That Poland might be free: Polish-American and Polish efforts to gain American support for Poland during the Second World War

During World War II, the Polish nation suffered a series of blows that took it from independence to occupation to Communist domination. This dissertation examines these events from the perspective of the Polish-American (Polonian) community and chronicles its major responses to Poland's problems. Early on in the war, the Polonian community responded with charitable aid for the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing from German and Soviet oppression. Spearheading this effort was the Polish American Council, which was organized and run by the leaders of the largest Polonian fraternal societies. Before the United States' entry into the war in December 1941, more active support was not allowed. After the defeat of France in June 1940, Poland held the privileged position as Great Britain's only loyal and actively fighting ally. On June 22, 1941, when the Soviet Union was attacked by Germany and joined forces with the Allies, Poland and its concerns became secondary to Britain. An increasingly popular USSR had designs on Eastern Europe (borders, governments, etc.) that did not correspond to the wishes of the Polish government-in-exile in London. After the American entry into the war in December 1941, Polonians could actively lobby American opinion makers and governmental leaders in support of Poland. This dissertation examines the efforts and methods of the major groups seeking to ensure Polish freedom and independence after the war---the National Committee of Americans of Polish Descent (Komitet Narodowy Amerykanow Polskiego Pochodzenia-KNAPP), the Coordinating Committee of Polish American Organizations in the East, and the Polish American Congress (PAC). In addition, this dissertation examines the major forces aligned to oppose the efforts of KNAPP and PAC---the Kosciuszko League, the American Slavic Congress, and agencies of the American government (e.g. the Office of War Information, the State Department, and the Roosevelt administration). The dissertation examines how these groups responded to the realization that the Poland KNAPP and PAC wanted might not re-emerge after the war. It concludes with an assessment of why Polish-American efforts to prevent Soviet domination over Poland were unsuccessful.