Polish Participation in the 1984 Summer Olympics Boycott: The Inside Story

Abstract

Scrutiny of archival documents, press materials, and testimonies from eyewitnesses reveals circumstances under which Poland joined the boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The politically motivated decision not to send the athletes to California arose due to Poland’s dependence on the USSR. As early as in May 1982 Moscow outlined the instruction for all Eastern Bloc states concerning a propaganda campaign aimed at contesting organizational preparations for the 1984 Summer Olympics. Intensification of the efforts took place in months directly preceding the event. Finally, the Soviet authorities declared the boycott on May 8, 1984. Poland did so nine days later. Still the Polish communists tried to keep up appearances. They announced the members of the National Olympic Committee had made the crucial decision. This way the ruling political circles made a scapegoat of the institution. De facto, it was a communist Polish United Workers’ Party decision. The roots of the affair dated back to the United States-led boycott of the Moscow Olympics, which had taken place in 1980. A glance at the episode enables to put the main story into a relevant historical context. The 1984 communist countries’ withdrawals were mere retaliatory enterprises, typical of the Cold War reality.