Świat oglądany przez szybę. Polacy a sprawy międzynarodowe w sondażach Radia Wolna Europa (1962–1969)
The world seen through a window pane. The poles and international affairs in the surveys of Radio Free Europe (1962–1969)

Summary/Abstract: Radio Free Europe was one of the most effective tools of Cold War in the hands of the western countries. The fact which is relatively unknown is that one of its units was conducting widespread surveys primarily aimed at establishing the level of the Station’s popularity in the countries to which it directed its broadcasts. Somehow additionally, the Station collected the information which today allows us to obtain the picture of the Polish public opinion on various topics, among others, on the issues concerning international affairs. International affairs are very closely linked with the internal situation of the country and are mainly perceived from this perspective. Particularly interesting are the opinions of the Poles on the Arab-Israeli War which got a lot of publicity in Poland, above of all, in the form of an Anti-Semitic witch-hunt symbolised by March 1968. Another interesting aspectis the attitude of the Poles to the problems of racism in the United States. Anti-American opinions, unfavourable to racism, are mixed with xenophobia which many Poles did not conceal. From the perspective of the RFE studies, the Polish People’s Republic emerges as the country of dying hopes, deepening stagnation, and the Poles as the opponents of the system who are hostile towards the USSR yet are not willing to risk a mutiny or a protest. In spite of all, in their majority, they assumed positions of adapting to and conforming with. Simultaneously, the surveys recorded also the opinions of the RFE employees who prepared the reports; these people often did not understand the realities of the studied countries and had a tendency to see the world only in black and white colours.

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