Bitter Legacy
ISBN 978-0813114606 | |
Bitter Legacy: Polish-American Relations in the Wake of World War II is a 1982 book by Richard C. Lukas, published by the University Press of Kentucky. It deals with the postwar Polish history and Polish-American relations, as well as the American aid that was extended to Poland after World War II.
The book focuses on the postwar period (1945-1947) and describes how during that America steadily lost influence over Poland due to combination of external factors as well as internal American policy decisions, such as prioritizing German-American relations over Polish-American ones.
Contents
The book continues the topic Lukas begun discussing in his earlier book,
The work discusses American government views and actions towards Poland from the 1945
The book discusses individuals such as Truman's Secretaries of State
Lukas points out that Secretary of State Byrnes's Stuttgart speech on rebuilding Germany (
Lukas is also critical of American ambassador to Poland, Arthur Bliss Lane, suggesting that he was not "imaginative and flexible enough" for that difficult job.[5]
Lukas also positively reviews the actions of
Reception
The book received several academic reviews in 1983.
Mieczysław B. Biskupski reviewed the book for The Russian Review. He noted that both books in the series exhibit "the author's thorough and enterprising use of sources, conciseness of style, and dispassionate analysis". Biskupski acknowledges that there are "a number of minor flaws in this otherwise fine book" but concludes that "Lukas has produced a brief, tightly-focused account of the first years of post-war American-Polish relations" that "fills a considerable gap" in relevant literature.[3]
J. M. Jackson wrote about the book for the International Affairs. Jackson writes that the book is "an adequate account of the course of postwar relations" between Poland and the US, and the factors influencing American policies. He also notes that the book attempts to speculate on "whether different policies on the part of the United States could have made any significant difference" to the course of history and the Cold War; something that Lukas thinks might have been possible, but Jackson feels is "more doubtful".[5]
Eduard Mark reviewed it for The Journal of American History. He noted that the book has "considerable merit" and that the author "writes clearly, and his narrative is easily followed", although he writes that Lukas work would benefit more from engaging with literature on Soviet policy (in particular, Vojtech Mastny's) which in Mark opinion lead Lukas to overestimate what the United States might have achieved had it tried harder to retain some control over Poland in its sphere of influence. Mark notes that Lukas important contribution is that he successfully demonstrates how Poland's importance continued to wane throughout the war and afterwar years for American policymakers.[2]
David S. Mason reviewed the book for the Slavic Review. Mason's assessment was that "while the book adds little to our understanding of Poland's role in the development of the Cold War, it presents a thorough overview of the period written in a lively and engaging style and illustrated with delightful anecdotes".[1]