| Popis: |
The liberalisation of the communist system in the mid-1950s, disillusionment with the policy of the West, fears connected with West German revisionism, and dwindling chances of change in the situation of Central and Eastern Europe contributed to diverse attitudes among Polish emigrants. Some of them, notably among the nationalists, voiced the need to seek compromise with Russia. This led to the emergence of a pro-Russian faction alongside the still dominant pro-Western one. The thesis of the need for an alliance with Russia was propagated by Jędrzej Giertych in his writing in the Paris-based monthly Horyzonty. This ideologically committed opponent of communism and staunch Catholic was at the same time an ardent champion of an alliance with Russia, which in those circumstances meant an alliance with the Soviet Union, although he did not see this as a contradiction. He claimed that the greatest threat to Poland was Germany, supported by the West. He hoped that in appreciation of Poland’s sincere friendship and loyalty, Russia would restore to it the cities of Lviv and Vilnius. For him, an alliance with his country’s eastern neighbour was not of a temporary or tactical nature. Giertych consistently repeated that Russia was Poland’s natural ally, and Poland was Russia’s natural ally. Cooperation between the two countries was to be cemented by the Chinese threat. |
