Romuald Spasowski
Encyclopedia
F. Romuald Spasowski once an ardent Communist and Poland's ambassador
to the United States
, is best known for having defected at the height of the Solidarity crisis in 1981.
, Poland
. His father, Władysław, was a university professor and leading intellectual. Although not a member of the Polish Communist party, Władysław Spasowski wrote "The Liberation of Man," an important Communist theoretical work, and raised Romuald to believe in Marxism
long before it was fashionable in Polish intellectual circles. Romuald studied and then taught at the College of Mechanics until Germany
invaded Poland in 1939.
The Spasowski family was active in the Polish resistance during World War II
. Spasowski and his father were arrested several times by the Gestapo
. His father committed suicide in 1941 after being tortured by the Nazis. Spasowski hid in his mother's home in Milanówek
for a time, where the family harbored several Jewish families. But in 1942 he fled to the Soviet Union.
Spasowski served as an officer in the Polish Army division formed in the Soviet Union under Gen. Zygmunt Berling
. Intensely loyal to Poland and convinced that Communism held great promise for his homeland, he joined the Polish United Worker's Party, the official Communist party in Poland, and entered government service almost immediately after the war. In time, Spasowski served on the Central Auditing Commission, which maintained and audited the party's finances.
Spasowski was appointed a member of the Polish War Crimes Mission at the Nuremberg trials
.
Fluent in both English and Spanish, Spasowski served as Poland's ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1951 to 1953 and then two years as ambassador to Argentina.
Spasowski's first tour as Polish ambassador to the United States lasted from 1955 to 1961. He was the youngest member of the ambassadorial corps at the time. He kept a low profile during the Cold War
with the exception his annual appearances at observances marking the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising
of 1943. His and his family's commitment to religious tolerance led him to denounce Polish anti-Semitism
during these occasions. In a speech in 1958, Spasowski said, 'I will not say to you here that in Poland anti-Semitism has been eliminated.'
In 1964, Spasowski represented Poland as a member of the International Commission for Supervision and Control in Vietnam
, which was established to mediate peace between Hanoi and Saigon during the Vietnam War
. From 1967 till 1971 Spasowski served as Poland's ambassador to India.
In the mid-1970s, Spasowski was named Deputy Foreign Minister in the Polish Foreign Ministry.
In the mid-1970's he also served as the Chief of the Polish Military Mission in West Berlin.
Spasowski's wife had been a practicing Catholic for many years. The former Wanda Alina Sikorska was a cousin of Poland's former prime minister, Gen. Władysław Sikorski. Wanda Spasowska's influence and religious views helped undermine her husband's belief in Communism. For years, Spasowski's faith in the Polish Communist regime had been wavering, but the ascension of a Pole to the papacy provided the impetus a clear break. The day Karol Cardinal Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II, Spasowski attended a special mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C., taking a place of honor in the first pew. It marked the beginning of an increasingly contentious relationship with the Polish Foreign Ministry.
The formation of Solidarity in September 1980 deeply moved Spasowski. He is said to have privately voiced support for Solidarity's leader, Lech Wałęsa
, and the labor movement's goals. Spasowski's daughter and son-in-law, supporters of Solidarity, fled to the United States early in 1981 and received asylum.
In October 1981, the Polish government ordered Spasowski home. He protested, and the recall order was rescinded.
On December 13, 1981, Polish government leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski
started a crack-down on Solidarity, declaring martial law
.
On the afternoon of December 19, 1981, Spasowski telephoned the U.S. State Department to announce that he was defecting and requesting asylum. The next day he told a worldwide radio audience that he had defected to show support for Solidarity and Lech Wałęsa. "The cruel night of darkness and silence was spread over my country," he said.
The Polish government confiscated his family's property, branded him a traitor and condemned him to death in absentia
.
Spasowski was baptized a Catholic in 1985.
In 1986, Spasowski published his autobiography, The Liberation of One, and eventually became an American citizen.
After the overthrow of Communist rule in Poland in 1989, Spasowski's death sentence was revoked.
In 1993, Polish President Lech Wałęsa restored Spasowski's Polish citizenship.
Spasowski died at his home in Oakton, Virginia
, in 1995. The cause of death was cancer.
Spasowski was survived by his wife, Wanda, and a daughter, Maria Grochulska, of Warsaw. His son, Władysław, died in India in 1970.
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is best known for having defected at the height of the Solidarity crisis in 1981.
Early life
Francis Romuald Spasowski was born in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. His father, Władysław, was a university professor and leading intellectual. Although not a member of the Polish Communist party, Władysław Spasowski wrote "The Liberation of Man," an important Communist theoretical work, and raised Romuald to believe in Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
long before it was fashionable in Polish intellectual circles. Romuald studied and then taught at the College of Mechanics until Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
invaded Poland in 1939.
The Spasowski family was active in the Polish resistance during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Spasowski and his father were arrested several times by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. His father committed suicide in 1941 after being tortured by the Nazis. Spasowski hid in his mother's home in Milanówek
Milanówek
Milanówek is a town and a seat of a separate commune in Poland. Located in the Grodzisk Mazowiecki County near Warsaw, it is often considered an outlying suburb of the capital of Poland but is in fact an independent entity administratively and culturally. Milanówek is however part of wider Warsaw...
for a time, where the family harbored several Jewish families. But in 1942 he fled to the Soviet Union.
Spasowski served as an officer in the Polish Army division formed in the Soviet Union under Gen. Zygmunt Berling
Zygmunt Berling
Zygmunt Henryk Berling was a Polish general and politician. He fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century. During Second World War he was sentenced to death in absentia for desertion from the Polish Army of General Władysław Anders...
. Intensely loyal to Poland and convinced that Communism held great promise for his homeland, he joined the Polish United Worker's Party, the official Communist party in Poland, and entered government service almost immediately after the war. In time, Spasowski served on the Central Auditing Commission, which maintained and audited the party's finances.
Spasowski was appointed a member of the Polish War Crimes Mission at the Nuremberg trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
.
Fluent in both English and Spanish, Spasowski served as Poland's ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1951 to 1953 and then two years as ambassador to Argentina.
Spasowski's first tour as Polish ambassador to the United States lasted from 1955 to 1961. He was the youngest member of the ambassadorial corps at the time. He kept a low profile during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
with the exception his annual appearances at observances marking the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
of 1943. His and his family's commitment to religious tolerance led him to denounce Polish anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
during these occasions. In a speech in 1958, Spasowski said, 'I will not say to you here that in Poland anti-Semitism has been eliminated.'
In 1964, Spasowski represented Poland as a member of the International Commission for Supervision and Control in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, which was established to mediate peace between Hanoi and Saigon during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. From 1967 till 1971 Spasowski served as Poland's ambassador to India.
In the mid-1970s, Spasowski was named Deputy Foreign Minister in the Polish Foreign Ministry.
In the mid-1970's he also served as the Chief of the Polish Military Mission in West Berlin.
Second U.S. Ambassadorial Tour and Defection
Spasowski returned to the United States for a second tour as ambassador in 1978.Spasowski's wife had been a practicing Catholic for many years. The former Wanda Alina Sikorska was a cousin of Poland's former prime minister, Gen. Władysław Sikorski. Wanda Spasowska's influence and religious views helped undermine her husband's belief in Communism. For years, Spasowski's faith in the Polish Communist regime had been wavering, but the ascension of a Pole to the papacy provided the impetus a clear break. The day Karol Cardinal Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II, Spasowski attended a special mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C., taking a place of honor in the first pew. It marked the beginning of an increasingly contentious relationship with the Polish Foreign Ministry.
The formation of Solidarity in September 1980 deeply moved Spasowski. He is said to have privately voiced support for Solidarity's leader, Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...
, and the labor movement's goals. Spasowski's daughter and son-in-law, supporters of Solidarity, fled to the United States early in 1981 and received asylum.
In October 1981, the Polish government ordered Spasowski home. He protested, and the recall order was rescinded.
On December 13, 1981, Polish government leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski is a retired Polish military officer and Communist politician. He was the last Communist leader of Poland from 1981 to 1989, Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985 and the country's head of state from 1985 to 1990. He was also the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's...
started a crack-down on Solidarity, declaring martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
.
On the afternoon of December 19, 1981, Spasowski telephoned the U.S. State Department to announce that he was defecting and requesting asylum. The next day he told a worldwide radio audience that he had defected to show support for Solidarity and Lech Wałęsa. "The cruel night of darkness and silence was spread over my country," he said.
The Polish government confiscated his family's property, branded him a traitor and condemned him to death in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
.
Later years
Spasowski toured the United States throughout the 1980s, denouncing the Communist regime in Poland and playing a leading role in the U.S. Information Agency's anti-Communist television program, 'Let Poland Be Poland'.Spasowski was baptized a Catholic in 1985.
In 1986, Spasowski published his autobiography, The Liberation of One, and eventually became an American citizen.
After the overthrow of Communist rule in Poland in 1989, Spasowski's death sentence was revoked.
In 1993, Polish President Lech Wałęsa restored Spasowski's Polish citizenship.
Spasowski died at his home in Oakton, Virginia
Oakton, Virginia
Oakton is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. The population was 29,348 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 22124.-Geography:Oakton is located at...
, in 1995. The cause of death was cancer.
Spasowski was survived by his wife, Wanda, and a daughter, Maria Grochulska, of Warsaw. His son, Władysław, died in India in 1970.