LBJ National Security Country Files - Poland

BOX 201 - Browse documents HERE

Return to Poland Research Guide

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Folder Links and descriptions 

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Folder 01 (78 documents) - July 1966 - Dec. 1968

Documents on U.S.-Poland relations, the war in Vietnam, and internal Polish affairs. Telegrams on building US relations with Poland and Eastern Europe, negotiating economic agreements, and tracking the movements of foreign ambassadors, particularly North Vietnamese Ambassador Do Phat Quang. Telegrams on diplomatic affairs, Soviet troop movements, internal Polish affairs, and the visit of Governor George W. Romney to Poland. Telegraphs on diplomatic concerns over Vietnam, Soviet troop movement, and the Polish borders.

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Folder 02 (8 documents) - Nov. 1966 - May 1968​

Telegrams from the US Embassy in Warsaw concerning Presidential attendance at the Bonn Conference, Jefferson-Jackson Day, Danish Ambassador Sandager Jeppesen's meeting with a North Vietnamese Ambassador, and the possibility of Danish mediation in the Vietnam War. Intelligence report on “Narew” operations carried out in Poland in June 1956, and intelligence information cable concerning Polish and North Vietnamese ambassadorial talks on the Vietnam War.

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Folder 03 (24 documents) - Sept. 1967 - May 1968

Documents on internal Polish affairs, including an internal plot to remove the Polish Defense Minister and purge Jews from the Communist Party Central Committee. A special report on Poland’s shifting position in the Soviet Bloc, concerns about a potentially revolutionary situation in Poland, with tenuous similarities to the 1956 revolt. Documents on the denial of visas to American citizens, especially journalists and those with Jewish-sounding names. Rumours of Soviet troop movements in Poland and potential Warsaw Pact action against Czechoslovakia, with scepticism that the Soviets would actually intervene. Reports on rising anti-semitism in Poland and recommendations that the U.S. accept Jewish refugees from Poland.

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​Folder 04 (28 documents) - Sept. 1966 - Dec. 1967

Telegrams, memoranda, and intelligence notes regarding US-Polish relations, Polish dilemmas over aid to North Vietnam, while mediating between them and the US. The Polish Ambassador's View on Vietnam, and documents on European security, the UN Economic Commission for Europe, Polish defections in New York, and miscellaneous financial matters.

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​Folder 05 (11 documents) - July 1966 - Sept. 1968​

Documents on US Attorney General Nick Katzenbach’s recommendation that the President condemn anti-semitism in Poland, Jewish refugees from Poland, reports about Soviet troop movements in Poland, and concerns that economic retaliation against Poland for government anti-semitism would damage US-Poland relations and make the situation worse for Jews in Poland. A lengthy translated report from eight “Polish Army specialists” on North Vietnam and the suitability of Polish equipment for Vietnamese forces.

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Folder 06 (7 documents) - June - Sept. 1968

Diplomatic memorandum regarding a meeting between Polish Ambassador Jerzy Michalowski and Nathaniel Davis to discuss normalizing bilateral relations in the aftermath of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Translations of articles from journals of the Polish security services dealing with missile defense, and speeches by First Secretary Władysław Gomulka outlining an ideological direction after the invasion and Poland's March Crisis of 1968. Documents discussing the antisemitic campaigns associated with the March Crisis and subsequent regime change in Poland.​

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