Od początków niepodległości do odzyskania wolności. Polska w relacjach zachodnich obserwatorów w latach 1918-1989
From the beginnings of independence to regaining freedom - Poland in the accounts of western observers in the years 1918-1989

Summary/Abstract: After 1918 Poland was several times the object of increased interest on the part of western countries. In the interwar period Poland was an important element of European balance in the face of the threat posed by Germany and Soviet Russia. After the Second World War many Poles counted on the Americans and British to prevent the Sovietization of Poland and make Stalin respect the accepted obligation concerning free election in Poland. However, nothing like that happened. Later on, in such critical moments as 1956 or the years 1980-1981, the situation in Poland was attentively monitored by the western countries. Similarly also in the year 1989, which brought Poland a real chance to regain full independence. The aim of the present paper is to present the accounts and opinions of western observers, mainly diplomats and journalists, on the crucial events for Poland in the years 1918-1989. Most of the reports addressed the problems of political transformations, although economic, military and social matters were also brought up, as well as issues relevant to the Jewish minority. These accounts and the opinions they contained diverge at some points from our current knowledge on the discussed problems or events. Nevertheless a research hypothesis can be adopted that in numerous cases they served as a basis for building the image of Polish reality in the United States, Great Britain or France and influenced the policy of these countries towards Poland. To prove the hypothesis the philological, comparative and sociological methods were used among others.

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