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EN
The political transformations of 1956 signifi cantly increased the options of scientifi c trips to the West, and stimulated the exchange of personnel between national scientifi c institutions and their Western counterparts. However, on consenting to the development of scientifi c co-operation with foreign entities, the communist authorities were fearful of opening to scientists a new path of emigration from PRL (the People’s Republic of Poland). Therefore, they were intent on controlling scientifi c exchange as strictly as possible, sending abroad mainly the politically trustworthy researchers. Both tasks turned out to be unachievable, but despite that, emigration to Western countries associated with scientifi c journeys (grants or scholarships) was marginal in the period of PRL. Furthermore, statistics suggest that most of Polish scientists traveling abroad, did not treat their stays as an opportunity to fl ee communist Poland. The article states statistical data confirming these conclusions. The decision to emigrate was always individual, nonetheless it used to be taken in a concrete social/political context. Conditions in the PRL apparently favoured decisions to stay abroad. Therefore, the small number of “defections” of scientists during their stays in western countries, is yet more surprising. It may be partly explained by the fact that scientists willing to emigrate had other ways to accomplish their aim, such as tourist travels, as well as the legal emigration procedure.
EN
This article aims at considering the question whether various migration theories, especially in the fields of demography and sociology, could be useful in the analysis of migration from Poland to Australia in the 1980s. The author is not able to propose definitive answers, however he suggests that the division between political and economic migration, commonly used by researchers, does not provide an effective instrument for describing this specific social group. The article shows that the majority of Poles who did have an official refugee status did not in fact fit well into the definition of a refugee. Meanwhile, among the migrants who did not obtain the refugee status, one could find many active members of the Solidarity movement and also people persecuted by the Polish authorities. Within the research on migration motives, migration transfer, adaptation processes and, to some extent, political activity of Polish migrants in Australia, the author found the following models most useful and applicable: various social network theories, Oded Stark's relative deprivation model, the model of decision-making process developed by Gerald Haberkorn or the concept of Oddyssean and Rubicon refugees by Danièle Joly. None of these theories can provide a universal tool which could allow the researcher to cover all methodological problems related to the subject of Polish migration to Australia between 1980 and 1989 – especially in the area of understanding migrants’ public activity in the new country.
XX
The mysterious death of Jerzy Zawieyski, a playwright, editor and Catholic-political activist, has not been fully explained. Although according to the most plausible theory Zawieyski died on 18 June 1969 in an accident, a suicide cannot be ruled out, while there are some people who read the participation of third parties or even political murder elements into the case. The article will not burst the bubble of doubts. Even though the author managed to reach some sources which had not been utilized before, the considerations presented below will recall the tragic death of Zawieyski, underline the lack of integrity in the actions of the former authorities and point to interpretational difficulties rather than propose a final answer to the riddle.
EN
Bonn–Warsaw–Solidarity: West German diplomacy’s relations with the People’s Republic of Poland and Solidarity In the late 1980s, the diplomacy of the Federal Republic of Germany had to confront long-term problems which had existed long before the emergence of mass opposition in the People’s Republic of Poland. For West Germany, Poland was not the most important player in relations with the eastern bloc; for obvious reasons, the German Democratic Republic was of paramount importance. From the perspective of Bonn, the most key issues in contacts with Warsaw were: the troubled legacy of World War II, the problem of borders, the German minority in Poland, and economic relations, particularly in the context of Poland’s debt. Even the turbulent events of 1989, with Poland’s systemic transformation and the fall of the Berlin wall, did not initially affect this list of key issues. Bonn’s diplomatic relations with Poland in 1989 were framed by two events: Mieczysław Rakowski’s visit in Bonn in January and Helmut Kohl’s far more important visit to Poland, which was interrupted by the Berlin events. The former took place according to the old rules and confirmed the impasse in mutual relations. By contrast, the November 12 symbolic embrace of prime minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and the West German Chancellor opened the way for normalization in the new political context. Yet the breakthrough in the two countries’ relations occurred somewhat later than in the case of the other western powers. When Poland hosted François Mitterand (in June) and George Bush (in July), the West German authorities were conducting difficult financial and economic negotiations with their Polish partners. Significantly, the West German approach to Polish issues in this period was also less influenced by the Polish opposition than the approach of the French, British, or US diplomacies.
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