Język Polski
English
Polska po „odwilży” w oczach angielskiego dziennikarza. List Fredericka Scotta Willsa z marca 1958 r.
Przegląd Archiwalny Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej, No. 11 (2018), pages: 269–282
Publication date: 2023-04-05
PDF (Język Polski)
Abstract
The source edition of the letter written in January 1958 by the British journalist Frederick Wills from Warsaw to his family provides an insight into its two main aspects. Firstly, the activities of the PRL repression apparatus against Western correspondents (as well as diplomats), who were almost automatically suspected of conducting intelligence activities. Secondly, when analysing such materials, rather than overemphasising the perspective of the SB and reconstructing its actions towards the foreign journalist, it might be worth focusing on the journalist himself and looking at how he perceived the Polish reality he had experienced. A private letter gives a good opportunity to choose such a point of view. Wills shared his observations with his loved ones, while looking as an outsider at the “post-thaw” Poland more or less consciously. His knowledge about Poland was quite superficial and not always accurate, and the style of the letter was chaotic, although (or maybe as a result) his loose notes may represent a significant – though obviously subjective and selective – cognitive value.
Keywords
kontrwywiad • perlustracja • Wielka Brytania • korespondent prasowy • Zakopane • Warszawa counterintelligence • perlustration • Great Britain • press correspondent • Zakopane • Warsaw
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