FEARS OF LOSING RECOVERED TERRITORIES IN POST-WAR POLISH OPINION JOURNALISM IN THE 1940S

Abstract

The article examines how the issue of Poland’s western border was addressed
in polish opinion journalism after WW2. Domestic and emigration press publications
emphasized the threat of German revisionism as well as concerns over the ambiguous
stance of the United Kingdom and the United States towards Poland’s territorial gains.
Commentators underlined the strategic importance of the Western Territories for
Poland’s security and for the balance of power in Europe, stressing also the necessity of
their rapid settlement. The analysis shows that both independent domestic press and
emigration journalism highlighted the Soviet Union’s role as the sole guarantor of the
western border, a narrative later incorporated into the political discourse of the People’s
Republic of Poland. From today’s perspective, it becomes evident that this journalistic
debate not only reflected contemporary political and economic threats, but also helped
shape Poland’s long-term argumentation in the dispute over its western frontier, which
was formally settled only in 1990.