Lower Silesia was one of the regions Germany lost to Poland following the Second World War. During the space of a few years, the entire territory was transformed, reversing the tradition of centuries. The eviction and suffering of the indigenous Germans is contrasted with the similar hardships the Polish resettlers were forced to undergo. Striking is the similarity of manipulation of both Silesian groups by their political masters. That Lower Silesia was ceded at all reveals much about wartime and postwar Allied negotiations which culminated in the Cold War.
The definitive account of the 1945 Potsdam Conference: the historic summit where Truman, Stalin, and Churchill met to determine the fate of post-World War II Europe After Germany's defeat in World War II, Europe lay in tatters. Millions of refugees were dispersed across the continent. Food and fuel were scarce. Britain was bankrupt, while Germany had been reduced to rubble. In July of 1945, Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin gathered in a quiet suburb of Berlin to negotiate a lasting peace: a peace that would finally put an end to the conflagration that had started in 1914, a peace under which Europe could be rebuilt. The award-winning historian Michael Neiberg brings the turbulent Potsdam conference to life, vividly capturing the delegates' personalities: Truman, trying to escape from the shadow of Franklin Roosevelt, who had died only months before; Churchill, bombastic and seemingly out of touch; Stalin, cunning and meticulous. For the first week, negotiations progressed relatively smoothly. But when the delegates took a recess for the British elections, Churchill was replaced-both as prime minster and as Britain's representative at the conference-in an unforeseen upset by Clement Attlee, a man Churchill disparagingly described as "a sheep in sheep's clothing." When the conference reconvened, the power dynamic had shifted dramatically, and the delegates struggled to find a new balance. Stalin took advantage of his strong position to demand control of Eastern Europe as recompense for the suffering experienced by the Soviet people and armies. The final resolutions of the Potsdam Conference, notably the division of Germany and the Soviet annexation of Poland, reflected the uneasy geopolitical equilibrium between East and West that would come to dominate the twentieth century. As Neiberg expertly shows, the delegates arrived at Potsdam determined to learn from the mistakes their predecessors made in the Treaty of Versailles. But, riven by tensions and dramatic debates over how to end the most recent war, they only dimly understood that their discussions of peace were giving birth to a new global conflict.
This book examines the outcome of the British commitment to reconstitute a sovereign Polish state and establish a democratic Polish government after the Second World War. It analyses the wartime origins of Churchill’s commitment to Poland, and assesses the reasons for the collapse of British efforts to support the leader of the Polish opposition, Stanisław Mikołajczyk, in countering the attempt by the Polish communist party to establish one-party rule after the war. This examination of Anglo-Polish relations is set within the broader context of emerging early Cold War tensions. It addresses the shift in British foreign policy after 1945 towards the US, the Soviet Union and Europe, as British leaders and policymakers adjusted both to the new post-war international circumstances, and to the domestic constraints which increasingly limited British policy options. This work analyses the reasons for Ernest Bevin’s decision to disengage from Poland, helping to advance the debate on the larger question of Bevin’s vision of Britain’s place within the newly reconfigured international system. The final chapter surveys British policy towards Poland from the period of Sovietisation in the late 1940s up to the October 1956 revolution, arguing that Poland’s process of liberalisation in the mid-1950s served as the catalyst for limited British reengagement in Eastern Europe.
Towards a Future European Peace Order? explores the prospects for an international peace process emerging in the aftermath of the Cold War. Inspired by the basically peaceful revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, fourteen contributors from both East and West present their views and visions for a continent undergoing rapid transformation on the eve of the twenty-first century. Their perspectives are based on analyses of the underlying political, historical, societal, psychological, strategic and economic preconditions for a European peace order.
There are many reasons why it is important to study local politics -- political culture, government, political process -- in Communist party states. As in all politics, local politics in Communist party states are the political articulation of the local community. This is the political arena where policies concerning local issues are formulated by the officials. This is where the officials are approached by citizens with their particular demands. This is where citizens articulate their preferences, aspirations, and values through political participation. And this is where officials, both elected and appointed, are recruited. In this volume, Daniel N. Nelson has assembled a team of international scholars to consider local politics in Communist party states including the U.S.S.R., China, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Romania. Together, they explore how local social and political forces are articulated in the national and party organizations; they also reveal how the study of comparative local politics provides vitality for the study of national politics. Rather than treating local communities as receivers and translators of national inputs, the contributors demonstrate that the local dimension and national politics mutually influence one another and illuminate the social reality in communist societies.
In this most timely book, Richard C. Lukas offers the historical perspective that any reader, scholar, or layman needs to grasp the political turmoil in Poland in the decades after World War II. Bitter Legacy is the first major analysis of Polish-American relations from the Potsdam Conference through the Polish elections of 1947, the critical period during which Poland became a satellite in the Russian sphere. Drawing on an impressive array of primary and secondary sources, a number of which have never been used by scholars before, Lukas shows in detail why and how American policy was never able to reverse the process, begun at the Yalta Conference, that transformed Poland into a communist state. In a clear and unambiguous style, he deftly combines two traditions in the writing of diplomatic history—one that stresses intergovernmental relations and one that emphasizes domestic concerns and pressures. The result is a revealing book that adds significantly to our understanding of Polish-American relations and of domestic history in Poland and the United States during this important Cold War phase. It will appeal not only to scholars but also to all those with an interest in Poland's history. Bitter Legacy is a sequel to Lukas's earlier volume, The Strange Allies, which has been acclaimed as the best treatment in English of United States-Polish relations during World War II. If offers the same impeccable scholarship and balanced interpretation that characterized Lukas's earlier study.
According to the National Notary Association, there are 4.8 million notaries working in the U.S. Depending upon state regulations, notaries can perform marriages, witness and authenticate the signing of real estate mortgage loan documents and other legal contracts, and take and certify depositions. Notaries can make an average of $10 to $200 per signing, depending on the document type.Each state has individual guidelines that one must follow when first applying to become a notary and specific restrictions that a practicing notary must abide by, including the amount a notary can charge per signing. With all of these rules, it can be quite a confusing process, and along with the frustration of opening your own business, it can quickly become a nightmare. Fortunately, with this new book, you will have a comprehensive toolkit on not only how to become a notary, but on how to open your own notary business and cash in on the booming market as well.Whether you will be a mobile signing agent or you are looking to buy or rent office space, this book can help you with a wealth of start-up information, from how to form and name your business to deciding if this will be a joint venture or if you would rather work solo. Valuable information on forming a partnership, LLC, corporation, or becoming a sole proprietor, the four types of business formations, is included, and also the legal implications of each.You will learn the ins and outs of the application process state-by-state, including which states require training sessions and exams, and also information on the appointment process and individual state laws that govern the practice of notaries. Beyond providing you with the information on becoming a notary, you will be supplied with a wealth of information about opening your own notary business, including working as a mobile signing agent, where you travel to your customers, or operating a full-scale notary business managing other notaries. A special chapter on services you can offer and average prices charged for those services will be included, and also information on charging for travel fees, appointment no-shows, emergency notarizations, and many other services that can be offered for a fee.This complete manual will arm you with everything you need, including sample business forms, leases, and contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; plans and layouts; and dozens of other valuable, time-saving tools of the trade that no business owner should be without. A special section on the importance of keeping your notary journal up-to-date is included, and also information on your notary stamp.You will learn how to draw up a winning business plan (the companion CD-ROM has the actual business plan you can use in Microsoft Word
Encyclopedia of Public International Law, 4: Use of Force, War, and Neutrality Peace Treaties (N-Z) focuses on hostile inter-State relations and associated questions, as well as the use of force, war, neutrality, and peace treaties. The publication first elaborates on warships, wars of national liberation, war materials, laws of war, war correspondent, war and environment, Versailles Peace Treaty (1919), use of force, United Nations peacekeeping system, United Nations forces, and unfriendly act. The text then ponders on trading with the enemy, suspension of hostilities, surrender, submarine warfare, sequestration, self-preservation, self-defense, sea warfare, safety zones, safe-conduct and safe passage, resistance movements, requisitions, and reparations after World War II. The book examines relief actions, recognition of insurgency and belligerency, prisoners of war, threat to peace, peace treaties, means to safeguard peace, pacifism, occupation after armistice, nuclear tests, non-aggression pacts, and neutrality in air warfare, land warfare, and sea warfare. The text is a vital source of information for researchers interested in the use of force, war, and neutrality peace treaties.
