Ucieczki Polaków przez Czechosłowację na Zachód w latach 1945–1948
The acts of escape of Polish people via Czechoslovakia to the West in the years 1945–1948

Summary/Abstract: Just after World War 2 Czechoslovakia was among the territories over which Polish people used to try to escape from Poland to the West. Likewise, couriers who maintained communication between the Polish centres in the West and the anti-communist underground in Poland used to pass over that country. The Czechoslovak authorities assumed towards such groups an attitude of hostility, which had sprung from several sources. Many Polish people believed that soon there would be one more war between the West and the Soviet Union, which would lead to the liberation of Poland from the communist regime. Such a view in Czechoslovakia, where rusophilism commingled with sovietophilia and generosity towards the Red Army for the liberation, aroused aversion and led to the blaming of persons who held such views of fascist tendencies. It should be remembered that the Red Army retreated from Czechoslovakia as early as in 1945, the fact which undoubtedly influenced the perception of the USSR among Czechs and Slovaks as more positive. Nobody knew the Polish reality well, and the Home Army was regarded as an organisation that posed a threat to the peace. Various incidents at the borders, the tense Polish-Czech relationships in Zaolzie (the fear that the Home Army would act to annex Zaolzie to Poland), the activity of the Holy Cross Mountain Brigade etc. – all these factors played a part in strengthening the hostile attitude towards anything that had – even if only alleged – connection with the Home Army or the Polish government in London. Moreover, it was probably not without influence that the Czechoslovak security services were in principle under command of the communists. They succeeded in detaining several important couriers, and even in breaking up a part of transfer networks. In some cases they treated the detained Polish people with violence.

• Details
• Contents