Britain and Poland 1939-1943: The Betrayed Ally

by Anita J. Prazmowska

Overview

British-Polish relations during the Second World War were dogged by the fact that Polish demands on the Soviet Union threatened Soviet relations with Britain and the United States, and Soviet participation in the war. In this book Anita Prazmowska relates British policies and war-time strategy to Polish expectations and policies. She describes a tragic situation where Polish soldiers were trapped between the unrealistic plans of their government and the harsh realities of a war that they fought for Britain with no prospect of a satisfactory outcome for them or their country.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521483858
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/23/1995
Series:	Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies , #97
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.79(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Map; 1. The formation of the Polish government-in-exile: ideology and war plans; 2. Britain and German expansion in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe; 3. Britain's only fighting ally; 4. Britain, Poland and the Soviet Union, June - December 1941; 5. 1942, year of disappointments; 6. The illusion of an alliance ends; 7. 1943, the end of Polish-Soviet co-operation; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Prazmowska presents us with a well-done case study of hard-nosed diplomacy that makes a valuable contribution to our knowledge of wartime diplomacy and should be of interest to Polish and British historians alike." David Stefancic, Slavic Review

From the Publisher

While much current analysis of Polish history seems to flounder on the question of why Poland neither obtained recognition for its sacrifices in World War II nor secured the return of its territories, the author says she does not seek the individuals responsible for failures. Rather, she looks at the nature of Polish- British relations in the war years and finds that the two governments had no areas of common concern to unite them outside of their wish to see Germany defeated. So, she argues, when the Polish government-in-exile set out a program to establish its right to sit at the negotiating table as a key ally at the end of the war, it was inevitable that Britain--distracted by the need to guarantee communication links, take U.S. policy objectives into account, and deal with the consequences of Japanese aggression--would not take that program seriously. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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