Anthony J. Drexel Biddle on the international situation of Poland from 1937 to 1939
Anthony J. Drexel Biddle wobec sytuacji międzynarodowej Polski w latach 1937-1939

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to present the views of Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, the United States’ Ambassador in Warsaw, concerning the international situation of the Second Republic of Poland from 1937 to 1939. This subject, scarcely represented in Polish historiography, shows the perspective of the American Ambassador on the role of Poland in Europe and reveales his assessment of the „balance of power” policy conducted by minister Józef Beck in the period preceding the outbreak of the Second World War. It appears that Biddle basically shared the Polish perspective on the threat posed by Hitler’s Germany and the Soviet Union while emphasizing the crucial role of Poland in further political-military developments in Europe. Accordingly, he supported the Polish will to resist the imminent German aggression since Warsaw’s attitude was in his eyes a peculiar „barometer” of British and French readiness to contain German expansion. Although Biddle’s position in late 1930s could not influence the policies of the U.S. and European powers toward Poland, it sheds an interesting light on Polish foreign policy and its reception by Western powers, contributing to better understanding of this decisive period of Poland’s history. This article was based on analysis of diplomatic papers and the correspondence of Ambassador Biddle from 1937 to 1939.

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