Red Eagle--White Eagle

Against a background of centuries of retrogressive feudal rule the present Polish government last month made its first attempt at a free election. When the results were in, the government forces, a coalition of communists and socialists, had an almost seven-to-one majority over the opposition Polish Peasant Party. The election was not, as Americans understand the term, a free election. Not even the staunchest government supporters claim that it was. Estimates as to the degree of freedom that was allowed and evaluation of the result had complete freedom been permitted are at best a matter of highly conflicting opinions. An issue of more vital concern is: amidst the recent Polish atmosphere, was a completely free election possible?

In a traditionally choleric and vehemently nationalistic nation the twin tempests of war and social upheaval have left a hot and churning sea of Polish emotions. The present government in carrying out long needed land reforms, in outlawing the classically Prussian type military elique, and in actively combatting anti-Semitism, an evil deeply rooted in the Polish scene, has created a wealthy, influential, and fanatical opposition. The purpose of this opposition is not the reconstruction of Poland but the reestablishment of the landed and military nobility that for so long dominated that country. Their armed underground has, it is said by the government, slain over five thousand officials and citizens in the past month. Observers hold it also responsible for the program in Kielce last summer and for most of the anti-Semitic activity that has ensued. Unfortunately this traitorous opposition has insinuated itself into a common continuum with the more sincere critics of the current regime. This presents the problem of the government's arbitrary drawing of the line between opposition and treason, and action which involves a great danger. But there is also a danger, perhaps a greater danger, in those extremists whom Mr. Mikolajezyk and his loyal opposition completely disown but who nevertheless remain camouflaged within the ranks of the Peasant Party.

It is evident that in Poland today the pressure from terror comes not from the government alone but from all sides at once. Under these conditions and with the reconstruction from the setbacks of the war barely begun the decision to hold the election at this time was indeed unfortunate. Certainly the American State Department should ultimately settle for nothing less than completely democratic processes in Poland, but democracy is a delicate plant and cannot be expected to thrive in the barren soil that is Poland today. If democracy is to be brought into Poland it must be cultivated step by step. The most obvious move in that direction is material aid in the Polish reconstruction and in the stabilization of the Polish atmosphere to one more healthy for democracy. To saddle the present government with criticism of an election which they were forced to hold prematurely will merely weaken those forces which seem to be making considerable progress toward the conditions under which democracy can thrive.