Self-criticism and World War Two

The Polish city of Gda?sk recently hosted commemorative events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War Two.

In his interview with The Day, Jacek KLUCZKOWSKI, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Ukraine, told how Poland assesses the events that occurred 70 years ago and the role the Soviet Union played at the beginning of World War II.

As a historian, can you see to what extent official statements are in line with historical truth? In particular, how can one interpret the words of Vladimir Putin that Russia and Poland were allies, although it is common knowledge that in 1939 the Soviet troops occupied, together with Germans, a part of the Polish Republic?

“Our London-based government in exile was trying to enter into an alliance with the USSR in 1941–1943.

But after the exposure of the Katyn massacre, Moscow broke relations with us. It is true that the Soviet Union and Poland had signed a non-aggression treaty in 1932. But it was the Soviet Union that announced in 1939 that this treaty was no longer valid.

“Please understand that the trouble is not so much in that the Soviet Union declared its neutrality on the eve of World War II in August 1939. The point is that its armed forces invaded Poland. The Soviet Union was an aggressor. A lot of our border guards and army soldiers were killed, although our command ordered them not to attack the Soviet troops. Tens of thousands of Polish servicemen were taken prisoner.

“Why did Stalin choose to do so? Because Hitler wanted to move his divisions from Poland to the Western front as soon as possible. It was a matter of life and death for him, for this frontline was practically defenseless. He feared that France could enter the territory of Germany even if it engaged a limited force. Had it happened like this, there would have been a totally different history of World War II.

“Germans wanted to reformat their frontlines and divisions—this is why they badly needed Soviet help. On the eve of World War II, the Soviet press would change its tone almost every day. At first it said that the Soviet Union was prepared to sell weapons to Poland and remain a neutral country, just like the US traded with both China and Japan at the time. Meanwhile, after September 3, Germany kept insisting that the Soviet Union commit aggression against Poland as soon as possible. Germans were doing so not because they were sure of victory but because they wanted to move their divisions to the West.

“Nobody objects to the Soviet Union’s desire to be neutral. But it was not a neutral country. Nor did the Polish government declare that it was in a state of war with the Soviet Union. Incidentally, our officers and soldiers were considered prisoners of war, although there was seemingly no war. Then they were all shot dead. So can one say in these conditions that the Soviet Union was not Hitler’s ally in September 1939?

“Most historians believe that the Soviet leadership and Stalin personally thought that everything would go as it did during World War I, that there would be stable frontlines, and the war would last for years without major changes in the frontlines. Moreover, the Soviet Union believed that Germany was the weaker side in this ‘imperialist’ war—suffice it to read the Soviet press in the first days of September. In other words, Stalin considered it necessary to back the weaker side so that the war continued as long as possible.”

Do you think the current Russian leadership can be expected to apologize for the Soviet Union’s aggression against Poland? For, according to a GfK Polonia poll conducted at the request of the newspaper Rzeczpospolita, 76 percent of Poles believe that Russian premier Vladimir Putin should have apologized to Polish citizens for the invasion of the Polish territory by the Soviet troops on Sept. 17, 1939, when he attended the marking of the 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War II in Gda sk on September 1. As is known, German Chancellor Willy Brandt apologized to Poles in 1970.

“Hitler decided to attack Poland because he was aware that Poland would not be an ally against the Soviet Union. So he wanted to make short work of Poland before attacking France. This is why we react so painfully to Russian media’s allegations that in 1939 our foreign minister was a German agent and somebody else a French one.

“This reminds me of Mandelshtam and Babel being Japanese and Austrian agents, respectively. This is exotics. We know that Soviet secret services used to produce thousands of such fakes every month. I want to emphasize that the presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin once said very positive and good words in this connection. We heard Putin condemning totalitarianism and making a candid statement on the Katyn massacre. There are no doubts here. There are all possibilities for further investigation into this crime. And if there are any doubts, let us work together. Let professional historians work on this.”

I would still like to hear from you whether it would be important for Poland if Putin took such a step and thus launched the process of reconciliation between Poland and Russia.

“I think Poles and Russian have a good attitude to each other at the societal level. As for history, let us leave it to professional historians. A lot has also been done from the political angle. Incidentally, when the Polish government invited Prime Minister Putin to Gda sk, it was about mutual understanding over the future, not the past. I would like to believe that, in spite of different approaches to and visions of our history, we, Poles and Russians, have agreed that totalitarianism, fascism, aggression against an independent state, and crimes against unarmed prisoners of war, are inadmissible.

“I would like Russia and Poland not to use history for creating myths and false truths. If you look at the articles published in Russia on the occasion of the September 1 anniversary, you will see that there are no well-known historians among the authors and there are no references to verified documents. References are usually made to the documents fabricated or forged by Soviet secret services.”

Incidentally, in mid-June the Sejm passed a resolution on the Volhynia events, which said there were signs of genocide in the course of the Ukrainian-Polish clashes during World War II. Do you think this kind of resolution may adversely affect bilateral relations between the two countries?

“This resolution reflects the societal vision of World War II problems. Poland has the impression that we have been speaking very much about the losses suffered as a result of the German occupation. Since 1989 we have said a lot about anti-Polish Soviet terror. Conversely, the history of this Ukrainian-Polish conflict was not sufficiently spotlighted for political considerations. It is open to a debate whether Polish and Ukrainian academics have done the needful, but the public thinks that the Polish state has not yet honored the memory of the Polish civilians who died in that conflict. With due account of public opinion, the MPs decided to stress with this resolution that there is one more frontline of memory that has not yet been duly highlighted.”

Speaking of the future, do you have any doubts that our countries will jointly hold Euro-2012?

“We will, no doubt, do it together. But it is up to the UEFA to decide whether all the Ukrainian candidate cities will have the right to host games. I believe that all four will get this right. But we must wait until December 10, when it is finally resolved on the island of Madeira, very far from Europe and America, what cities will host Euro-2012 games. There will be no dangers to you on the part of Poles.”