THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC 445martyrdom of St. Adalbert to the sufferings of both Poles and Germans in the
concentration camps of the Second World War, served to introduce their plea to
the Germans 'to forgive and forget':
Most Reverend Brothers! We appeal to you. Let us try to forget. No more polemics. No
more Cold War, but a dialogue ... If true goodwill exists on both sides, and that cannot
be doubted, then a serious dialogue must succeed, and in time must bear fruit, despite all
the difficulties... From the tremendous moral and social dangers which threaten not
only the soul of our people but also its biological existence, we can ortly be saved by the
help and grace of our Redeemer. We ask His help, through the intercession of His
Mother, the Most Blessed Virgin... We ask you, Catholic pastors of the German people
to try in your own way to celebrate our Christian Millennium with us... We extend our
hands to you, granting you forgiveness and asking for forgiveness... May the merciful
Redeemer, and the Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland, Regina Mundi and Mater Ecclesiae,
grant our request.^42
At that point, in the middle of the conflict between Church and State over the
celebration of the Millennium, Gomulka could not openly condone the
Church's meddling in foreign policy, and Party propaganda crudely dismissed
the idea of reconciliation. But the threat of a German-Soviet rapprochement
from which Poland might be excluded was enough to overcome the Party's
reluctance. In 1969, Gomulka himself launched a campaign for reaching agree-
ment with Germany. Although there were several hiccups between the cup and
its consumption - not least the one caused by Brezhnev's sudden conversion to
a reconciliation policy of his own - the Treaty between the People's Republic of
Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany was signed in Warsaw on
7 December 1970. It was an emotional moment. Chancellor Willi Brandt knelt
in expiation before the Memorial to the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto. Poland's
western frontier on the Odra and Lusatian Nysa was recognized by the only
European power which might conceivably have entertained an interest in chang-
ing it. Henceforth, the People's Republic could go its way in the world freed
from the terrible anxiety which had inhibited its freedom of action ever since the
Second World War. In this way, Gomulka contrived to loosen the bonds of
direct Soviet tutelage in the international, as well as in the internal, realm. This
achievement of lasting importance amply compensated for the many failures of
his later years.
To anyone who knew Poland at the end of the War, the face of the People's
Republic must by 1970 have become barely recognizable. Changes, though not
necessarily progress, had occurred in almost every walk of life.
For the interested observer, however, the persistence of official Censorship pre-
sented a fundamental barrier to understanding. In a country where Soviet-style
controls had operated ever since the 'Liberation', all sources of public information
had to be treated as suspect. Of course, it would be idle to pretend that censorship