COLONEL KAJENCKI |
American Betrayal was published by Southwest Polonia Press in El Paso, Texas last year. The author, Francis Casimir Kajencki, was born in Erie, Pennsylvania in1918. In his career he has released many books: Poles in the 19th Century Southwest (1990), Kajencki Family History (1994), Thaddeus Kosciuszko: Military Engineer of the American Revolution (1998), Casimir Pulaski: Cavalry Commander of the American revolution (2001) or The Pulaski Legion in the American Revolution (2003), among others.
Francis Casimir Kajencki is a graduate of US Military Academy, which he competed in 1943. He was deployed in the Pacific during the war and terminated the military service in the colonel rank in 1973. Kajencki was also awarded a degree in engineering from the University of Southern California (1949), journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1967) and Masters in history from the George Mason University in 1976. As a historian he has published nine books about America.
American Betrayal catches reader’s eye with an immaculate, hard copy edition and a reproduction of a very unique photograph on its cover. President Roosevelt is sitting at his desk and pointing at the pre-war map of Poland. He is accompanied by the representatives of the Polish American Congress, who are staring at him with tension and listening to every word.
This meeting was held on the 11th of October in 1944 in the White House. It took place after infamous conference of Teheran (28 XI – 12 XII 1943), where our western neighbours and allies betrayed the Polish case. It was a very cynical move considering an extraordinary contribution of the Polish troops in the war against Hitler, especially the decisive role of Polish pilots in the Battle over Britain in 1940, who shot down about 33% of German fighters.
The Conference in Teheran was completely dominated by Stalin, who took advantage of the passive stance of Roosevelt and the controversies with the British, where Churchill did not come up to his role. These three major figures of the current political scene were clearly dismissive of the minor countries and planned the partition of Europe according to their vested interest. This short–sighted foreign policy of the West soon turned out to be a failure and led to the rise of the Soviet Empire and the looming Cold War.
Churchill seems to have played a key role in the depicted American Betrayal. In Teheran he suggested that the borders of the pre-war Poland should be defined by the Curzon line (established in 1919) and the Odra River, which entailed the relocation of the population. Both Stalin and Roosevelt approved the idea, and the latter asked for keeping this stipulation confidential to the public fearing the backlash from the Polish community in America, which helped him secure the elections in 1944.
What was he then saying to the members of the Congress at the photographed meeting? It must have been vague doublespeak hiding the cruel truth. Churchill also wanted to conceal the truth from the Polish Government in London, who was unaware of the Teheran’s decisions. Only on 13th of October in 1944 during the meeting with Stalin, Churchill, Eden, Harriman and Mo這tow in Moscow, did the Polish Prime Minister, Miko豉jczyk, find out about the new partition of Poland. This decision was later ratified by the Ja速a conference.
Kajencki’s book is supported by a rich bibliography and even the quotes from the protagonist of this historic betrayal. This betrayal not only sentenced half of Europe to a totalitarian regime under the Soviets, but also created a fertile environment for the rise of the Russian empire and the export of the Marxist doctrine to other continents. This decision affected the political stability of the globe for another 50 years, which goes to show the shortsightedness of Roosevelt’s and Churchill’s reasoning.
Click for more photos & Polish version of the review
American Betrayal pictures a broad historical context of the circumstances which led to the betrayal. It analyses the German-Russian alliance in the prelude to the WWII and devotes the whole chapter to genocide of Katyn as well as the Polish Underground State and the Home Army (AK). The post war period is discussed in the chapter on futile attempts to divert the consequences of the Ja速a Conference, the forged referendum of 1946 and forged elections of the 19th of January, 1947. This year we celebrate the anniversary of these infamous “miracles at the polls”, where the local constituencies were manipulated by the police and the secret service. The communist regime was persistently forcing the lawlessness as the foundations for the People’s Republic of Poland (PRL) until 1989.
The book also gives credit to the American Congress, which held Russia accountable for the Katyn genocide, and erected the statue in Baltimore (Maryland) in tribute to the brutally murdered Polish victims. The books displays many annexes, which document ”Poland’s Tragic betrayal”, footnotes, rich bibliography and the index of the people and places mentioned.
Kajencki’s valuable analysis also points to the pivotal role of Churchill in the decisions of Teheran and Ja速a. Churchill was highly respected in the USA and his disapproval of the disgraceful deal could have influenced the stance of Roosevelt. However he did nothing to avert the stipulations and therefore it seems that “British- American betrayal” would be a more appropriate title.
Reviewed by Marek Baterowicz
Translated by Magdalena Kopydlowska
| 
