Poland–United States Relations
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Official relations between
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on a diplomatic level were initiated in 1919 after Poland had established itself as a
republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
after 123 years of being under foreign rule from the
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
. However, ties with the United States date back to the 17th century, when the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
was one of Europe's largest powers, and many Poles
immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
to the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...
. During the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, the Polish military commanders
Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...
and Casimir Pułaski contributed greatly to the Patriot cause, with Kościuszko becoming a national hero in America. Since 1989, Polish–American relations have been strong and Poland is one of the chief European allies of the United States, being part of both
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. There is a strong cultural appreciation between the two nations (
Polonophilia A Polonophile is an individual who respects and is fond of Poland's culture as well as Polish history, traditions and customs. The term defining this kind of attitude is Polonophilia. The antonym and opposite of Polonophilia is Polonophobia. H ...
). According to the
US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...
, Poland remains a "stalwart ally" and "one of strongest Continental partners in fostering security and prosperity, throughout Europe and the world." Poland was also one of four participating countries in the American-led
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
coalition in 2003. In addition to close historical ties, Poland is one of the most consistently pro-American nations in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and the world, with 79% of
Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
viewing the US favorably in 2002 and 67% in 2013. According to the 2012 US Global Leadership Report, 36% of Poles approve of American leadership, with 30% disapproving and 34% uncertain, and in a 2013
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
World Service Poll, 55% of Poles view US influence positively, the highest rating for any surveyed European country.


Before 20th century

The
partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
erased Poland from the map in 1795 and long prevented the establishment of official diplomatic relations between Poland and the new United States. However, Poland, which enacted the world's second-oldest constitution in 1791, always considered the United States a positive influence. Even in the 18th century, important Polish figures such as
Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...
and
Casimir Pulaski Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of the Ślepowron coat of arms (; ''Casimir Pulaski'' ; March 4 or March 6, 1745 Makarewicz, 1998 October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called, tog ...
became closely involved with shaping
US history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...
.
Haym Salomon Haym Salomon (also Solomon; anglicized from Chaim Salomon; April 7, 1740 – January 6, 1785) was a Polish-born Jewish businessman and political financial broker who assisted the Superintendent of Finance, English-born Robert Morris, as the prim ...
, a Polish
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
, was the prime financier of the American side during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
against
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. Many Poles also emigrated to the United States in the 19th century and formed a large
Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...
community in urban centres such as
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
.


American response to November Uprising

Poland's
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
in 1831 and the fight for regaining independence from the neighbouring empires were extensively documented and editorialized in American newspapers. As the historian
Jerzy Jan Lerski Jerzy Jan Lerski (''nom de guerre'': Jur; also known as George Jan Lerski; 1917-1992); was a Polish lawyer, soldier, historian, political scientist and politician. After World War II he emigrated to the United States, where he became a full profes ...
described, "one could reproduce in detail virtually the whole story of the November Uprising from the 1831 files of American dailies published at that time, regardless of the fact that they were usually four-sheet affairs with little space left for foreign news." There were very few Poles in the United States at the time, but views of Poland were shaped positively by its support for the American Revolution. Several young men offered their military services to fight for Poland, the most well-known of which was
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
, who wrote a letter to his
commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
March 10, 1831 to join the Polish Army if it was created in France. Support for Poland was highest in the South, as
Casimir Pulaski Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of the Ślepowron coat of arms (; ''Casimir Pulaski'' ; March 4 or March 6, 1745 Makarewicz, 1998 October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called, tog ...
's death in
Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
, was well-remembered and memorialized. An American surgeon, Dr. Paul Fitzsimmons, from the
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, actually joined the Polish Army in 1831. He was then in France and, inspired by "how gallant Pulaski had fallen at the siege of Savannah during the Revolutionary struggle of 1776," traveled to Warsaw as a field surgeon for the Polish infantry. The United States never initiated the creation of a military force for supporting Poland. Financial support and gifts were sent from the United States to the American-Polish Committee in France, which intended to purchase supplies and transport aid to Poland. The American writer
James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...
wrote an appeal for the organization at the height of his popularity and motivated a nationwide collection for Poland in American cities. The Frenchman
General Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...
was an outspoken voice in France and urged for a French intervention to aid Poland in its independence from Russia. The French government sought to make peace with the Russian Empire and generally stayed out of the conflict. Following the collapse of the insurrection, American newspapers continued to publish news from British and French sources documenting oppression of Poles by the Russian and German Empires. Newspaper editors made mention of the Russians as "brutal" and "evil," and the Poles were "gallant" and "heroic" in their efforts. The American public was apprised of the ongoing suppression of the Polish
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and the conscription of Poles into the
Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
, which hurt Russian-American relations. An American writer in Boston, Robin Carver, wrote a children's book in 1831, ''Stories of Poland'', which said that for Polish children, "Their houses are not peaceful and happy homes, but are open to the spies and soldiers of a cruel and revengeful government.... There is no confidence, no repose, no hope for them, and will not be, till, by some more fortunate struggle, they shall drive the Russians from their borders, and become an independent people." Poetic tributes to Poland were written in America, and literature denouncing the Russian treatment towards Poland continued after the Uprising. Russian Emperor Nicholas I and his emissaries asked the US Secretary of State for a formal rebuke of American newspapers reporting the mistreatment of Poles. US Secretary of State
Edward Livingston Edward Livingston (May 28, 1764May 23, 1836) was an American jurist and statesman. He was an influential figure in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825, a civil code based largely on the Napoleonic Code. Livingston represented both ...
chose to wait two months before responding to Russia's demands, but the
US ambassador to Russia The ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Russian Federation. Since September 4, 2022, Elizabeth Rood is serving as the ...
,
James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...
, made promises to the Russians that the American press would circulate evidence that Russian cruelty had been "much overplayed." The historian Jerzy Jan Lerski was critical of Buchanan's pro-Russian stance on the Polish issue and said that he made statements on Poland without visiting the country or "listening to Polish testimony."


Lincoln and Civil War

Poland's independence lost favour among American intellectuals during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Historians have argued that US President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
was sympathetic to the Poles but chose not to intervene in Europe's affairs out of fear that European powers would support the
Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
. The historian Tom Delahaye pointed to 1863 as a critical breakdown in relations between the "Crimean Coalition" (Britain, France, and Austria) and Russia, with Poland's independence a key reason for conflict. Russian sympathies were solidly in favor of the North, and Lincoln expressed a non-interventionist policy towards Russia's "Polish problem." By doing so, Lincoln alienated himself from the British and the French politics and came closer to Russia, which contributed to a balance of power in favor of the tsar.


Second Polish Republic

On 8 January 1918, US President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
issued his war aims, the ''
Fourteen Points U.S. President Woodrow Wilson The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms ...
''. Point 13 called for independent Poland with access to the sea: "An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant." On January 22, 1919, US Secretary of State
Robert Lansing Robert Lansing (; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as Counselor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I, and then as United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wils ...
notified Polish Prime Minister and Secretary for Foreign Affairs,
Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (;  – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...
that the US had recognized the Provisional Polish Government. At the Paris peace conference between January-June 1919, point 13 with its reference to Poland having "free and secure access to the sea" was the source of much dispute. At the peace conference, Wilson stated what he meant by point 13 was the German city of Danzig (modern
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, Poland) should go to Poland. Danzig was a deep water port located where the Vistula river flows into the Baltic sea, making the city the principle point where both imports and exports went into and out of Poland. The Polish delegation at the Paris peace conference led by
Roman Dmowski Roman Stanisław Dmowski (Polish: , 9 August 1864 – 2 January 1939) was a Polish politician, statesman, and co-founder and chief ideologue of the National Democracy (abbreviated "ND": in Polish, "''Endecja''") political movement. He saw th ...
argued that allowing Danzig to remain with Germany would give the ''Reich'' economic control of Poland and that for Poland to be truly independent required that Danzig go to Poland. Alongside Wilson, the French Premier
Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (, also , ; 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he was a ...
supported the Polish claim to Danzig, but the British prime minister
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
was opposed, arguing that because the population of Danzig was about 90% German that ceding the city to Poland would violate the right to national self-determination. In a compromise that pleased no-one, under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Danzig was severed from Germany to become the Free City of Danzig, a city-state in which Poland had certain special rights. Wilson argued that he maintained his promise made in point 13 to give Poland "free and secure access to the sea" while respected the wishes of the German population of Danzig not to be forced into Poland by accepting the compromise of the Free City of Danzig. The United States established diplomatic relations with the newly-formed Polish Republic in April 1919 but the relations between the two countries were distant though positive because of
United States non-interventionism United States non-interventionism primarily refers to the foreign policy that was eventually applied by the United States between the late 18th century and the first half of the 20th century whereby it sought to avoid alliances with other nations ...
and Poland being seen as unimportant for US interests. Eventually, both countries were part of the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but there was relatively little need for detailed coordination between the US and the
Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
, which was based in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.


Communist Poland

On July 5, 1945, the US government recognized the communist government installed in Warsaw, thus abandoning the
Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
. After 1950, Poland, which became the
Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
since 1952, became a member of the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
and opposed America during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. The first US ambassador to postwar Poland,
Arthur Bliss Lane Arthur Bliss Lane (16 June 1894 – 12 August 1956) was a United States diplomat who served in Latin America and Europe. During his diplomatic career he dealt with the rise of a dictatorship in Nicaragua in the 1930s, World War II and its afterma ...
, wrote a book ''
I Saw Poland Betrayed ''I Saw Poland Betrayed: An American Ambassador Reports to the American People'' (1948) is a book written by former United States ambassador to Poland, Arthur Bliss Lane, who observed what he considered to be the betrayal of Poland by the Western ...
'' about how the Western Allies had abandoned their former ally, Poland, to Soviet influence. However, the Polish people and government maintained very close and warm ties with the
Western Bloc The Western Bloc, also known as the Free Bloc, the Capitalist Bloc, the American Bloc, and the NATO Bloc, was a coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991. It was spearheaded by ...
and the United States. In September 1946, the American secretary of state
James F. Byrnes James Francis Byrnes ( ; May 2, 1882 – April 9, 1972) was an American judge and politician from South Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in U.S. Congress and on the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as in the executive branch, mos ...
gave a speech in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
where in an attempt to appeal to German opinion stated that the
Oder–Neisse line The Oder–Neisse line (german: Oder-Neiße-Grenze, pl, granica na Odrze i Nysie Łużyckiej) is the basis of most of the international border between Germany and Poland from 1990. It runs mainly along the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers an ...
was only temporary and that some of the areas recently annexed to Poland might be returned to Germany at a late date. Through Byrnes did not in fact call for Germany to regain its lost lands east of the Oder-Neisse line, the implication of the Stuttgart speech that it might caused much anger in Poland. Byrnes's speech was described as having a "devastating" impact on those Poles who looked towards the United States as an ally. After Gomułka's arrival to power in 1956, relations with the United States improved considerably. In 1957, the Eisenhower administration as part of a gambit to force the European members of NATO to spend more on defense (a chronic American complaint) suggested in public that the United States would provide West Germany with nuclear weapons if the other NATO did not increase their defense spending. In Warsaw, the American suggestion caused much fear as it was believed that a nuclear-armed West Germany would inevitably use its nuclear weapons to take back the lands east of the Oder-Neisse line. To end this possibility, the Polish Foreign Minister
Adam Rapacki Adam Rapacki (24 December 1909 – 10 October 1970) was a leading Polish Communist politician and diplomat from 1947 to 1968. He started in the socialist movement but in 1948 joined the Central Committee of the new Polish United Workers' Par ...
devised the
Rapacki plan The Rapacki Plan (pronounced Rapatz-ki) was a proposal presented in a speech by Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rapacki to the United Nations General Assembly on 2 October 1957 as a limited plan for nuclear disarmament and demilitarization in Centra ...
under which Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and West Germany would all be a nuclear weapons free zone alongside a ban on missiles capable of firing nuclear weapons. From the Polish viewpoint, the Rapacki plan had the additional benefit of keeping Soviet nuclear weapons and missiles out of Poland, which would thus end the possibility of American nuclear strikes to destroy them, which in turn would limit the amount of nuclear fall-out on Poland in the event of World War Three. In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 2 October 1957, Rapacki formally presented his plan, which he argued would protect the peace of Europe. The plan was rejected by the United States under the grounds that it would weaken NATO by keeping nuclear weapons out of West Germany, through in private Eisenhower thought there was merit to Rapacki's desire to prevent German reunification. During the Vietnam war, Poland was one of the three powers along with Canada and India that formed the
International Control Commission The International Control Commission (ICC), or in French la Commission Internationale de Contrôle (CIC), was an international force established in 1954. More formally called the International Commission for Supervision and Control, the organisati ...
(ICC) that supervised the Geneva Accords, and as such Polish diplomats were often involved in plans to end the Vietnam war. The Polish delegation to the ICC were allowed to tour both Vietnams and were in contact with the leaders in both Hanoi and Saigon, making them ideal intermediaries. When Rapacki visited New Delhi in January 1963, the American ambassador to India,
John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through t ...
met with him to declare his "despair" about the Kennedy administration's policies in Vietnam and asked for his good offers to have Poland as an ICC member assist with finding a diplomatic solution to the Vietnam war. Galbratih remained in regular contact with
Przemysław Ogrodziński Przemysław Antoni Ogrodziński (4 May 1918 – 11 May 1980), also known by his pseudonyms 'Stanisław', 'Dyplomata', and 'Agapit' was a Polish diplomat and activist. Early life Przemysław "Przemek" Ogrodziński was born to a Polish family in L ...
, the Polish ambassador to India, in seeking a diplomatic solution to the war. Latre in 1963, the Polish Commissioner to the ICC,
Mieczysław Maneli Mieczysław Maneli (born Moshe Meir Manela; 22 January 1922 – 9 April 1994) was a Polish lawyer, diplomat and academic best remembered for his work with the International Control Commission (ICC) during the Vietnam War, especially the "Maneli A ...
, was involved in the so-called "Maneli affair", a plan to end the Vietnam war by creating a federation of the two Vietnams. In 1966, the Polish diplomat
Janusz Lewandowski Janusz Antoni Lewandowski (; born 13 June 1951) is a Polish politician and economist belonging to the Gdańsk liberals group, and a former member of the European Parliament (elected on 13 June 2004), Chairman of the Committee on Budgets. On 27 ...
who served as the Polish commissioner to the ICC played a key role in
Operation Marigold Marigold was an American codename for a failed secret attempt to reach a compromise solution to the Vietnam War that was carried out by the Polish diplomat Janusz Lewandowski, a member of the International Control Commission, and the Italian ambass ...
, an attempt to broker an end to the Vietnam war. Lewandowski met in Saigon with
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985) was an American diplomat and Republican United States senator from Massachusetts in both Senate seats in non-consecutive terms of service and a United States ambassador. He was considered ...
, the American ambassador to South Vietnam, to present a plan for a "bombing pause" of North Vietnam as way to begin peace talks. In the 1960s, Gomułka's unwillingness to break with the Soviet Union and the negative attitude toward
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
during the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
caused those relations to stagnate. Polish-American relations improved once more after
Edward Gierek Edward Gierek (; 6 January 1913 – 29 July 2001) was a Polish communism in Poland, Communist politician and ''de facto'' leader of Poland between 1970 and 1980. Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as General Secretary of the Communist Party, F ...
had succeeded Gomułka. A consular agreement was signed under in 1972. In 1974, Gierek was the first Polish communist head of state to visit the United States. That 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. The United States provided $765 million in agricultural assistance and loans. Human rights and individual freedom issues, however, were not improved, and the US revoked Poland's most-favored-nation (MFN) status in response to the decision to ban on the Solidarity movement in 1981 and to instigate
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
by the communist
Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...
. MFN status was reinstated in 1987. The
Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...
engaged in clandestine support for
Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
, and
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
money was channeled through third parties. CIA officers were barred from meeting Solidarity leaders, and their contacts with Solidarnosc activists were weaker than those of the
AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
, which raised $300,000 from its members to provide material and cash directly to Solidarity. The
US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washingto ...
authorized the
National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...
to promote democracy, and it allocated $10 million to Solidarity. CIA support for Solidarity besides money included equipment and training, which was co-ordinated by the Special Operations division of the CIA.
Henry Hyde Henry John Hyde (April 18, 1924 – November 29, 2007) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2007, representing the 6th District of Illinois, an area of Chicago's ...
, a member of the US House Intelligence Committee, stated that the US provided "supplies and technical assistance in terms of clandestine newspapers, broadcasting, propaganda, money, organizational help and advice." Michael Reisman from
Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
named operations in Poland as one of the covert actions of CIA during
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. Initial funds for covert actions by the CIA were $2 million, but soon, authorizations were increased, and by 1985, the CIA had successfully infiltrated Poland.''Executive Secrets: Covert Action and the Presidency'', William J. Daugherty. page 201–203 When the Polish government launched a crackdown of its own in December 1981, however, Solidarity was not alerted. Potential explanations for that vary; some believe that the CIA was caught off guard, but others suggest that American policymakers viewed an internal crackdown as preferable to an "inevitable Soviet intervention."


Third Polish Republic

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 stable allies of the United States. When Poland joined
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
on March 12, 1999 the two countries became part of the same military alliance. As well as supporting the Global
War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
,
Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
in Afghanistan, and coalition efforts in Iraq (where the Polish contingent was one of the largest), Poland co-operates closely with the United States on such issues as democratization, nuclear proliferation, human rights, regional co-operation in Central and Eastern Europe, and
reform of the United Nations Since the late 1990s there have been many calls for reforms of the United Nations (UN). 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 ...
. On 11 September 2001, 6 Polish citizens perished at the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
during the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. The monument for Polish 9/11 victims at
Skaryszew Park Skaryszew Park (pronounced ) is an urban, monumental park located in the Praga-Południe (South Praga) district of Warsaw, Poland. The park was designed and created by Franciszek Szanior in 1906.Praga Południe, Michał Pilich, wyd. Urząd Dzie ...
in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
was unveiled by Polish President
Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule, he was active in the Socialist Union of Poli ...
on 11 September 2002, the 1st anniversary of the attacks. In 2004, the Polish diplomat
Piotr Ogrodziński Piotr Andrzej Ogrodziński (born 7 September 1951) is a Polish diplomat, activist and philosopher. Activist Ogrodziński was born in Paris where his father, Przemysław Ogrodziński, was serving as the Polish charge d'affairs at the Polish emba ...
stated: "This is a country that thinks seriously about its security. There's no doubt that for such a country, it's good to be a close ally of the United States". In 2004, Ogrodziński spoke to the American media his concerns over what he felt was a lack of American gratitude for Poland's contribution to the Iraq war while denying Poles visa free travel to the United States, saying: "It's very hard to explain why one Polish kid is risking his life in Iraq and another kid is being stopped at the U.S. border because he happened to land in the wrong city". US President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
visited
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
on 27–28 May 2011 and met with Polish Prime Minister
Donald Tusk Donald Franciszek Tusk ( , ; born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician who was President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019. He served as the 14th Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014 and was a co-founder and leader of the Civic Pla ...
and President
Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who served as President of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski served as Minister of Defence from 2000 to 2001. As Marshal of the Sejm, Komorowski exercised ...
. The American and Polish leaders discussed economic, military and technology cooperation issues. In July 2017,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
in his second foreign travel visited
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. He met with Polish President
Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (; born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the ...
. Both then held a joint press conference in the
Royal Castle, Warsaw The Royal Castle in Warsaw ( pl, Zamek Królewski w Warszawie) is a state museum and a national historical monument, which formerly served as the official royal residence of several Polish monarchs. The personal offices of the king and the adm ...
. Trump thanked the Polish people and Duda for the warm welcome that he had received in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
: "Our strong alliance with
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
remains critical to deterring conflict and ensuring that war between great powers never again ravages
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and that the world will be a safer and better place. America is committed to maintaining peace and security in
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
." President Trump also spoke with European leaders attending the
Three Seas Initiative The Three Seas Initiative (3SI or TSI), known also as the Baltic, Adriatic, Black Sea (BABS) Initiative or simply as the Three Seas (Latin: ''Trimarium'', Polish: ''Trójmorze''), is a forum of twelve states, in the European Union, running along ...
Summit in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
." In 2018, Poland proposed for the United States open a permanent military base within its country. The Polish government would finance around $2 billion of the cost of hosting American forces, if the proposal was accepted by the United States. Poland has proposed
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
or
Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
as potential base locations. Since 1999, Poland has sought closer military ties with the United States. In an apparent attempt to win favor, it was suggested by President
Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (; born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as president of Poland since 6 August 2015. Before becoming president, Andrzej Duda was a member of Polish Lower House (Sejm) from 2011 to 2014 and the ...
in 2018 that the proposed American military base in Poland be named "Fort Trump", a choice of name that provoked controversy with many Poles charging that Duda was trying too hard to flatten Trump. Opinion within the Pentagon was divided about the merits of permanently stationing an U.S. Army armored division in Poland as the Polish government wanted. Some U.S. Army generals charged that it would strain U.S. Army resources too far and that the proposed location of "Fort Trump" was too exposed to Russian rockets. Other generals argued that having an armored division stationed in Poland was preferable to the current system of rotation as it would allow the troops to get to know the country better. In June 2019, both sides agreed to send 1,000 US troops to Poland. In September 2019, six locations were determined to host approximately 4,500 from the US military in Poland, including:
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
,
Drawsko Pomorskie Drawsko Pomorskie (until 1948 pl, Drawsko; formerly german: Dramburg) is a town in Drawsko County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland, the administrative seat of Drawsko County and the urban-rural commune of Gmina Drawsko Po ...
, Strachowice,
Łask Łask (; german: Lask) is a town in central Poland with 16,925 inhabitants (2020). It is the capital of Łask County, and is situated in Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Sieradz Voivodeship (1975–1998). The Polish Air Force's 32 ...
,
Powidz Powidz (pronounced ) is a village in Słupca County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Powidz. It lies approximately north of Słupca and east of the regional ...
and
Lubliniec Lubliniec (german: Lublinitz) is a town in southern Poland with 23,784 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Lubliniec County, part of Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Częstochowa Voivodeship (1975–1998). Geography ...
. On 24 June 2020, Trump said at a press conference with Duda that the United States plans to move some US troops from Germany to Poland. Trump said, "Poland is one of the few countries that are fulfilling their obligations under
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
— in particular, their monetary obligations — and they asked us if we would send some additional troops.... I think utting more US troops in Polandsends a very strong signal to Russia." Duda was very close to Trump, which led to strained ties in 2021 under the new administration of Joe Biden. In addition, the perception that the conservative PiS government was undermining the rule of law and its hostility towards gay rights made for difficult American-Polish relations. Liberal American opinion tends to be supportive of gay rights and the practice of several Polish regional governments declaring themselves to be "LGBT-free zones" has led to criticism in the United States. Joe Biden in a 2020 statement declared that the "LGBT-free zones" in Poland “have no place in the European Union or anywhere in the world." In an implicit criticism of the PiS government, on 30 June 2021 the American embassy in Warsaw released a Polish language internet video supportive of gay rights, a move that was condemned by some Poles as interference in Poland's internal affairs. The American charge d'affaires at the Warsaw embassy, Bix Aliu, stated that the video was about anti-gay comments being made on social media. The Russian aggression against Ukraine with the invasion launched on 24 February 2022 led to the Biden administration doing an U-turn on Poland, which was now embraced as a close ally. Alina Polyakova, president of the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis stated in March 2022: "Given the situation, the administration is clearly prioritizing defense and security in the relationship. Poland is the indispensable ally for European security. Other issues and concerns have just taken a back seat. When push comes to shove, and there is a direct military threat to NATO, we need Poland. It doesn’t mean that all is forgiven, but it makes it very clear where the priorities are.” Biden visited Warsaw in March 2022 in a show of support for a frontline NATO state.


Issues


Radosław Sikorski

Despite their apparently close relationship, ''
Wprost ''Wprost'' (, meaning "Directly") is a Polish-language weekly news magazine published in Poznań, Poland.
'' (a Polish magazine) obtained a recording of Polish Foreign Minister
Radosław Sikorski Radosław Tomasz "Radek" Sikorski (; born 23 February 1963) is a Polish politician and journalist who is a Member of the European Parliament. He was Marshal of the Sejm from 2014 to 2015 and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Donald Tusk's cabinet b ...
calling the Polish-American alliance "downright harmful" and causing a "false sense of security." while in a poll made in 2016, around 20% of questioned considered Americans a potential threat to Polish national security. Despite that, also in this poll, more than 50% of questioned considered Americans and Canadians as trustworthy.


US missile defense complex in Poland

The US missile defense complex in Poland was part of the Ballistic Missile Defense European Capability of the US, to be placed in
Redzikowo Redzikowo (German: ''Reitz'', Kashubian: ''Redzëkòwò'') is a village in northern Poland, located in Gmina Słupsk, Słupsk County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, 5 km to the east of Słupsk. It has 405 inhabitants (2006). Just to the north o ...
,
Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specific ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, forming a
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) is the United States' anti-ballistic missile system for intercepting incoming warheads in space, during the midcourse phase of ballistic trajectory flight. It is a major component of the American missile de ...
system in conjunction with a US narrow-beam midcourse tracking and discrimination radar system in the
Brdy Brdy is a range of hills in the Czech Republic, forming a long massif stretching for c. 60 km southwest from Prague. The northern section of the Brdy is called "Hřebeny" and features one narrow ridge (highest elevation Písek - 690 m). The m ...
,
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. The plan was cancelled in 2009. Polish society was divided on the issue. According to a poll by SMG/KRC released by TVP 50 per cent of respondents rejected the deployment of the shield on Polish soil, while 36 per cent supported it. In October 2009, with a trip by Vice President Joe Biden to Warsaw, a new, smaller interceptor project on roughly the same schedule as the Bush administration plan, was introduced, and welcomed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk."Poland Agrees to Accept U.S. Missile Interceptors"
by Peter Baker, ''The New York Times'', October 21, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2009.


"Polish death camps"

In May 2012, during
Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...
Ceremony, US President Obama referred to the concentration camps run by Nazis in Poland during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
as "Polish death camps," a term that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said showed "ignorance, lack of knowledge and ill will." Calling them "Polish death camps", Tusk said, implied that Poland was responsible and that "there had been no Nazis, no German responsibility, no Hitler." After a White House spokesman issued a regret of misstatement by clarifying that the President was referring to the
Nazi death camps Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
, Tusk expressed an expectation of "a reaction more inclined to eliminate once and for all these kinds of errors."


"2021 Polish Media Law"

Lex TVN is a controversial 2021 Polish media law which modifies the Polish Broadcasting Act. It forbids companies except those from the
European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...
from holding more than a 49% stake in Polish radio and television stations. The ruling
Law and Justice Law and Justice ( pl, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość , PiS) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Poland. Its chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński. It was founded in 2001 by Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński as a direct su ...
party argues that it will protect Polish broadcasters from takeovers by companies based in hostile foreign powers such as China and Russia. However, opposition, as well as representatives from
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
criticized it as it will force American company
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...
to divest itself from Polish biggest television network,
TVN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...
, which has been often critical of the PiS-led government; Polish opposition and some international observers expressed fear that the law is threatening press freedom in Poland. The law has been criticized for "threatening the largest ever US investment in Poland".


Images

File:Overun countries Poland, issue of 1943.jpg, Poland was one of the countries overrun by Nazi Germany. The country was recognized by the United States, which issued the stamp in 1943 in Poland's honor. File:JKaczyński and GBush 2006.JPG, Polish Prime Minister
Jarosław Kaczyński Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (; born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician who is currently serving as leader of the Law and Justice party (known by its Polish acronym PiS), which he co-founded in 2001 with his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, w ...
during conversation with US President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
, 2006 File:Premier Tusk and George Bush 2008.JPG, Prime Minister Donald Tusk meets with US President George W. Bush, February 2008 File:Secretary Tillerson Shakes Hands With Polish Foreign Minister Waszczykowski (33982426332).jpg, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
Witold Waszczykowski Witold Jan Waszczykowski (; born 5 May 1957) is a Polish politician. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2015 and 2018. Waszczykowski was a Member of the Sejm (2011–2019), and has been the Member of the European Parliament since 2019 ...
and US Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne Tillerson (born March 23, 1952) is an American engineer and energy executive who served as the 69th U.S. secretary of state from February 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, under President Donald Trump. Prior to joining the Trump administ ...
, 2017 File:Spotkanie z wiceprezydentem USA Michaelem Pence'em (48664497543).jpg, Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
and Polish Prime Minister
Mateusz Morawiecki Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki (; born 20 June 1968) is a Polish economist, historian and politician who has served as prime minister of Poland since 2017. A member of Law and Justice (PiS), he previously served in the cabinet of prime minister Beata ...
signed joint declaration on 5G, 2019 File:Nancy Pelosi i Elżbieta Witek.jpg, Marshal (Speaker) of Sejm
Elżbieta Witek Elżbieta Barbara Witek (née Zbanuch; born 17 December 1957, in Jawor) is a Polish politician and former Minister of the Interior and Administration, in office from June 2019 to August 2019, currently serving as the Marshal of the Sejm (). Firs ...
with House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
, June 2022


High-level mutual visits


Resident diplomatic missions

* Poland has an embassy in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and consulates-general in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. * United States has an embassy in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, a consulate-general in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, and a consular agency in
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
. File:Embassy of Poland, Washington.jpg, Embassy of Poland in Washington, D.C. File:Polish Consulate Chicago.JPG, Consulate-General of Poland in Chicago File:Joseph Raphael De Lamar House, New York City, NY.jpg, Consulate-General of Poland in New York City File:Ambasada Stanów Zjednoczonych w Warszawie 2022.jpg, Embassy of the United States in Warsaw File:Tenement-Consulate General of the United States, 9 Stolarska street, Old Town, Krakow, Poland.jpg, Consulate-General of the United States in Kraków File:Poznań, ul. Paderewskiego 8 (1 ewaj).jpg, Consular Agency of the United States in Poznań


See also

*
List of ambassadors of the United States to Poland The history of ambassadors of the United States to Poland began in 1919. Until the end of World War I, Poland had been partitioned between Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. After the war and the collapse of the empires, Poland became an inde ...
*
Polish Americans Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Poles, Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing abou ...
*
List of Polish-Americans A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Polish-American vote Polish-Americans in the United States comprise a voting bloc sought after by both the Democratic and Republican parties as they have a bellwether status. Polish Americans comprise 3.2% of the United States population, but were estimated at nearly ...
*
Polish American Historical Association The Polish American Historical Association (PAHA), founded in 1942, is a scholarly not-for-profit association dedicated to the study of Polish American history and culture. Originally a section of the larger Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in ...
*
Polish American Congress The Polish American Congress (PAC) is an American umbrella organization of Polish-Americans and Polish-American organizations. Its membership has fraternal, educational, veterans, religious, cultural, social, business, political organizations, and i ...
*
Casimir Pulaski Day Casimir Pulaski Day is a local holiday officially observed in Illinois, on the first Monday of March in memory of Casimir Pulaski (March 6, 1745 – October 11, 1779), a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. H ...
* US-EU relations


References

#
  • Janusz Reiter
    The Visa Barrier
    Washington Post, August 29, 2007


    Further reading

    * * * Biskupski, M.B.B. ''The United States and the Rebirth of Poland, 1914-1918'' (2012) * Biskupski, M.B.B. "Poland in American Foreign Policy, 1918-1945: "Sentimental" or "Strategic" Friendship?: A Review Article," ''Polish American Studies'' (1981) 38#2 pp. 5-1
    in JSTOR
    * Blejwas, Stanislaus A. "Puritans and Poles: The New England Literary Image of the Polish Peasant Immigrant." ''Polish American Studies'' (1985): 46–88
    in JSTOR
    * Cienciala, Anna M. "The United States and Poland in World War II." ''The Polish Review'' (2009): 173–194. * Daoudi, M.S. and M. S. Dajani, "Poland: The Politactics of Sanctions." ''The Polish Review'' (1985): 149-16
    online
    * Feis, Herbert. ''Churchill Roosevelt Stalin The War They Waged and the Peace They Sought A Diplomatic History of World War II'' (1957) ch 2, 7, 21, 29, 39–40, 54, 60; very detailed coverage *. * * Jaroszyźska-Kirchmann, Anna D. ''The Exile Mission: The Polish Political Diaspora and Political America, 1939–1956'' (Ohio University Press, 2004). * Jones, J. Sydney. "Polish Americans." ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 3, Gale, 2014), pp. 477–492
    online
    * Jones, Seth G. ''A Covert Action: Reagan, the CIA, and the Cold War Struggle in Poland'' (WW Norton, 2018). * Kantorosinski, Zbigniew.

    '' Washington, DC:
    Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
    (1997) * Lipoński, Wojciech. "Anti-American Propaganda in Poland From 1948 to 1954: A Story of An Ideological Failure." ''American Studies International'' (1990): 80–92. in JSTOR * * McGinley, Theresa Kurk. "Embattled Polonia, Polish-Americans and World War II." ''East European Quarterly'' (2003) 37#3 pp 325–344. * Manijak, William. "Polish American Pressure Groups, Woodrow Wilson and the Thirteenth Point: The Significance of Polish Food Relief, the Polish Vote in the 1916 Presidential Election, and European Events in the Eventual Self-Determination for Poland" (PhD dissertation, Ball State University; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1975. 7616969). * Mastny, Vojtech. "The Soviet Non-invasion of Poland in 1980-1981 and the End of the Cold War." ''Europe-Asia Studies'' 1999 51(2): 189-211
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    * Michalski, Artur. ''Poland’s Relations with the United States'', Yearbook of Polish Foreign Policy (01/2005)
    CEEOL - Obsolete Link
    * Pacy, James S. "Polish Ambassadors and Ministers in Rome, Tokyo, and Washington, DC 1920-1945: Part II." ''The Polish Review'' (1985): 381–395. * Halina Parafianowicz, ''Herbert C. Hoover and Poland: 1919–1933. Between Myth and Reality''. in: Great Power Policies Towards Central Europe, 1914–1945. Bristol: e-International Relations, 2019: pp. 176–198. 194
    online free
    * Pease, Neal. ''Poland, the United States, and the Stabilization of Europe, 1919-1933'' (1986
    excerpts
    * Pienkos, Donald E. "Of Patriots and Presidents: America's Polish Diaspora and U.S. Foreign Policy Since 1917," ''Polish American Studies'' (2011) 68#1 pp. 5–1
    in JSTOR
    * * Sjursen, Helene. ''The United States, Western Europe and the Polish Crisis: International Relations in the Second Cold War'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) * * * Wandycz, Piotr S. ''The United States and Poland'' (1980)


    External links


    History of Poland - U.S. relationsKosciuszko Foundation Online Programs
    "A REALLY BIG BIRTHDAY CARD'' ''Recovering a Polish and American Treasure'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Poland-United States relations
    United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
    Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...