Discussion
Polish post-WWII historiography is indelibly linked to one of the largest waves of immigration to the United Kingdom after 1945, wherein approximately 150,000 Poles decided to remain in the West following their involvement or dependent relationship with the Polish Armed Forces throughout the war. The pre-war geopolitical and ideological split between the Soviet Union and the former Second Polish Republic informs the Polish émigré society’s attitudes to a great extent. On the other hand, the postwar British context contributes heavily to shaping Polish historiography which reflects its evolving dynamic to the Anglo-American commitment, while also establishing the moral connection to international law through the lens of the cultural minority.
Historiography, as a specific expression of cultural diplomacy, becomes the crucible of identity formation based on historical precedents and memorialization of historical events, ranging from the recent war to the early modern period. The British-Polish diplomatic context from 1945-1960 develops the pivotal embrace of historiography in the service of postwar relations among the Allies, and the political realities of worldwide societies exhausted by war, death, population displacement, and economic devastation. The desire for Polish integration into the postwar British society is a corollary of a robust cultural identity predicated on emerging historiographical models advanced precipitately during this moment in British political history.
On the example of the Polish Government-in-Exile, based in London during the war, the historiographic strategies following the Potsdam Conference will be explored as consequences of democratic principles espoused by American and British foreign relations, cooperation and outreach between the Polish and Ukrainian émigré groups in the West, and the ensuing intellectual missions of print media as one of the critical sites of effective cultural and political transformation. The strategies of cultural minorities developing historiographic arguments based around an émigré identity directly reflect British-Polish diplomatic relations, as a cultural springboard for political objectives.
