POLAND SHELTERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22184, 21 November 1946, Page 3

POLAND SHELTERS

BEHIND “IRON CURTAIN”

SUPPORT FOR RUSSIA

ALOOFNESS FROM WEST

(Special Correspondent.)

<lO a.m.) LONDON, Nov. 20. The Daily Telegraph's special correspondent in Vienna, who has just returned from a visit to Poland, says the present overriding consideration in Polish politics is to do nothing to offend Russia.

The present regime is dominated by Polish Communists and, so long as it. continues in power, it seems evident that Poland will withdraw further behind “the iron curtain - ’ and seek to limit her contacts with the West strictly to commercial dealings.

It is not only the Polish Communists, however, whose espouse this policy. It must bg admitted that the Polish Socialists also support it. Poles’ Chief Fear

The chief fear in the minds of most Poles is that they may be forced to use their country as a bulwark against the West. They have not forgotten the partitions that wiped off Poland from the map of Europe for more than a century, and many of them appear to feel that their best insurance against a repetition of this partitioning lies in supporting a strong Russia.

This does not imply that a great number of Poles have forgotten their historical distrust of Russia. This is most deeply rooted among the peasant and upper classes, who are the chief objective of the present regime's proRussian prapaganda campaign. It is part of this campaign to lay up every difficulty experienced by Britain and America. Mr. Churchill has been seized upon and presented to the Poles as the man who is trying to take Hitler’s place in the West. He is commonly caricatured with swastikas hanging all over him and the Polish press is endeavouring to develop the theme that British and American big business are trying to build up Germany as a bulwark against the progressive Slav bloc in the East. Still Listening to 8.8. C. This line of propaganda did not appear to be making great progress and it was noticeable that many Poles had continued their wartime habit of listening to the 8.8. C. Unfortunately, however, Mr. Byrnes’ statement at Stuttgart that Poland’s western frontiers could not be regarded as final, reminded many Poles that Stettin and Breslau once belonged to Poland and provided the authorities with material for further anti-West propaganda. One symptom of this was the distribution of a poster which depicted a mailed fist made up of swastikas and dollar signs stretching over Germany toward Polish-administered territories which were defended by a single security policeman with a Russian Tommygun.

Despite efforts by the present regime to direct Polish orientation exclusively toward Russia, it is evident that a large section of the Polish people would prefer a middle course which would enable Poland to remain on friendly terms both East and West. For the moment, however, the Polish Government’s only interest in the West was the possibility of obtaining American dollars for reconstruction.