, equipped with
was recognized as king by Emperor Otto III, and
successfully to terminate
Soviet-built planes. The navy consists of a few
his immediate successor, Boleslav the Brave
allenation of land; and \
destroyers and submarines, together with mine-
(Bolesław Chrobry; reigned 992-1025), greatly
called Lokietek, "the Sho
sweepers and auxiliary craft.
expanded the limits of their state, conquering
(1333). Vladislav was suc
A Soviet force of two divisions is maintained
territory westward to the Odra, northward to the
Casimir III, known later
on Polish soil for the ostensible purpose of
Baltic, and southward to the mountains. The
freigned 1333-1370), t
maintaining communications with the Soviet
general limits of the state over which the early
ruler Poland was to know.
forces in East Germany. Though stationed away
Piasts asserted at least nominal control were ap
his founding of Poland's f
from centers of population and rarely seen, this
proximately those of modern Poland, exclusive
of its northeastern section. The seat of Piast
versity the of Kraków, his pat
military presence is a guarantee of the loyalty of
encouragement he ga
Poland to the Soviet Union.
authority was Gniezno, in the center of their
elopment of the country.
The weakness of the 1
Highland shepherds wearing traditional costumes drive their sheep into summer pastures in the Tatra uplands
Coland, permitted German
Lasts, coupled with the p
a territory. Germans adv.
hich had served as the W
Itly Polish tribes, and m
me German in speech.
rovinces changed their
bilsh crown to the Holy
Casimir III relinquishe
esia to the king of Bohei
thus in retreat from
the Odra river.
There were even times V
Germans to aid them
In this way the crus
utonic Order went to East
Vited by the Polish prince
(Luovia) to help him defen
Cerman knishts stayed
Derce, Prussia
TX asked to pro
mir III the Great left n
Jagiellonian Dynasty
de his nephew ]
In 1382, I
as "king of Polano
Maystaw 1386 she married
grand
of Pol:
two state with the vast du
In his per:
Quously united in the cou sen
two
POLAND: 7. History
313
From here it was moved to Poznań, and by
common sovereign. By the Union of Lublin in
e was born in the middle
state. successors in about 1300 to Kraków.
1569, concluded a few years before the death of
their to Christianity and placed
y. It appears in recorded
Mieszko cr the direct authority of the pope.
the last Jagiellonian king, this personal or dynas-
tic union was replaced by the political union of
his date is commonly taken
seat of an archbishop, which
the kingdom of Poland and the grand principality
Poland was formed by
1 the area
vers. The
wat moved 1 to
of the archbishop and primate of Poland was
19th century, when the
of Lithuania.
The Poles had already begun to penetrate
Lithuania, still largely pagan and tribal in its
were the Poljane
political history of Poland during the
organization, when the Lithuanian duke Jagiello
le of the plain." It is
500 years is extraordinarily complex. The
became king of Poland. The Polish nobles soon
derives its name.
next continued until the late 14th century to
formed a blood brotherhood with the Lithuanian
ginally a loosely knit group
by members of the Piast dynasty. But
landed aristocracy and carved out for themselves
early 10th century. To
brought under a common
much of this period Poland was not a united
vast estates in this thinly populated land. At the
Puchy for was the practice among the Piasts to
same time the Lithuanians were converted to
lived the Slavic Pomorza
for younger sons by granting
Roman Catholicism.
beside the sea," whose
a or province for their support. The
The Poles hoped to use Lithuanian manpower
nal name of Pomorze (Pomer name
them continued to have a nominal suzerainty
in order to help stem the advance of the Ger-
Mazowszanie lived to the
king whole country, but his authority was
mans. Of the Germans, the Teutonic Knights of
y. These regional groupir
the Periodically, however, those Piast
in those areas that were under his
Prussia presented the gravest threat because they
rsisted through the Mide
were well disciplined and efficiently armed and
I were reflected in Poland
appanages from the crown would
equipped. From their fortress of Malbork
ome of the tribes continues
die out, and their territories would revert to the
(Marienburg), they made raids into Polish terri-
omplete independence.
As a result, the country alternately dis-
tory. But in 1410, Jagiello and his Polish-
The first historically
integrated king. and drew together again.
Lithuanian army defeated the German knights at
family that dominated
Among the rulers who restored unity to the
Tannenberg (Grunwald). The Poles failed to
Ddra and the Vistula
country were Casimir (Kazimierz) I, named
follow up their victory, but at least they con-
ded the Piast dynasty,
Odnowiciel, the "Restorer," in the 11th century;
tained the Germans, who thereafter posed no
ne of his family's legendar
Boleslav III, nicknamed Krzywouśty, the "Wry-
serious threat to them for more than two cen-
eigned about 963-992),
mouthed" (reigned 1102-1138), who tried un-
turies. The Teutonic Order retained its land in
g by Emperor Otto III,
essor, Boleslav the Brave and
allenation of to terminate the practice of royal
Prussia, though in 1466 it was obliged to accept
land; and Vladislav (Władyslaw) I,
Polish sovereignty over it. At the Reformation,
reigned 992-1025), greatly
called Lokietek, "the Short" (reigned about 1306-
these Prussian lands were secularized and ulti-
of their state, conquering
1333). Vladislav was succeeded by his only son,
mately passed to the Hohenzollerns of Branden-
the Odra, northward to the
Casimir III, known later as Wielki, the Great
burg, by whom they were eventually used as a
d to the mountains. The
reigned 1333-1370), the most distinguished
springboard for an attack on Poland.
state over which the early
ruler Poland was to know. He is remembered for
During the Jagiellonian period, which lasted
t nominal control were ap-
founding of Poland's first university, the Uni-
almost two centuries, Poland became at least
modern Poland, exclusive
versity of Kraków, his patronage of the arts, and
outwardly prosperous: the estates of the aristoc-
ction. The seat of Piast
the encouragement he gave to the economic de-
racy produced grain for export to western
0, in the center of their
velopment of the country.
Europe, and the merchants of Gdańsk grew rich
The weakness of the Polish crown under the
on trade. Yet all was not well with the Polish
Plasts, coupled with the political divisions within
state. The kings, in origin Lithuanian rather than
tures in the Tatra uplands.
Poland, permitted Germans to encroach on Pol-
Polish, made far-reaching. concessions to the
ish territory. Germans advanced across the Odra,
gentry, or szlachta. This numerous body of land-
which had served as the western boundary of the
owners gained exemption from taxation in 1374
early Polish tribes, and much of Pomerania be-
and the right to fill the major offices of state.
came German in speech. Rulers of the western
The szlachta were given wide powers over their
provinces changed their allegiance from the
tenants, whose status they soon depressed to that
Polish crown to the Holy Roman Empire, and
of serfs.
even Casimir III relinquished the rich province of
Decline of Poland. In 1572, Sigismund (Zyg-
Silesia to the king of Bohemia. The Polish state
munt) II, the last king of the house of Jagiello,
was thus in retreat from its earlier boundary
died. Thereafter, until the disappearance of
along the Odra river.
Poland at the end of the 18th century, rulers
There were even times when Piast leaders in-
were elected not only from among the Poles but
vited Germans to aid them in their internal dis-
also from various royal and princely houses of
putes. In this way the crusading Knights of the
Europe. None of the foreign rulers had any deep
Teutonic Order went to East Prussia about 1226,
interest in the fortunes of Poland, and all were
Invited by the Polish prince Conrad of Mazowsze
prepared to make concessions to the politically
(Masovia) to help him defend his borders against
powerful landowning gentry to secure election to
the fierce, marauding Prussian tribes. Inevitably,
the throne or to preserve an outward peace and
the German knights stayed to occupy the land
order.
they had been asked to protect.
The most successful of these elected kings
The Jagiellonian Dynasty of Poland-Lithuania.
was Stephen Batory (Báthory; reigned 1575-
Casimir III the Great left no direct heir. The
1586), prince of Transylvania. He was followed
throne passed to his nephew Louis, who was also
by the Vasa kings, members of the Swedish royal
king of Hungary. In 1382, Louis died and was
family. In 1669 a Pole, Michal Wiśniowiecki,
succeeded as "king of Poland" by his daughter
was chosen king. He ruled as Michael I and was
Jadwiga. In 1386 she married Vladislav Jagiello
followed by another member of the Polish aris-
(Władysław Jagiello), grand duke of Lithuania,
tocracy, Jan Sobieski, who ruled as John III.
who was crowned king of Poland, the first of the
John's death in 1696 was followed by the choice
Jagiellonian line. In his person he united the
of Augustus II, who as Frederick Augustus I was
Polish state with the vast duchy of Lithuania.
elector of Saxony. His son, who succeeded him
For two centuries the two countries were almost
as Augustus III, was confirmed as Poland's king
continuously united in the sense that they had a
in 1736. The last king of Poland, Stanisław
%
LIVONIA
Moscow
Riga
The power of the Tu
SEA
COURLAND
ceased to trouble the P
of the Russians continu
BALTIC
The 18th century
Witebsk
tinuing weakness of Pc
oWine
was fought over in the
Gdansk
DUCHY
RUSSIA
tween Sweden and Rus:
OF
PRUSSIA
king, who was also el
GRAND
interests of his Saxon €
his Polish kingdom. II
PRINCIPALITY
Sejm tried to elect a na
Toruh
Vistala
Chernigov
POLAND-LITHUANIA (1550)
it was foiled by the Ru
Poznan
novna, who won the su
Warsaw
0
200 Mi.
OF
son who ruled as Augus
Kiev
0
200 Km.
Augustus III, the last "I
(Lubin
Russian empress Cather
HOLY
DE
LITHUANIA
prepare.
her former lover, Stan
ruled Poland as Stanislav
ROMAN
POLAND
Catherine's pawn and so
Krakow
EMPIRE
Social and Religious C
the Partitions. In the I{
scene within Poland wa
Vienna
number of aristocratic
SEA OF
MOLDAVIA
Czartoryski, Lubomirski,
AZOV
were among the most
vast estates. The Lubon
HUNGARY
held 10,000 square mil
land, 31 small towns, ano
BLACK
SEA
The gentry, each of who
ever small, numbered m
were a turbulent and uni
Poniatowski, who ruled as Stanislav II (reigned
to avoid entanglement in the Thirty Years' War
poverished. Most were
1764-1795), was once again a native Pole.
(1618-1648), became deeply involved in war on
vote and their sword to
This succession of weak rulers was confronted
its southeastern frontier. Poles were pressing into
they tended to form facti
with problems that were far more serious than
the Ukrainian steppe, and their leaders were es
more of the rich magnate
those the Jagiellonian kings had faced. The in-
tablishing large estates there. This aroused the
DUS but small. Only W
fluence of the gentry continued to grow, and the
hostility of two separate groups: the native
mhabitants by the end (
power they usurped was generally used for selfish
peoples of the steppe, the seminomadic Tatans
gban middle class was
ends. Eventually they acquired the right of
and the mixed group of frontiersmen or Cossacks,
powerless. The rest of
liberum veto, by means of which any one of them
whose leader Bohdan Chmielnicki (Ukrainian,
than 85% of the total-
could veto the proceedings and decisions of the
Khmelnytzkyi) became the most determined ad-
casantry. They were p
gentry meeting in the Sejm. Thus no policy
versary of Poland. The Tatars and Cossacks were
endal obligations to th
could be adopted or consistently pursued, and
supported in their resistance to the Poles by the
Turks to the south and the Russians to the north
without political rights o
government gradually came to be replaced by
The social and politic
the "golden anarchy" of the Polish gentry.
Poland suffered severely during these confusing
nded to assume the ou
The spread of serfdom impoverished the
frontier wars.
Yous dispute. Most ethi
peasantry and reduced their demand for goods.
In 1655, Poland was invaded by the Swedes,
Catholic. Protestantism ha
Craft industries withered, and the commerce of
who sought to extend their control in the Baltic
the towns in the 16th
the small towns dried up. Poland became one of
region. The Swedes were joined by the Branden.
the least progressive countries in Europe.
burgers, and Poland was overrun by foreign
largely suppressed
counter-Reformation. Lt
The political unification of Poland and Lithu-
armies. The Swedes were victorious until the
cogress among Lithuania
ania in important respects weakened rather than
attacked the hilltop monastery of Jasna Góra
Częstochowa in southern Poland. There they met
ster gentry and much of
strengthened the state. The Poles were almost
Stern Poland and southe
exclusively Roman Catholic, as were many in the
with unexpectedly stubborn resistance and were de
Lithuanian aristocracy and gentry. But the
defeated. According to Polish legend, the
(Orthodox)
peasantry and lesser gentry of at least the south-
fenders were aided by the direct intervention
a religious ikon, the so-called Black Madona
rthodox in ritual and orga
the compro
eastern parts of Lithuania were Orthodox and re-
sented the imposition of Catholic practices such
which hung within the monastery. In any case
Bihority of the papacy.
The Partitions of Poland.
as the payment of the tithe. The feudal and
the Poles were heartened by what they considered 110
social stratification already present in these regions
divine support and forced the Swedes back to
crences. The Roman
state was precipita
was reinforced by a religious gulf that was to
years. It ended with the Peace of Oliva 16601
coast. The war dragged on for almost five mom
ver been well disposed
have disastrous consequences.
International Repercussions of Poland's Decline.
by which Poland lost territory to both Swede
santry. By the mid-1{
atter had found a cha
As Poland's domestic problems increased, SO did
and Brandenburg. Poland was devastated
Under Russian pre.
the power of its neighbors: Prussia to the west,
impoverished, but it had at least survived.
to protect the Orth
the Habsburg Empire to the south, the Tatars
over, in part because the Russian czar had event
The war in the steppe, however, was
state. The Catholic
and Turks to the southeast, and Muscovy, or
Russia, to the east. The only external threat that
thing to gain from stirring up the Cossacks
the and inspired by religic
Russians, and fear t
Poland had previously faced was from the
Germans. Now land-hungry neighbors watched
Tatars against the Poles. Muscovy beganiss
steady pressure against the
revolt in 1768. The ret
own peasants might
as Poland grew steadily weaker, until at last they
state and in 1667 succeeded in
fell upon the helpless country and divided it
Kiev region. To the southeast the
in the war against Poland. They were held here
Isians watched from the
Russian army, while
among themselves.
The first intimation of this fate came in the
Jan Sobieski, later King John III, the last
amberment of the Polish-
in the forefront in ca
mid-17th century. Poland, which had been able
king of Poland, who ultimately drove them
314
power of the the Polish state. But the power
Turks was spent, and they
Russians to mount.
18th century was marked by the con-
The weakness of Poland. The country again
ing fought over in the course of the wars be-
Sweden and Russia. Augustus II, Poland's
who was also elector of Saxony, put the
of his Saxon electorate before those of
Polish rests kingdom. In 1733, when the Polish
AND-LITHUANIA
tried to elect a native Pole as his successor,
was
foiled by the Russian empress Anna Iva-
0
who won the succession for the elector's
200 M
0
who ruled as Augustus III. On the death of
200 Km.
rustus III, the last "Saxon" king, in 1763, the
sian empress Catherine the Great nominated
former lover, Stanislaw Poniatowski, who
Poland as Stanislav II. He failed to become
atherine's pawn and so won her enmity.
Social and Religious Conditions in Poland Prior to
Partitions. In the 18th century the political
within Poland was dominated by a small
SEA OF
urnber rene of aristocratic families, of which the
AZOV
Certoryski, Lubomirski, Radziwill, and Potocki
among the most important. Each owned
estates. The Lubomirski were said to have
10,000 square miles (26,000 sq km) of
SEA
and, 31 small towns, and more than 700 villages.
The gentry, each of whom held an estate, how-
B.
small, numbered more than 700,000. They
in the Thirty Years W
(ever were a turbulent and unruly lot. Many were im-
overished. Most were prepared to sell their
Kraków's historic Cloth Hall, backed by the Town Hall
deeply involved in ware
vote and their sword to the highest bidder, and
tower, encloses one side of the city's large market square.
r. Poles were pressing ic
and their leaders were
they tended to form factions centering on one or
S there. This aroused
are of the rich magnates. Towns were numer-
but small. Only Warsaw exceeded 50,000
The first partition (1772) was organized by
arate groups: the nath
chabitants by the end of the century, and the
the ambassadors of Poland's three most powerful
the seminomadic Tatal
E frontiersmen or Cossach
arban middle class was small and politically
neighbors. Prussia took Ermland and Pomerelia
Chmielnicki (Ukrainia
cowerless. The rest of the population-no less
(renamed West Prussia), but without Gdańsk.
than 85% of the total-was made up of the
Austria acquired Galicia, and Russia absorbed a
the most determined
peasantry. They were poor, weighed down by
substantial part of what is today White Russia.
Tatars and Cossacks
WE
feudal obligations to their lords, and wholly
The Ottoman Empire was too weak to claim a
tance to the Poles byll
without political rights or aspirations.
share of the spoils.
the Russians to the north
The social and political problems of Poland
The first partition occurred because the Poles
ly during these confusion
tended to assume the outward forms of a reli-
lacked the unity and leadership to resist. But the
dous dispute. Most ethnic Poles were Roman
next 20 years were marked not only by an out-
S invaded by the Swede
Catholic. Protestantism had made some headway
pouring of visionary, patriotic fervor but also by
their control in the Balth
In the towns in the 16th century but had then
a realistic attempt to reform the constitution.
re joined by the Brander
been largely suppressed by the forces of the
The reform movement had a strongly anti-
was overrun by foreign
Counter-Reformation. Lutheranism had made
Russian character, and its progress was continu-
ere victorious until the
progress among Lithuanians. But most of the
ously watched and, where possible, opposed by
nastery of Jasna Góra a
esser gentry and much of the peasantry in south-
Russian emissaries. A constitution was accepted
1 Poland. There they met
eastern Poland and southern Lithuania belonged
on May 3, 1791, a date that subsequently be-
born resistance and were
to the Eastern (Orthodox) Church, though some
came the Polish national day. It was for its time
Polish legend, the da
belonged to the compromise Uniate Church,
a liberal document. The legislative process was
the direct intervention of
Orthodox in ritual and organization but under the
defined; the liberum veto, the source of so much
-called Black Madonna
authority of the papacy.
inaction in the past, was abolished; a strong
monastery. In any case,
The Partitions of Poland. The dissolution of the
executive was established; and the kingship was
by what they considered
Polish state was precipitated by these religious
made hereditary.
d the Swedes back to the
differences. The Roman Catholic szlachta had
Yet there still remained some Poles, chiefly in
on for almost five more
never been well disposed toward their Orthodox
the steppe region of the southeast, who clung to
Peace of Oliva (1660)
peasantry. By the mid-18th century, however,
their ideals of szlachta power and "golden an-
erritory to both Sweden
the latter had found a champion in the Russian
archy." In 1792 they revolted against the new
nd was devastated and
czar. Under Russian pressure, the Sejm took
order and were supported by the Russian empress
at least survived.
steps to protect the Orthodox subjects of the
Catherine. The Russian Army advanced on
ppe, however, was not
Polish state. The Catholic gentry of southeastern
Warsaw, and, as Catherine prepared to annex a
Russian czar, had every
Poland, inspired by religious fanaticism, hatred
substantial area of Poland, the king of Prussia
ng up the Cossacks and
of the Russians, and fear that their control over
hastened to ensure that he was not omitted from
S. Muscovy began its
their own peasants might be restricted, broke
any division of the spoils.
the Polish-Lithuanian
into revolt in 1768. The rebellion was suppressed
In the second partition (1793), Russia claimed
eeded in annexing the
by a Russian army, while Turks, Austrians, and
a vast tract of land from northern Lithuania to
theast the Turks joined
Prussians watched from the sidelines, each eager
the Ukraine, while Prussia took western Poland
d. They were held by
to be in the forefront in case of any general dis-
(Wielkopolska, renamed South Prussia) with the
John III, the last heroic
memberment of the Polish-Lithuanian state.
cities of Poznań and Gdańsk. The Sejm was
nately drove them back
315
1/.
Russians were Ort
theran. To be Cat.
SEA
LIVONIA
hostility to both, an
remained a very
nationhood.
BALTIC
The Prussian g
stroy Polish nationa
ERMLAND
the language and
Gdansk (1793)
Catholic Church in I
EAST
RUSSIAN
Austrians, however,
POMERANK
PRUSSIA
and in Galicia it W.
as a rallying point
PRUSSIA
Establishment of th
THE PARTITIONS
I marked a turnin
EMPIRE
OF POLAND
Poland. All three p
volved in the strugg
SOUTH
First Partition (1772)
Poles that they had
VISTIS
or Germany and Aust
sions they could. Th
nists respectively in
KRAINE
Dmowski. The fon
AUSTRIA
NEW SILESIA
Second Partition (1793)
Russian. He organize
the Central Powers ag
the other hand, regar
tenemy of the Poles a
Vienna
all Slavic peoples, in
Third Partition (1795)
resist German pretens
Events, however, S
HUNGARY
sian Revolution and t]
TURKISH EMPIRE
(March 1918) removed
Pilsudski now turned a
as the only force prev
Polish state and thus
the meantime, the Polis
powerless to resist the Russian Army and un-
Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki, for ex-
new dimension. Power
willingly accepted the demands made. Not so
ample-of the highest literary quality. In 1863
the partitions regarded
the more patriotic elements among the gentry.
another ill-planned and disastrous rising was
state as important, and
These were led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko and sup-
ruthlessly suppressed by the Russians. The failure
Wilson declared this to
ported by some of the small middle class and
of the 1863 rising and its savage aftermath
Ora peaceful and stabl
even by some peasants. They turned against the
marked the end of the period of direct action
The Western allies
king and seized Warsaw in 1794, but they
against Russian rule.
determine in part the te:
were quickly overcome by the superior Russian
In Austrian and Prussian Poland, events fol.
Toland and could im₁
Army.
lowed a similar course. Risings, especially in
Germany and Austria.
Catherine the Great was determined to solve
1848, were suppressed. In Galicia, the Austrians
tween Poland and Gei
the Polish question by destroying Poland. What
succeeded in diverting the peasants' wrath from
an so-called Polish Cor
was left of the state was divided in 1795 (the
themselves to the peasants' own Polish landlords
suding the German prov
final settlement was not completed until 1797)
Austrian rule, however, was easygoing, and
and a substantial part of
among Russia, which took the lion's share, Prus-
Austria provided a safe haven for those who
asin. The boundaries V
sia, and Austria.
conspired against Russian and Prussian rule,
remained part of Germar
A Polish state, the so-called grand duchy of
Prussia's rule over its Polish lands was in some
Warsaw, was revived by Napoleon in 1807. It
ways the most reactionary of the three, though its
which was heavily Germa
Fore subject to plebisci
was never more than a puppet state of the French.
economic policies were
Russian, Prussian, and Austrian Poland. The
In all parts of THE the
thy but nevertheless SE
sercial outlet of Poland
Congress of Vienna in 1815 constituted the so-
and economic progress rather than by direct
half of the 19th century was
parate free city under
called Congress kingdom of Poland. It included
cague of Nations.
the greater part of Napoleon's grand duchy of
political action. In Russian Poland the serfs were the
The Western allies had
Warsaw, and its kings were to be the Romanov
freed in 1864, a step designed more to injure
Aboundary between Polar
emperors of Russia.
landowning gentry than to conciliate the peasants
Russian republic. The
The 19th century was marked on the one
Its effect, however, was to give the latter
kims, In response, the R
hand by continued Polish resistance to foreign, in
greater stake in the land and to lead to their
particular Russian, rule, and on the other by
more active participation in the national move 15ml
the Battle of the Vistu
Polish Army back on
considerable economic progress. In 1830, Polish
ment. Though no significant revolution made
discontent broke out in a rising against Russian
effected in agriculture, manufacturing
Strance, then attacked anc
led by Piłsudski,
rule. It was undertaken with enthusiasm, but
considerable advances.
panded in Russian Silesia, Ironworkingreat tenk
Calem allies had urged
conducted without military or political skill, and
had suggested a bou
was savagely suppressed. A stream of refugees,
center of Lódź grew from a village to one
run Line, that was too
including the cream of Polish intelligentsia, went
foremost industrial cities in eastern Europe.
pitions. When the Russo- re
into exile, chiefly to France. The Russians replied
the same time a railway network spread 0118 1136
by suppressing the limited autonomy the Con-
found themselves in
Treaty of Riga (M
Poland, a' rudimentary educational system
gress kingdom possessed and, after incorporating
established, and the nation prepared itself
the kingdom into the Russian Empire, ruled the
ultimate independence.
(Hory, much well to the east
area of White Ru
territory firmly and autocratically. Anti-Russian
It is impossible to overestimate the
The ethnic Pol
feeling, however, continued to build up, fanned
Roman Catholic Church and clergy
of advance into Russia
by the writings of Polish exiles, some of them-by
Polish nationalism alive during this period.
the Polish boundary
316
POLAND: 7. History
317
Russians
were Orthodox and the Prussians Lu-
republic, which had recently been formed from
To be Catholic was a way of expressing
Russian territory. Wilno (Lithuanian, Vilnius)
postility theran. to both, and the church became and has
the traditional capital of Lithuania, was included
remained a very important symbol of Polish
in the new republic. But Wilno was also of
great significance in Polish history and culture.
government attempted to de-
It was seized by the Poles in 1922 and incorpo-
Polish nationalism by restricting the use of
rated into Poland. The Lithuanians, without
Hroy language and attacking the role of the
allies and unable to resist, closed their borders
Catholic Church in protecting Polish culture. The
with Poland and broke off all diplomatic relations
were Catholic like the Poles,
for nearly 20 years.
was impossible to use religion
The western boundaries of Poland were not
rallying for Polish nationalism.
free from trouble. The plebiscite regarding the
Establishment of the Polish Republic. World War
border with East Prussia went in favor of Ger-
HE PARTITIONS
marked a turning point in the history of
many. The regime established for Gdańsk worked
POLAND
Poland. All three partitioning powers were in-
far from smoothly. The city's German population
inlved in the struggle, and it seemed to most
was accused, with reason, of working against the
First Partition (1772)
Poles that they had to back either the Russians
interests of the Polish state. Poland began the
Germany and Austria and extract what conces-
construction of the port of Gdynia to the north of
sions of they could. The two sides found protago-
Gdańsk on a virgin site that it could control.
nists respectively in Józef Piłsudski and Roman
Gdynia inevitably detracted from the business of
Dmowski. The former was fanatically anti-
Gdańsk, and this further antagonized its Ger-
Russian. He organized a brigade that fought for
manophile population.
Second Partition (1793
the Central Powers against Russia. Dmowski, on
The industrialized region of Upper Silesia
the other hand, regarded Germany as the chief
contained a mixed population through which it
enemy of the Poles and argued for the unity of
was extremely difficult to draw a boundary. The
all Slavic peoples, including the Russians, to
line finally approved by the Allied Powers in
Third Partition (1795)
resist German pretensions.
1921 awarded to Poland that part of the region
Events, however, settled the issue. The Rus-
that contained most of the coal mines, the coal
sian Revolution and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
reserves, the iron-ore deposits, and the industrial
(March 1918) removed Russia from Polish affairs.
enterprises.
Pilsudski now turned against the Central Powers
There was, lastly, a bitter dispute with
as the only force preventing the revival of the
Czechoslovakia regarding the duchy of Teschen
Polish state and thus joined with Dmowski. In
on Poland's southern border. For much of its
the meantime, the Polish question had assumed a
history this small territory had been included
liusz Słowacki, for
new dimension. Powers not directly involved in
erary quality. In 1863
the partitions regarded the revival of the Polish
disastrous rising was
state as important, and U.S. President Woodrow
A cartoon that appeared at the time of the partitioning
le Russians. The failure
Wilson declared this to be one of the conditions
of Poland shows Stanislav II, king of Poland, trying to
its savage aftermath
of a peaceful and stable Europe.
hold on to his crown as the rulers of Russia, Austria,
eriod of direct actions
The Western allies meeting in Paris could
and Prussia select parts of his kingdom to annex.
determine in part the territorial shape of the new
THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
ian Poland, events fol-
Poland and could impose their decisions on
Risings, especially
Cermany and Austria. A boundary was traced
1 Galicia, the Austrians
between Poland and Germany, giving the former
peasants' wrath from
the so-called Polish Corridor, South Prussia, in-
own Polish landlords
cluding the German province of Posen (Poznań),
was easygoing, and
and a substantial part of the Upper Silesian coal
haven for those who
basin. The boundaries with East Prussia, which
n and Prussian rule.
remained part of Germany, and in Upper Silesia
ish lands was in some
were subject to plebiscites. Gdańsk (Danzig),
of the three, though its
which was heavily German in language and sym-
nerally progressive.
pathy but nevertheless served as the chief com-
c Poland, the second
mercial outlet of Poland, was established as a
was marked by social
separate free city under the protection of the
ather than by direct
League of Nations.
1 Poland the serfs were
The Western allies had no authority to impose
ned more to injure the
a
boundary between Poland and the new Bolshe-
conciliate the peasants
vik Russian republic. The Poles made ambitious
to give the latter a
claims. In response, the Red Army forces pushed
and to lead to their
the Polish Army back on Warsaw in July 1920.
in the national move
At the Battle of the Vistula (August 1920), the
icant revolution was
Poles, led by Piłsudski, checked the Russian
manufacturing made
advance, then attacked and invaded Russia. The
[ronworking was ex.
Western allies had urged caution on Pitsudski
and the great textile
and had suggested a boundary, the so-called
a village to one of the
Curzon Line, that was too restricted for Pilsudski's
n eastern Europe. At
ambitions. When the Russo-Polish war was ended
network spread over
by the Treaty of Riga (March 18, 1921), the
ucational system was
Poles found themselves in possession of a sub-
n prepared itself for
stantial area of White Russian and Ukrainian
territory well to the east of the Curzon Line.
stimate the role of the
In much of it, no ethnic Poles were to be found.
nd clergy in keeping
The advance into Russia also raised the ques-
ring this period. The
tion of the Polish boundary with the Lithuanian
318
POLAND: 7. History
within Bohemia and the Habsburg lands. But
Their declared objectives were land reform and
the Poles claimed that it was ethnically Polish.
the improvement of the lot of the- peasantry.
people. Poland did
The real issue, however, was control of its coal
But their effectiveness in these areas was limited,
tarian state, but it C
mines and iron and steel works. In the end, the
and they tended to become a conservative force
elements.
At the same time
territory was partitioned, the Czechs retaining its
in Polish politics.
valuable economic assets.
Strictly political issues were complicated and
fered from the legacy
nourished an illusion
The Piłsudski Era. The republic of Poland had
to some extent obscured by the personalities of
the political leaders. From the first, the dom-
both the military stren
an unhappy history during its independent exis-
inant person was Piłsudski, appointed chief of
ness to support. This
tence between the two world wars. The country
nance of the old feud
was, in the first place, pieced together from
state and commander of the armed forces in
Lithuania and in a cert
fragments of territory taken from Prussia, Austria,
1918. Attitudes toward him, however, were am-
Poland's traditional al
and Russia. These were in varying stages of
bivalent. He was respected for his great achieve-
economic development. Almost every feature,
ments during and after the war, and feared for
the foreign minister J
that they could deal
even the gauge of the railroad tracks, had to be
his political ambitions and autocratic tendencies.
equal terms at a time
reconciled.
Indeed, the constitution of 1921 was so framed
and preparing for war
A multiplicity of political parties developed,
that the powers of the presidency, to which it
leaders clung to Pilsuc
and these tended to cluster around three groups.
was assumed he aspired, would be limited. In
as the protector of W
The first included nationalists and conservatives,
fact, he withdrew from public life in 1923.
ern, that is Russian, b
led by men such as Dmowski and the pianist Ig-
The first representative government was
formed by Paderewski in 1919. It lasted only a
that Poland was not pl
nacy Paderewski. They supported free enterprise
ideologically for the C
and a strong central government; they were also
short time and was followed by a succession of
refused, until too late,
in varying degrees anti-Semitic. Next came the
governments, each representing an unstable CO-
Germany's threat to all
parties of the left, including the Polish Socialist
alition of mainly center and rightist parties. Such
The Destruction and
party, which derived its strength in part from the
governments were incapable of curing the ills of
War II had as its im
fact that Piłsudski had been one of its earliest
the country. The mark was depreciating, and its
unacceptable demands
leaders. These were to some extent Marxist.
replacement by a new currency, the złoty, in 1924
boundaries. Germany (
However, the Communist party itself remained
was followed by a sharp fall in the value of the
ridor," and Upper Siles
very small because it was so closely identified
latter. Unemployment was high, and the govern-
pose was to eliminate P
with Russia's Bolshevik regime. Between these
ment was unable to raise foreign loans sufficient
eastward expansion. T
extremes came the agrarian parties, including
to carry through its reconstruction programs.
lieved that the fundai
the Polish Peasant party led by Wincenty Witos.
The breakdown of parliamentary government
Germany and the Sovi
and the failure of the political parties to cope
any collaboration betw
with the economic situation led to Piłsudski's
devoted to its own his
Marshal Józef Klemens Pitsudski was the chief architect
seizure of power in May 1926. Large elements
within the army supported him, and the Polish
better, for the partitions
of Poland's independence in the 20th century. From 1926
by just such a combina
to his death in 1935 he was virtual dictator of Poland.
Socialist party came to his help. There were,
ceded by an agreement
CULVER PICTURES
nevertheless, three days of heavy fighting before
the resistance of the government forces could be
the Soviet Union to part
tian neutrality secured,
overcome.
on Sept. 1, 1939. The (
From the first, Piłsudski enjoyed a large mea-
before it had been com
sure of popular support, and there was never any
vaded Poland from the
significant opposition to his rule. On the other
hand, he and his supporters never developed
prearranged line of part
Part of German-occu
coherent policy, assuming that all that was needed
was the smooth functioning of government. He
porated into Germany.
was a military man who had come to power by
General Government,
unwanted Poles could be
force of arms, and under his rule Poland was ex-
labor could be recruited
cessively militarized. Officers were placed in ex-
ecutive positions for which they were ill suited,
Poles were a minority i
while at the same time the exclusion from au
of the po
or Lithuania
thority of those who had supported the governe
ment during the coup of 1926 weakened the
with the city of Wilno
rated into Lithuania, whi
army and contributed to its poor performance
the Soviet Union in 19
during the German invasion of 1939.
The political opposition to Piłsudski was
occupied Poland was divi
russian and Ukrainian rep
weak. He became increasingly conservative
his outlook and did nothing to advance the land
lition line and invaded t}
In June 1941, German
reform that was urgently needed by the peasantry
that time until early in 19
During his last years he helped to formulate
under German rule.
new constitution, which greatly restricted the
reduced to starvation.
powers of the elected Sejm and increased
Jews against the Gern
did not, however, live to assume governmentocrate
authority of the president and
pressed, and the Jewis
Warsaw leveled an
position that was thus prepared for him.
concentration camps.
died on May 12, 1935.
The Clique of "Colonels." The death of Marshal The
Polishmost eliminated, ar
includi
Piłsudski left a vacuum in Polish
leadership of Poland fell to a clique politics, the
similarly
led by Edward Śmigły-Rydz, who had neither role
torps. country
West, where it formed th
significant part of the
the gove
ability nor the popular appeal his
Factions developed among the
late leader, further weakening gove
The powers of the Sejm were reduced, and
and the
ernment became increasingly unresponsive to
performed inval
It is notewor
POLAND: 7. History
319
ctives were land
the lot of the reformy peasants
Poland did not become a truly totali-
is in these areas was limite
state, but it contained strong totalitarian
become a conservative
danents. same time, Polish foreign policy suf-
the legacy of Polish history. Poland
ssues were complicated
ired by the personaliti
a which it lacked
political astute-
BALTIC SEA
From the first, the
was in the contin-
do
Gdansk
Niemen
}sudski, appointed chic
er of the armed forces
- to of the old feuds with Czechoslovakia and
Wilno
rd him, however, were
phuania and in a certain coolness toward France,
traditional ally. Polish leaders, notably
bected for his great achieve
er the war, and feared
Mand's foreign minister Józef Beck, seemed to think
Szczecin
could deal with Germany on almost
and autocratic tenden
at a time when Hitler was rearming
Berlin
on of 1921 was SO
for war. At the same time, Polish
he presidency, to which
to Pilsudski's view of Poland's role
Poznan
Pinsk
Warsaw Brzeso
R
red, would be limited
n public life in 1923,
if that is Russian, barbarism. The result was
the of Western values against East-
Nysa
Pripet
entative government
EID. Poland was not prepared either militarily or
Wroclaw
i in 1919. It lasted
ollowed by a succession only
Logically for the conflict that lay ahead and
too late, to recognize the reality of
N
presenting an unstable
Prague
The Destructruction to all eastern Europe.
Krakow
r and rightist parties.
and Revival of Poland. World
Lwow
apable of curing the
Sing
illie
( was depreciating, and
currency, the złoty, in 1014
Hacceptable demands for changes in Poland's
as its immediate cause Germany's
rp fall in the value of
boundaries. Germany claimed Gdansk, the "Cor-
was high, and the govern
Ador, and Upper Silesia. But its overriding pur-
Pre-World War II boundaries
to eliminate Poland from the path of its
ise foreign loans sufficient
Post-World War II boundaries
expansion. The Poles mistakenly be-
construction programs
keved that the fundamental hostility between
0
200 Mi
parliamentary government
political parties to
Germany and the Soviet Union would prevent
collaboration between them. A people as
0
200 Km.
tuation led to Pilsudski
devoted my to its own history should have known
ay 1926. Large elementh
rted him, and the Poli
Letter, for the partitions had been brought about
0 his help. There were
by just such a combination. The war was pre-
; of heavy fighting before
reded by an agreement between Germany and
never succeeded in enlisting the support of a sin-
vernment forces could
the Soviet Union to partition Poland. With Rus-
gle Polish leader of significance.
and neutrality secured, Germany invaded Poland
On the other hand, the Russians sacrificed the
on Sept. 1, 1939. The campaign was short. But
goodwill that they might have fallen heir to. They
dski enjoyed a large mes
before it had been completed, the Russians in-
suspected the intentions of all Poles except Com-
and there was never any
vaded Poland from the east and advanced to a
munist party members who had been schooled in
) his rule. On the other
orters never developed
prearranged line of partition.
Moscow. When Poles in Warsaw rose against
Part of German-occupied Poland was incor-
the Germans in August 1944 in support of the
g that all that was needs
porated into Germany. The rest became the
advancing Russians, the latter allowed them to
ning of government. 1b
General Government," a puppet state to which
be destroyed by the Germans.
0 had come to power by
unwanted Poles could be driven and where slave
Elements of the Polish government-in-exile in
r his rule Poland was
Labor could be recruited for German factories.
London were regarded by the Soviet Union's
ficers were placed in
Poles were a minority in the Russian-occupied
leader, Joseph Stalin, as completely under the
ich they were ill suited
sector. Most of the population was Ukranian,
control of the West. A rival government, the Po-
the exclusion from au
Belorussian, or Lithuanian. The northern part,
lish Committee of National Liberation, commonly
d supported the govern.
with the city of Wilno (Vilnius), was incorpo-
known as the Lublin Committee, was formed in
of 1926 weakened the
ruted into Lithuania, which in turn was annexed
the Soviet Union, its membership drawn from
0 its poor performance
to the Soviet Union in 1940. The rest of Russian-
Poles who had been indoctrinated with Moscow's
sion of 1939.
occupied Poland was divided between the Belo-
brand of Marxism. It followed westward in the
ition to Pilsudski was
sussian and Ukrainian republics of the USSR.
wake of the Red Army, suppressing or eliminat-
easingly conservative in
In June 1941, German forces crossed the par-
ing elements that were supposed to be more na-
ing to advance the land
tition line and invaded the Soviet Union. From
tionalist than Marxist.
needed by the peasantry,
that time until early in 1944 the whole of Poland
Well before the end of hostilities the Polish
helped to formulate
was under German rule. The native population
question became one of the more divisive issues
greatly restricted the
was reduced to starvation. The Warsaw rising of
confronting the Allied leaders. Both Poland's
jejm and increased the
the Jews against the Germans in April 1943 was
boundaries and the composition of the future
it and government. He
suppressed, and the Jewish suburb of Muranów
government of Poland were matters of dispute.
) assume the autocratic
in Warsaw was leveled and its inhabitants taken
The Soviet Union made it clear that, although
prepared for him. He
to concentration camps. The Jewish population
minor boundary changes would be permitted,
was almost eliminated, and a large part of the
Soviet-occupied Poland would not be restored.
" The death of Marshal
Polish population, including many of the intel-
Stalin encouraged the Poles to occupy the West-
in Polish politics. The
lectuals, suffered similarly. On the other hand,
ern Territories, those lands to the west that had
o a clique of "colonels,
many members of the government, together with
once been Polish but had been retained by Ger-
dz, who had neither the
a significant part of the army, escaped to the
many after World War I. The Oder-Neisse
ppeal to play his role.
West, where it formed the nucleus of a Polish
(Odra-Nysa) boundary between Germany and
g the followers of the
corps. Within the country there was intense un-
Poland, which placed the Western Territories
ening the government.
derground activity, and the Home Army (Armia
within Poland, came to be recognized by the
vere reduced, and gov.
Krajowa) performed invaluable services to the
Soviet Union's Western allies and even by West
gly unresponsive to the
Allied cause. It is noteworthy that the Germans
Germany.
320
POLAND
The composition of the future Polish govern-
an economic specialist and leader of the powerful
ment was a more difficult issue to resolve. The
local Communist party in Silesia. Gierek com-
government-in-exile, headed by Stanislaw Miko-
mitted the government to programs that would
łajczyk, was in London, whereas a government
meet the workers' grievances.
made up of Soviet nominees, headed by Bolesław
Virtually the same pattern of events was re-
Bierut and Edward Osóbka-Morawski, was in
peated in the next decade, culminating in country-
Warsaw. The Western powers had obtained from
wide strikes in the summer of 1980. Workers
Stalin an undertaking that the new government
struck the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk on Aug. 13,
should be a coalition drawn from both groups.
1980, and by the end of the month strikes had
In fact, only two members of the London govern-
idled industries throughout the country. On Au-
ment, including Mikołajczyk, joined the first post-
gust 31 the government granted the workers the
war administration of Poland.
right to strike and to form independent, self-
Communist Poland. The sovietization of Poland
governing trade unions. Within less than a
began as soon as the Germans had been driven
month a nationwide union, Solidarity, had come
out. Mikołajczyk and the other non-Communist
into being, with Lech Wałęsa at its head. At the
members of the government were exposed to in-
same time the Roman Catholic Church won new
timidation and pressure. The Peasant party, the
rights from the government, and on September 6
only effective democratic party, was consistently
the Communist party itself faced change within
vilified. The promised land reform consisted of
its own organization when Gierek was replaced
forced collectivization. All industrial and com-
as party secretary by Stanislaw Kania.
mercial undertakings, except the very smallest,
Kania's relatively conciliatory policies as
were nationalized. After two years, Mikołajczyk
party chief were aimed at preventing the Soviet
was forced to leave the country, and all opposi-
Union from invading the country and at the same
Polar bears have thick wh
tion to the Communists ended.
time keeping Poland's economy from foundering
There was, however, dissension within the
altogether by placating the workers and farmers
Communist party. Most Poles were nationalists,
with new concessions. But continuing strikes
paralyzed the economy, and Solidarity's de-
FOLANSKI, pe-lan'skē,
and many Communists sought to reconcile na-
Polish film director, chi
tionalism with Marxist beliefs. This was anathema
mands for greater democratization of the govern.
born of Polish parents in
to Stalin, who was determined to reduce Poland
mental process became increasingly insistent.
The family returned to ]
to complete dependence on himself, using the
On Oct. 18, 1981, Kania, who seemed unable
three. In 1959 he gradu:
Red Army should this be necessary. By 1949 a
to curb dissent, was replaced as party secretary
Stalinist terror had engulfed the country. Wład-
by the premier, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, who
tional Film Academy,
short films, the best of
ysław Gomulka, foremost among the nationalist
imposed martial law on December 13. Lech
Wardrobe (1958), won f
members of the party, was forced out of office in
Walęsa and other Solidarity leaders were among
Polanski's first feature
1948-1949 and narrowly escaped death. The
thousands arrested. In response to the martial-
(1960), won the 1962
country was controlled by Soviet-trained Bierut,
law restrictions, the United States imposed eco-
Critics Award. His first
and every aspect of life was under the scrutiny
nomic sanctions against Poland.
of the secret police of Stanislaw Radkiewicz.
Martial law was suspended one year later, but
tures, Repulsion (1965) E
not before the parliament had dissolved all
were macabre thrillers. R
Stalin died in March 1953. In the following
unions, including Solidarity, on Oct. 8, 1982,
based on a novel about WI
autumn an increase in consumer goods was prom-
ised. There was a flurry of literary activity, in
When a general strike, called for November 10to
dous box-office success.
protest the dissolution decree, failed to get wide
Macbeth (1971), Chinate
which Polish writers attacked the regime and
called for greater personal freedom. In June,
spread popular backing, Walęsa was released
Tenant (1976).
from prison, and other leaders were given their
In 1969, Polanski's wif
workers in Poznań rioted to express their de-
freedom in late December. Martial law was for
End her four companions
mands for better living conditions. The govern-
ment began to yield. Political prisoners were
mally lifted in July 1983, soon after the eight- day of
in Hollywood by Charles
cultist "family."
released, among them Gomulka, and the demand
visit of Pope John Paul II to Poland, but many
spread for the "democratization" of Poland.
its controls were preserved by incorporating
them into the legal code. Moreover, the govem-
POLAR BEAR, a large yell
Khrushchev, accompanied by members of the
politburo, flew to Warsaw in an effort to restrain
ment was granted the legal right to impose a state
Eng in the vicinity of the 1
the reformers. The Polish leaders, now joined by
of emergency and assume extraordinary powers
Longated body, a long th
pointed head with small rt
Gomulka, Edward Ochab, and others, resisted
in times of disorder and unrest.
the Soviet demands but promised to remain
NORMAN J. G. POUNDS
to the soles of its feet helps I
within the Soviet bloc. Gomulka became first
Indiana University
and serves as insulation
secretary of the party, and the government was
from sheds water easily. M
filled with his supporters. The system of collec-
about 7 to 8 feet (:
Bibliography
tive farms collapsed. The liberal Adam Rapacki
Benes, Vaclav L., and Pounds, Norman J. G., Poland (West
average weight is abo
became foreign minister, and Poland began to
look for close political and economic relations
Bielasiak, Jack, ed., Polish Politics: Edge of the Above
view Press 1976).
The polar bear generally
with the non-Communist world. There was al-
Davies, Norman, God's Playground: A History of Poland."
(Praeger 1984).
drifting ice Aoes. It spenc
great dist
most complete freedom of the press, and Poles
Garlinski, Josef, Poland in the Second World War (Hippin
vols. (Columbia Univ. Press 1982).
Ice and in the water, rar
were able to read Western newspapers.
This "spring in October" was short-lived. Po-
crene Bks. 1985).
Palms, Its diet consists mainly
land remained a one-party state. Censorship was
Halecki, Oscar, A History of Poland (McKay 1976).
1865
Leslie, R. F., and others, The History of Poland since
fish, which it scoops out
usually killed with
gradually reintroduced. Intellectual freedom was
(Cambridge 1983).
Maczak, Antoni, and others, eds., East
reindeer and musk-ox
restricted, and the government's relations with
Transition: From the 14th to the
leaves and berries to its
the Roman Catholic Church, which had been
improving, worsened.
Mikolajezyk, Stanislaw, The Rape of Poland: The Patterner
bridge 1985).
the polar bear will
Gomułka, who had returned to power in 1956
Soviet Domination (1948; reprint, Greenwood
nose with its paw in o
in the wake of workers' riots, was himself deposed
1972).
Nelson, Harold D., Poland: A Country Study
(USCH)
Polar bears white backgro
in 1970 as a result of renewed rioting by workers
do not normal
Reddaway, W. F., and others, eds., Cambridge History
1984).
dissatisfied with high prices and shortages in
Fregnant females (and
housing and household goods. He was replaced
Poland, 2 vols. (1941; reprint, Octagon 1971).
retire for the winter t
Wandycz, Piotr S., The Lands of Partitioned Poland,
dig their den in a sno
as first secretary of the party by Edward Gierek,
1918 (Univ. of Wash. Press 1975).
away from the wind.
aiu Cillison
with wishes and expressions of good process of transformation did not refer to
peace. stability of borders. and internal
thorities and society to become more
cheer. This solidarity is for me an un-
the classics of Marxism-Leninisim. They
democracy. We are alarmed at the pros-
human. for workers to feel masters of the
usual phenomenon. Many a time I have
referred to the simplest natural rights due
peet of the arms race. hostile relations
plants instead of being manpower.
pondered what could link people living
man upon his very birth in decordance
between the world powers and could
We shall not abandon the peaceful
in such different political and social sys-
with common sense. It was not an irra-
war. Such a course of évents would un-
forms of our activity despite the violence
tems and so far in the
tional "class instinct" quoted by dog-
doubtetly and tangibly worsen the fate of
imposed on us. We shall not abandon our
United States and Poland. What can link
matists which made workers demand the
my people. perhaps to a greater degree
ideals and basic rights, including the
workers of the Gdansk Shipyard and the
right to seek truth. about the economic
than of others. There is no alternative to
right to create Free Trade Unions. In the
scholarly community of Harvard Univer-
situation of the country. but it wassimple
an accord. Only this direction has a fu-
name of peace. the consciousness and
sity?
common sense which they had fortu-
ture both on the scale of the respective
strivings of millions of people living in
This is hard to explain in a Few words.
nately retained despite political indoctri-
nations and in world political relations.
Europe cannot be ignored.
Friendships between nations have as a
nation. At was not a "class awareness
International institutions established in
In conclusion, I would like to thank the
rule complicated Instorio foundations:
which induced them to create Free Trade
the name of dialogue are. as a rule. help-
President of this magnific ent school.
and exploration of the phenomenon.
Unions together with intelligentsia. but a
less in the face of violence, domination
Harvard University. a school which is a
especially with reference to the most re?
sober conviction that without an inde-
of some states over others. and violations
symbol of free science and world schol-
cent years could be distimulating project
pendent and self governing organization.
of basic human rights. This situation
arly achievements. and the Managing
for scholars. The natures of Poland and
workers would always be in danger of
poses before politicians the task of find-
Board for such a great distinction. I treat
the United States-shaft figures who are
exploitation and isolation.
ing new forms of peaceful accommoda-
it not as an expression of recognition for
close to both peoples. But I believe
The society creating anew the fabric of
tion.
my personal achievements, but rather as
that in a broader dimension this emo-
public life also referred to the ideals of
The world today is a system of inter-
an assessment of millions of my compat-
tional, closeness is based on a system of
tolerance, 50 pronounced in the Polish
connected vessels, hence every hotbed of
riots whose efforts and determination
shared fundamental values Their source
historic tradition. Solidarity did not be-
tension is dangerous. Prdpaganda in my
have attained progress in Poland.
IS not hard to finds it is contained in every
come totalitarian organization; it was al-
country-seeking to justify martial
I have great hope that in more favor-
copy of the Bible.
ways open to different ideological
law-repeatedly presented Solidarity as
able conditions I shall be able to visit the
Human rights, wherever they may be
trends. It did not examine peoples' biog-
a threat to peace and the independence of
United States and thank you and all
violated, always humiliate other people
raphies, check their ethmc or social
Poland. and even as a potential source of
Americans, whose sympathy and sol-
and man in general. And that is why
background; it did not ask about their
world conflict. This is obviously untrue;
idarity are so important to me and my
people. social activists and politicians,
religion
the causes of conflicts in Poland have not
compatriots.
who have the courage to speak up forthe
been eradicated.
rights of others are so respected By Po-
believe that it is precisely such ide-
The 17th month since martial law is
With cordial greetings.
land. A narrow particularism ultimately
als which unite us. the people in America
passing-and what next? Can Poles
turns against individuals or groups
and Poland.
sleep in peace? Our Union drew on
Lech Walesa
guárding their peace of mind." Solidar-
Millions of people in our countries are
pudceful forms of struggle for its goals
ity in its very name referred to the idea of
also linked by their love of peace, My
and proved in practice that not a single
brotherhood and help for another person.
homeland has experienced too much suf-
stone has to be thrown nor a single win-
The workers starting the strike and the
fering
not
to
appreciate
the
value
of
dove broken for relations between the au-
MAR 6 '91 15:21
FROM PEACE CORPS MED. REL.
PAGE. 001
PEACE CORPS
PEACE CORPS NEWS
THE UNITED STATES
1990 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20526 Phone: 202/606-3010 Fax: 202/606-3110
FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION
DATE: 3/6/91
TIME: 3:30 p.m.
FROM: Lee Raudonis
TO: Fred Fainz
Special Assistant to the Director
and Communications Director
PHONE: (202) 606-3010
PHONE: 456-7750
FAX: (202) 606-3110
FAX: 456-6218
SUBJECT: Information on Pencelarps Paland
program
COMMENTS: Please 0011 if you need further
information
NUMBER OF PAGES (excluding this sheet) 1
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE
PEACE CORPS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
MAR
6 '91 15:22
FROM PEACE CORPS MED. REL.
PAGE. 002
INCOMING
UNCLASSIFIED
TELEGRAM
Department of State
WARSAW 02486 141553Z
SHB5523
WARSAW 02486 141553Z
SHB5523
PAGE B1
WELL MANAGED. I AND MY COLLEAGUES IN THE EMBASSY KNOW
ACTION PC-18
FROM TALKING TO BOTH VOLUNTEERS AND TO THE NATIONAL AND
LOCAL POLISH AUTHORITIES INVOLVED WITH THE PROGRAM THAT
INFO LOG-80
/010W
421938 141553Z /38
DIRECTOR BILL LOVELACE AND HIS STAFF ARE ADMIRED AND
APPRECIATED FOR THEIR SKILL IN PUTTING AN EFFECTIVE,
P 141544Z FEB 91
CAREFULLY TARGETED PROGRAM ON THE GROUND FAST AND GETTING
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
IT RUNNING IN A NEW AND DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENT. THEY HAVE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1467
PLAYED A SPLENDID ROLE IN SPEARHEADING AMERICA'S EFFORT
TO HELP THE NEW POLAND, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING
UNCLAS WARSAW 02486
WITH THEM AS THE PROGRAM EXPANDS. I AM SURE IF WILL
CONTINUE TO BE CAREFULLY TAILORED TO POLAND'S NEEDS, AND
TOPEC
THAT ITS FUTURE CONTRIBUTION WILL BE AS IMPRESSIVE AS
THE STARTUP HAS BEEN. YOU CAN BE PROUD OF YOUR TEAM
TO: PEACE CORPS DIRECTOR COVERDELL
HERE, AND I KNOW YOU WILL CONTINUE TO GIVE IT YOUR FULL
PERSONAL SUPPORT.
FROM: AMBASSADOR THOMAS V. SIMONS, JR.
SINCERELY, THOMAS W. SIMONS, JR., AMBASSADOR
E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS:
SUBJECT: THE PEACE CORPS CONTRIBUTION IN POLAND
SIMONS
1. (U ENTIRE TEXT)
2. DEAR MR. DIRECTOR,
I UNDERSTAND YOU WILL SOON BE TESTIFYING ABOUT PEACE
CORPS OPERATIONS IN POLAND AND ELSEWHERE IN EUROPE, AND
I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR YOU TO HAVE AND TO PASS
ON MY VIEWS ABOUT HOW WELL THE PEACE CORPS HAS DONE HERE,
AND ABOUT ITS FUTURE.
QUITE SIMPLY, THE PEACE CORPS OPERATIONS HAS BEEN THE
JEWEL IN OUR CROWN, THE GUTTING EDGE OF THE OVERALL
U.S. CONTRIBUTION TO THIS COUNTRY'S PROGRESS TOWARD AN
OPEN SOCIETY AND AN OPEN ECONOMY. SINCE 1 CONSIDER
POLAND TO BE IN THE AREA-LEAD WHEN IT COMES TO
Total of 81 Volunteers
DEMOCRATIZATION AND MARKETIZATION, 1 BELIEVE THAT
CONTRIBUTION HAS REGIONAL SIGNIFICANCE TOO. BUT 1 KNOW
now serving in Poland
IT MAS BEEN CRITICAL TO OUR NATION'S EFFORT TO HELP
POLAND MOVE IN DIRECTIONS WE HAVE SUPPORTED FOR OVER
FOUR DECADES, IN THE WONDERFUL NEW WORLD THAT OPENED
(trainess)
UP WITH THE REVOLUTIONS OF 1989.
120 New Volunteers will
THE PEACE CORPS WAS HERE THE FIRSTEST WITH THE MOSTEST.
YOU HAD AN OPERATION ON THE GROUND BY JUNE: THE_FIRST
7
VOLUNTEERS WENT OUT AT THE END OF THE SUMMER; I HAD THE
arrive in June (91), bringing
IMMENSE PLEASURE OF SWEARING IN YOUR SECOND GROUP IN
DECEMBER, AND TREY ARE JUST MOVING THROUGH THE HARD
The total to 201.
RUNNING IN PROCESS IN LOCALITIES THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH
AND EAST OF THE COUNTRY. AND, AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE NOW
GETTING READY FOR THE THIRD AND LARGEST GROUP DUE to
GO TO POST LATER THIS YEAR.
The 120 Trainess crriving in
YOUR PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN SPECIFICALLY TAILORED TO THE
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES WHICH WE SHARE WITH THE
June will be one of the
AUTHORITIES OF THE NEW POLAND. THEY ARE IMPORTANT TO
BOTH STRANDS OF THE COUNTRY'S PROGRESS: TOWARDS DEMOCRACY
AND TOWARDS A MORE MARKET-QRIENTED ECONOMY. THE ENGL ISH-
LANGUAGE TEACHERS OF THE FIRST AND THIRD GROUPS WILL HELP
largest groups of trainees to
OPEN A DOOR NOT JUST to THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION AND
CULTURE FROM WHICH AND HAS BEEN ISOLATED THESE MANY
go to any country is recent
YEARS, BUT TO THE WORLD ECONOMY. AND THE SMALL BUSINESS
SPECIALISTS OF THE SECOND GROUP WILL HELP SUPPLY SOME
years
OF THE ESSENTIAL HUMAN AND SKILLS INFRASTRUCTURE POLAND
V
MUST HAVE IF IT IS TO DEVELOP A FUNCTIONING AND EFFECTIVE
FREE MARKET. SO I CONGRATULATE YOU AND YOUR POLISH
COUNTERPARTS ON YOUR CHOICE OF PRIORITIES.
THE PROGRAM APPEARS TO ME TO HAVE BEEN EXCEPTIONALLY
UNCLASSIFIED
COLOR ON POLAND AND THE POLISH PEOPLE
The Moravian Gate
Southern Poland, which borders on the rest of Europe
is mountainous and treacherous -- crossing movements are
extremely difficult.
Two of the mountain ranges are separated by a gap known
as the Moravian Gate, which provides an easily negotiated
route from southern Poland, across Czechoslovakia, to Vienna
and the Danube basin.
The Moravian gate has played an important role in Polish
and East European history, guiding the movement of invaders
in the past and today acting as a funnel for road and railway
traffic -- as well as the movement of trade.
Perhaps an eloquent analogy could be drawn using the
Gate, the West, trade, etc.
FAMOUS POLES
-- the Pope
--
The partitioning of Poland resulted in violent
world reaction, much like when General Jarulzelski
imposed martial law 200 years later.
Extraordinarily, this was a time of the
flowering of Polish civilization and culture:
Chopin: Poland's most famous composer, who
evoked an eternal Poland through his music.
Sygmunt Krasinski and Juliuz Slowacki:
regarded Polish suffering as an almost
mythical event, basis for a philosophy
of self-sacrifice and ideals of liberty
from which the Polish people have never
departed.
Krasinski was a dramatist whose plays had
deep political purpose -- he was a
prominent proponent of what has been called
"Polish messianism", the view that Poland
was "the Christ among nations, suffering,
dying, and rising again."
Slowacki was a poetic dramatist of great
power and intensity, whose work revolved
around the tragedy of the nation
-- Copernicus, the astronomer
-- See letter from State Department to POTUS
concerning the return of Paderewski's remains
to Poland -- it gives a proposed delegation
list, naming many prominent Polish Americans,
notably many members of Congress.
They are all Democrats, so we could
note that many proud and hard working
Polish Americans have risen to esteemed public
office.
-- (( other example of famous Poles and Polish
American to come.
))
Letter to POTUS from a
proud Polish- American woman.
GOOD stuff!
5 July 1989
The Honorable George H. W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. President:
Your imminent visit to my country prompts me to reflect on my
family's odyssey from Poland to the United States of America,
a journey that began in 1957 soon after the uprisings in
Poland and Hungary the previous year. This journey continues
to this day. In fact, the Ornaf family of Forest Hills, NY,
just observed our thirtieth jubilee in our adopted land, a
celebration of America, of promises fulfilled, dreams real-
ized, opportunities looming.
My parents, Marata and Antoni Ornaf, arrived in New York
harbor on June 19, 1959 with five children, five valises and
fifty dollars. My father, now deceased, was a chemist; my
mother is a homemaker. Not one of us spoke English. Yet,
without the benefit of bilingual education, equal employment
statutes or government entitlements: father was soon employed
in his chosen profession and, in quick succession, all six
children - yes, we have a Brooklyn-born sister! - completed
university education. We are proud of our two magna cum
laude graduates (Anna Maria and Marata), our Phi Beta Kappa
member (Anna Maria), and, at least 50 far, our one Ph.D
(Rafal). But most of all, we are proud of our parents'
courage, grateful for their sacrifices in our behalf.
We cherish our American citizenship. We look to what we can
do for our country. We volunteer in civic, social and poli-
tical organizations. Last year, the Bush/Quayle campaign was
my particular passion and I was pleased to share it with,
inter alia. our mutual friend Morris E. Zukerman who served
on your finance committee and at whose suggestion I write
this letter. We are a part of your thousand lights; we
intend to keep them lit.
As we enter our fourth decade in America, we contemplate our
own first generation Americans. Our gift to them is a
culture and a tradition. Their gift to their country will be
good citizenship. They are learning that democracy is not a
given, but rather a privilege which needs nurturing and en-
tails responsibilities. It is our hope that they will never
take it for granted.
And so, Mr. President, please accept our wishes for your own
safe and successful journey to Europe. God bless America and
szcześć Boże!
Sincerely yours,
halina Halina Glowadyi, glowades nee Ornaf
212 Carpathian Way
Raleigh, NC 27615