THE POLE AND HIS HOME
By JOZEF BANASIK d
MUCH space has been given lately in the press to what is known as the Polish question. It is significant that this problem should have attracted attention even in the midst of political and other preoccupations in Great Britain. To a foreign observer it remains obvious that the British public is not at ease over the state of affairs existing at present in that particular sector. Avoiding however a general analysis, for which I am not qualified, I should like to draw attention to a special group of readers of The Spectator, small though they are in number, whom the future of Poland affects in the most direct and personal way. I mean my compatriots, the Poles in England, and especially those in the fighting forces. Being one of them, I feel I am in a position to indicate what the average Polish soldier, sailor and airman thinks and feels today. First and above all, most of his attention remains concentrated on his expected return home. Ever since the Provisional Government in Warsaw received British recognition he has met again and again with sym- pathetic and sincere suggestions on the part of his English friends that surely now the day is not far off when he will be able to rejoin his family whom he left behind more than five years ago. Yet the man with the white eagle on his battledress shows a strange restraint in manifesting his joy. Why is that so?
Chiefly because he is gravely concerned about the lack of news
from his country. It is now more than seven months since the last German soldier left Polish territory, but he is not allowed to hear from his wife and children. Even during the German occupation he did manage to let them know through the Red Cross that he was alive, or occasionally to send them a tin of sardines via Lisbon. Now even that little has been cut. Meanwhile the thought of the coming winter fills his heart with anxiety. Other continental countries have already received large supplies from UNRRA, while Poland, the first ally, remains guarded by a wall of silence. The Polish soldier does not understand this situation ; he fears that it indicates nothing pleasant for him. Secondly, and contrary to the widespread opinion, your ally does not believe in a war between the western democracies and Soviet Russia. Nor does he want it. He knows that an armed conflict is in nobody's interest. It would achieve nothing but a further set-back to our civilisation ; and once again his country would be the one to suffer most. It is a deep conviction of the Polish warrior's that while peace is essential for exhausted humanity it is an absolute and prime condition for any reconstruction of his devastated country.
Of this devastation he has a very realistic picture ; very recently a British observer reported that in the whole of Europe there was no other city the destruction of which could stand comparison with the ruin of Warsaw. He also realises that he has lost some eight millions of his compatriots—a loss beyond repair in the life of a nation, especially when it involves practically the whole of the educated class. On top of this, one generation of youth has grown up without any education, away from schools, and in conditions that can only breed banditry. Our national economy has been wrecked. There is no currency in Poland today, and no standard of exchange. Together with our eastern territories we have lost all our oil, and practically the whole of our mineral resources. Yes, the Polish soldier realises that the damage we sustained is beyond estimation and that it will take generations to heal the wounds.
But it is in his moral convictions that the Pole has suffered the
severest blow. After all it was for great ideals alone, and in complete opposition to material considerations, that he came into this war. Do not forget that six years ago he was the first to prove that freedom means to him more than life. His Foreign Secretary ended his last broadcast with these memorable words: "Even if we lose everything one thing will remain—Honour—and that to us means a great deal." Indeed it did. It was in this spirit that the Polish soldier on the battlefield of Kutno threw one cavalry charge after another against the iron belt of the invading Teutonic armour. Having an unshakable faith in Britain and her guarantees, he knew that his sacrifice would not be in vain. Overwhelmed in the field he went underground, carrying on the ceaseless battle until it reached its
final peak in the heroic and tragic defence of Warsaw last autumn. Those who managed to escape joined their British ally, taking their share in the victories of Tobruk and Cassino, in the air over Britain and in the Atlantic. Meanwhile, with the growing Russian influence, things were getting steadily worse for Poland in the political field. The first great warning came from Teheran. For the exiled Polish pilgrim it marked the end of the Atlantic Charter, and the abandon- ment of justice in the coming new shape of the world. The agree- ments reached in Moscow and Yalta found him bewildered and hopelessly distressed. Today he is alarmed to the highest degree. Whatever his opinions or education may be, he feels—above all—that Poland has been treated with bitter injustice. His English friends ask him sometimes whether he thinks that England has " let his nation down." It is better to leave the question unanswered.
But he feels deep resentment when he is told that what has hap- pened to his country is a " just thing." And it hurts him when he is called anti-democratic or pro-Nazi. He knows himself that at the conference tables he has become a problem and a tiresome one. The Polish soldier, Britain's first and most faithful ally, feels somehow disowned. And that is the cause for his greatest anxiety. After all, on Britain's constant and wholehearted support in every sector depends his survival and his entire future. He is being drawn by the east, but his entire past and tradition belong to the west. The choice was made for him by his first historical King one thousand years ago, when he refused the offer of the missionaries front Byzantium and received those from Rome. For ten centuries we stood between the Dnieper and the Carpathians, defending western civilisation against all the attacks that Asia threw against Europe, and winning as a reward the proud name: Antemurale Christtanitatts. As often happens with people that live on the borders, we have become even more attached to our Latin inheritance than nations which dwelt west of us, and therefore enjoyed greater security. Today it would be futile to try to switch us over to the east. It is not possible, and if forced upon us it will mean our end.
Yet in this very issue the Pole sees also his great miss:on. Having in mind the irreconcilable differences between the east and the west, he remembers also that his country, in virtue of its geographical position, is predestined to become the region where " the twain shall meet." He considers it his task to see that this point of meeting shall be a bridge, and not a wall. Your Pole will cling to the west ; that he cannot help ; but once master in his own house he desires to live in peace and understanding with the east. This question of mastery is the main reason for his present hesitation. The Polish soldier knows how to take risks and he is prepared to face them, but he sees no point in going back if it just means a new stage towards slavery, or what he describes as " Siberia." His British friends may not appreciate that anxiety, but let them remember that the reasons for it are older than Communism, and also, that Poland today is surrounded by Russian-held territories on all sides.
At the same time there is nothing that the Polish soldier longs more for than a speedy return home. Your hospitality has been kind and charming, but he is tired of being away from his country so long. Also he feels that his presence there is badly needed. He knows that he may provide that foundation-stone on which the new building of the nation shall stand. Meanwhile you must forgive him if at times his nerves seem to show little resistance. Remember that the account of his energy is out of balance for some six years now. But there is no need to worry about his choice, or the difficulty of pro- viding him with some foreign passport. The Polish soldier knows his heart. Once he sees that his home-coming is humanly possible he will go home without wasting a day.
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