The Polish-American Relations in the 1990s

Event Details

Boguslaw Winid, an official in the Polish Ministry of Affairs, gives a lecture on relations between America and Poland since the end of the Cold War. He first gives an historic overview of the two countries relations, from its creation in 1919 to its occupation in 1939. Winid explains that the mediocre relations between the two countries were primarily rooted in a conflict of foreign policy. The Polish foreign policy was driven by politics while American foreign policy was driven by economics. The economic barriers placed by Polish governments during the world wide recession of the 1930s further worsened relations. The civil war that followed World War Two ostensibly ended American-Polish relations. Relations from that point on flowed through Moscow until 1989 with the velvet revolutions in Eastern Europe. Moving to contemporary politics, Winid explains the primary goals of the Polish Foreign Ministry: to maintain good relations with America, to gain admittance to NATO, and to gain admittance to the EU. During the questioning session, Winid further discusses Russian military presence in Poland, the Partnership for Peace initiative, the Polish economy, the Polish military, representation in Poland, Russian influence, America?s support of the Solidarity movement, Zbigniew Brzezinski, unemployment, and Roosevelt?s recognition of Communist Russia.