Polish-American relations
Encyclopedia
Polish–American relations officially began in 1919. Since 1989 Polish–American relations have been very good and Poland is one of the most stable European allies of the United States.
which erased the Polish state from the map in 1795 prevented the establishment of official diplomatic relations between Poland and the new American state, Poland, which enacted the world's second oldest constitution in 1791, always considered the United States a positive influence, and even in the 18th century, important Polish figures such as Tadeusz Kościuszko
and Kazimierz Pułaski became closely involved with shaping US history. Many Poles emigrated to United States during the 19th century, forming a large Polish American
community.
and Poland not being seen as important for US interests).
Eventually both countries became part of the Allies
in the Second World War, but there was relatively little need for detailed coordination between the United States and the Polish government in exile
.
. After 1945, Poland (or the People's Republic of Poland
since 1952) became part of the Soviet bloc, and as such, America's enemy in the Cold War
. US first ambassador to post-war Poland, Arthur Bliss Lane
, wrote a book I Saw Poland Betrayed
about how the Western Allies abandoned their former ally, Poland, to the Soviet Union
. However, Polish people have unofficially always considered United States a friendly power, and the Soviet Union an occupant.
After Gomułka came to power in 1956, relations with the United States began to improve. However, during the 1960s, reversion to a policy of full and unquestioning support for Soviet foreign policy objectives and negative attitude toward Israel during the Six-Day War
caused those relations to stagnate. U.S.–Polish relations improved significantly after Edward Gierek
succeeded Gomulka and expressed his interest in improving relations with the United States. A consular agreement was signed in 1972.
In 1974 Gierek was the first Polish leader to visit the United States. This action, among others, demonstrated that both sides wished to facilitate better relations.
The birth of Solidarity
in 1980 raised the hope that progress would be made in Poland's external relations as well as in its domestic development. During this time, the United States provided $765 million in agricultural assistance. Human rights and individual freedom issues
, however, were not improved upon, and the U.S. revoked Poland's most-favored-nation (MFN) status in response to the Polish Government's decision to ban Solidarity in 1981. MFN status was reinstated in 1987, and diplomatic relations were upgraded.
When Poland joined NATO on March 12, 1999 the two countries became part of the same military alliance. As well as supporting the Global War on Terror
, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and coalition efforts in Iraq
(where Polish contingent was one of the largest
), Poland cooperates closely with the United States on such issues as democratization, nuclear proliferation, human rights, regional cooperation in central and eastern Europe, and reform of the United Nations
.
on the side of Georgia
) as an agreement between the two countries was reached to allow the US to install and operate an interceptor missile defense shield
, a move which Russia sees explicitly targeting it, prompting Russian president Dmitry Medvedev
to state that it made Poland "a legitimate military target." A high-ranking Russian military official said, "Poland in deploying the US system opens itself to a nuclear strike."
and President Bronislaw Komorowski
. American and Polish leader discuss economic, military and technology cooperation issues.
Barack Obama said "No country in Europe loves or loved The United States as much as Poland does or has in the past". Nonetheless visa policy remains strict.
European Union has threatened USA to impose visa requirements for Americans to enter any of its member countries if visas for Poles are not lifted.
Before the 20th century
Although the partitioning of PolandPartitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
which erased the Polish state from the map in 1795 prevented the establishment of official diplomatic relations between Poland and the new American state, Poland, which enacted the world's second oldest constitution in 1791, always considered the United States a positive influence, and even in the 18th century, important Polish figures such as Tadeusz Kościuszko
Tadeusz Kosciuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish–Lithuanian and American general and military leader during the Kościuszko Uprising. He is a national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus...
and Kazimierz Pułaski became closely involved with shaping US history. Many Poles emigrated to United States during the 19th century, forming a large Polish American
Polish American
A Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...
community.
Second Polish Republic
The United States established diplomatic relations with the newly formed Polish Republic in April 1919 but the relations between the two countries were distant, while positive (due to United States non-interventionismUnited States non-interventionism
Non-interventionism, the diplomatic policy whereby a nation seeks to avoid alliances with other nations in order to avoid being drawn into wars not related to direct territorial self-defense, has had a long history in the United States...
and Poland not being seen as important for US interests).
Eventually both countries became part of the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
in the Second World War, but there was relatively little need for detailed coordination between the United States and the Polish government in exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
.
Communist period
On July 5, 1945, the US government recognized the communist government installed in Warsaw by the Soviet government, thus abandoning the Polish Government in ExilePolish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
. After 1945, Poland (or the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
since 1952) became part of the Soviet bloc, and as such, America's enemy in the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. US first ambassador to post-war Poland, Arthur Bliss Lane
Arthur Bliss Lane
Arthur Bliss Lane was the United States Ambassador to Poland .- Biography :Lane was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He was appointed U.S. Minister to Nicaragua ; Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania ; Kingdom of Yugoslavia, ; and Costa Rica . He was then appointed U.S...
, wrote a book I Saw Poland Betrayed
I Saw Poland Betrayed
I saw Poland betrayed: An American ambassador reports to the American people is a book written by Arthur Bliss Lane, former U.S. ambassador to Poland, who observed what he considered to be the betrayal of Poland by the Western Allies at the end of World War II...
about how the Western Allies abandoned their former ally, Poland, to the Soviet Union
Western betrayal
Western betrayal, also called Yalta betrayal, refers to a range of critical views concerning the foreign policies of several Western countries between approximately 1919 and 1968 regarding Eastern Europe and Central Europe...
. However, Polish people have unofficially always considered United States a friendly power, and the Soviet Union an occupant.
After Gomułka came to power in 1956, relations with the United States began to improve. However, during the 1960s, reversion to a policy of full and unquestioning support for Soviet foreign policy objectives and negative attitude toward Israel during the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
caused those relations to stagnate. U.S.–Polish relations improved significantly after Edward Gierek
Edward Gierek
Edward Gierek was a Polish communist politician.He was born in Porąbka, outside of Sosnowiec. He lost his father to a mining accident in a pit at the age of four. His mother married again and emigrated to northern France, where he was raised. He joined the French Communist Party in 1931 and was...
succeeded Gomulka and expressed his interest in improving relations with the United States. A consular agreement was signed in 1972.
In 1974 Gierek was the first Polish leader to visit the United States. This action, among others, demonstrated that both sides wished to facilitate better relations.
The birth of Solidarity
History of Solidarity
The history of Solidarity , a Polish non-governmental trade union, begins in August 1980, at the Lenin Shipyards at its founding by Lech Wałęsa and others. In the early 1980s, it became the first independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country...
in 1980 raised the hope that progress would be made in Poland's external relations as well as in its domestic development. During this time, the United States provided $765 million in agricultural assistance. Human rights and individual freedom issues
Human rights in Poland
Human rights in Poland are guaranteed by the second chapter of the Constitution of Poland. Poland is part to all important international agreements relevant to human rights. Death Penalty is abolished for all crimes and Poland has ratified the International Criminal Court agreement...
, however, were not improved upon, and the U.S. revoked Poland's most-favored-nation (MFN) status in response to the Polish Government's decision to ban Solidarity in 1981. MFN status was reinstated in 1987, and diplomatic relations were upgraded.
Post Communism
The United States and Poland have enjoyed warm bilateral relations since 1989. Every post-1989 Polish government has been a strong supporter of continued American military and economic presence in Europe, and Poland is one of the most staunch allies of the United States.When Poland joined NATO on March 12, 1999 the two countries became part of the same military alliance. As well as supporting the Global War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and coalition efforts in Iraq
Polish involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq
On March 17, 2003, then Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski announced that Poland would send about 2000 troops to the Persian Gulf to take part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Polish soldiers had been present in the region since July 2002, and combat was first confirmed on March 24...
(where Polish contingent was one of the largest
Multinational Division Central-South
Multinational Division Central-South , created in September 2003, and supported by NATO, was a part of the Multinational Force Iraq. Headquartered in Camp Echo, it was under Polish command until October 2008, when the last of Poland's troops were withdrawn. Polish contingent was its largest...
), Poland cooperates closely with the United States on such issues as democratization, nuclear proliferation, human rights, regional cooperation in central and eastern Europe, and reform of the United Nations
Reform of the United Nations
Since the late 1990s there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations . However, there is little clarity or consensus about what reform might mean in practice. Both those who want the UN to play a greater role in world affairs and those who want its role confined to humanitarian work or...
.
Deployment of US missile defense shield
An even tighter security alliance with the US was announced in the middle of the 2008 South Ossetia war (where Poland had taken a leading role in the international community's responseInternational reaction to the 2008 South Ossetia war
The international reaction to the 2008 South Ossetia war covered many nations, NGOs, and non-state actors. The conflict began in August 2008 over South Ossetia but eventually the violence spread elsewhere in Georgia as well...
on the side of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
) as an agreement between the two countries was reached to allow the US to install and operate an interceptor missile defense shield
National Missile Defense
National missile defense is a generic term for a type of missile defense intended to shield an entire country against incoming missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missile or other ballistic missiles. Interception might be by anti-ballistic missiles or directed-energy weapons such as lasers...
, a move which Russia sees explicitly targeting it, prompting Russian president Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
to state that it made Poland "a legitimate military target." A high-ranking Russian military official said, "Poland in deploying the US system opens itself to a nuclear strike."
Obama Presidency
Obama visited Poland one time - 27-28 May 2011. He met with Polish Prime Minister Donald TuskDonald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
and President Bronislaw Komorowski
Bronislaw Komorowski
Bronisław Maria Komorowski is the President of Poland. As Marshal of the Sejm , Komorowski exercised powers and duties of head of state following the death of President Lech Kaczyński in a plane crash on 10 April 2010...
. American and Polish leader discuss economic, military and technology cooperation issues.
Criticism
A substantial and repeated criticism in Poland of US approach to Poland revolves about US refusal to allow Poles a visa-free entry to United States, despite the fact that most European Union countries – often much less supportive of US on the international scene – have no visa requirements.Barack Obama said "No country in Europe loves or loved The United States as much as Poland does or has in the past". Nonetheless visa policy remains strict.
European Union has threatened USA to impose visa requirements for Americans to enter any of its member countries if visas for Poles are not lifted.
Further reading
- Michalski, Artur;, Poland’s Relations with the United States, Yearbook of Polish Foreign Policy (01/2005), http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/issuedetails.aspx?issueid=af9f4c37-4c6b-4ec5-b5ab-8b429c035c08&articleId=2c9d62c0-483c-4c0d-afe9-7c901bf3ffec