George Sanford – författare

The Soviet massacre of Polish prisoners of war at Katyn and in other camps in 1940 was one of the most notorious incidents of the Second World War. The truth about the massacres was long suppressed, both by the Soviet Union, and also by the United States and Britain who wished to hold together their wartime alliance with the Soviet Union. This informative book examines the details of this often overlooked event, shedding light on what took place especially in relation to the massacres at locations other than Katyn itself. It discusses how the truth about the killings was hidden, how it gradually came to light and why the memory of the massacres has long affected Polish-Russian relations.

The Soviet massacre of Polish prisoners of war at Katyn and in other camps in 1940 was one of the most notorious incidents of the Second World War. The truth about the massacres was long suppressed, both by the Soviet Union, and also by the United States and Britain who wished to hold together their wartime alliance with the Soviet Union. This informative book examines the details of this often overlooked event, shedding light on what took place especially in relation to the massacres at locations other than Katyn itself. It discusses how the truth about the killings was hidden, how it gradually came to light and why the memory of the massacres has long affected Polish-Russian relations.

The focus of this work is the international dimension of democratization in eastern Europe. Coverage of this theme includes: the role of national governments and international organizations; the behaviour of non-state actors such as entrepreneurs and ethnic groups with cross-border allegiances; unintentional effects, such as those of market forces; and deliberate attempts to exercise influence, such as the use of trade barriers. The work argues that international factors have been a principal component of, and not always favourable to, democratization in eastern Europe. It examines in turn comparative perspectives, theories of democracy and democratization, problems on international security - including the collapse of Yugoslavia - and the roles of the EU and the former USSR. Also considered are the cases of the Czech Repbulic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

Poland has had an exceptionally turbulent thousand-year history marked by extremes of national greatness and decline including patrition and foreign occupation. Currently undergoing another dramatic transformation, Poland has been building a democratic and market system since the fall of communism. The largest and most important nation in Eastern Europe, outside the ex-Soviet Union, is now returning to the European mainstream from which she was for long periods isolated politically and economically, although not culturally.Although Poland has been widely popularized in journalistic clichés in recent years because of Solidarity, the "Polish Pope" and the like, there is still much to be learned about the particular individuals and specific factors which have shaped her history in the past and which are molding her present development. The dictionary strikes a judicious balance in covering past and contemporary figures as well as Poland's richly-textured political, social, and cultural dimensions.The Dictionary has more than four hundred entries and a most comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography. It provides a stimulating and knowledgeable introduction for students, scholars, and librarians as well as a helpful overview-guide for tourists and for those involved in teaching, business, politics, journalism, and public service.

Originally published in 1986, this book explains why the Polish military took power in December 1981. It examines how this was done, and with what consequences. The experience of the State of War in Poland in 1982–83 and the repression of Polish Society and the Solidarity movement was a major event in postwar European history. In the author’s opinion, it was more significant than superficially comparable events such as ‘normalisation’ in Hungary after 1956 or in Czechoslovakia under Husak. The experience of the State of War in 1982–83 sheds a powerful light on the problem of reconciling reform, pluralisation and democratisation processes with the Soviet definition of the leading role of the Communist Party. Crucial questions about the nature of the communist system and its capacity to respond to crisis, the novel political role of the communist Officer Corps and the clash of rival personalities and policy-alternatives in the Developed Socialist State are examined in this book and it remains an indispensable source of information on Cold War political history.

Originally published in 1983, this is a detailed and hard-headed analysis of events in Poland from summer 1980 to December 1981, the period in which the efforts of Solidarity to achieve a free trade union and some degree of autonomy for working people were met with a final clampdown by the authorities. It was the first major academic study of the crisis and emphasizes the dichotomy between public and media opinion, and the views held by academics.The book deals with a key feature of the crisis – the possibility of a peaceful solution. Most political analysts of the time agreed that the Soviet leadership and the Red Army would not permit the downfall of the communist regime in Poland that that therefore military rule was inevitable. The author, who wrote widely on Polish affairs, challenges this stance and studies the internal politics of Poland to see if a peaceful solution was possible, and if not, why not.

Poland pioneered the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Domestic reformism and the negotiated abdication of ruling elites in 1989 have structured the country's politics in the 1990s. But the division between the communist and Solidarity camps continues to cause problems for a potential reform coalition aiming to complete modernisation through the restructuring required for EU membership. Secular-Catholic and rural-urban conflicts, and well as the growing regional split between the north-west and south-east, have fragmented political life and the party system. Nevertheless, Poland has made remarkable steps in the consolidation of democracy and the development of her political system, whilst maintaining social stability; she is also successfully transcending her historical security dilemma of open western and eastern frontiers and stronger, aggressive neighbours, by embedding herself in Europe through membership of NATO and the EU. Poland is overcoming her historical problems.