THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC 481said one thing and the State the other; where one's grandmother invariably contradicted
one's teacher; and where parents concealed their employer's views from their children,
every man and woman is reminded of right and wrong much more frequently and much
more forcefully. Because of their country's tragic history, Poles face more moral choices
more acutely not only in comparison to citizens of democracies - who are generally left
to their own damnation - but also to their counterparts in other Communist countries.
Poland's moral agony derives less from the Communist dictatorship in itself, than from
the fact that the Soviet brand of Communism is designed to tear Poland away from all its
most cherished values and traditions.^70
Every man and woman was reminded of right and wrong in almost every detail
of their daily routine. Here was the root cause of the looming social revolt,
which, by the end of the 1970s, was waiting to erupt.
* * * * *Whilst the People's Republic was heading towards disaster, the Government-in-
Exile managed to rescue itself from the embarrassing splits of former decades.
Many of the older leaders, like Zaleski, Anders, Komorowski, and Mikolajczvk
had passed on; a new generation was bringing life to the community; and the
emergence of President Raczynski provided a fitting, and unifying figurehead.
Raczynski had been in London since 1934, and was the first of the exiled presi-
dents to carry weight outside purely Polish circles. Eminently cultured and gra-
cious, he remained active and alert even when blind. He embodied the spirit
which was destined to outlast the Communist usurpers. Indeed, he was to out-
live them in person as well as in the spirit.
In many ways, therefore, the turn of the 1970s and the 1980s saw the high-
point of the Emigration's influence. Under President Reagan's lead, the
staunchly anti-Communist Polonia in America found a new voice and new
vigour. With Jerzy Giedrovc at the helm, the Kultura Literary Institute in Paris
was at the peak of its popularity and productiveness. From Munich, under the
directorship of Jan Nowak-Jeziorariski, the Polish Section of Radio Free Europe
overcame the jammers and the censors to find its way into most Polish homes,
as did the Polish Section of the BBC. Above all, through the inspiration of Pope
John Paul II, the Polish nation as a whole was at last drawing strength from the
legions of its compatriots and well-wishers abroad. This re-invigorated link was
all the more important when the opposition to the regime in Poland started to
come into the open. The opposition counted on the Emigration. And the
Emigration gave support to the Opposition.