Britain and Poland 1939–1943: The Betrayed Ally (Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies, Series Number 97)

Poland was a problematic issue for the Big Powers throughout the Second World War. For Britain, Poland was a major stumbling block in British-Soviet relations as Polish-Soviet territorial disputes clashed with the needs of the British-Soviet-United States alliance. As the Polish government-in-exile attempted to obtain a guarantee of British support, and many thousands of Polish troops fought for the British cause, the perception grew that the Churchill government had a debt to pay. Ultimately, however, it was a debt which Britain could not discharge because of its dependence on Soviet participation in the war. In this book Anita Prazmowska looks at British policies from the point of view of wartime strategy, relating this to Polish government expectations and policies. She describes a tragic situation where Polish soldiers were trapped between the grandiose and unrealistic plans of their government and the harsh realities of a war which they fought with no prospect of a satisfactory outcome for them or their country.

Anita Prazmowska looks at British policies from the point of view of wartime strategy and relates this to Polish government expectations and policies.

Booknews

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)

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.