Primate and General. Contacts between Cardinal Wyszyński and Władysław Anders in the Light of Their Correspondence – a Contribution to the History of the Polish Independence Emigration

Abstract

The article takes a closer look at the relationship between Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and General Władysław Anders between 1957 and 1970. The letters found in the Warsaw Archdiocesan Archives, complex: Secretariat of the Primate of Poland, and in the Archives of the Polish Institute and the Sikorski Museum in London show the close relationship between the Primate and the General. Although contact between them was occasional, we can observe the mutual respect and appreciation of these two leaders of “free Poland”. The former upheld Polish identity in a country ruled by communists, while also defending the independence of the Polish Church. At the same time, the latter acted as the leader of the Polish independence emigration community. Documented communication between Cardinal Wyszyński and General Anders began in 1957. It could not have taken place on a permanent basis, as the Primate feared that such relations could be a pretext for persecuting the Church in Poland – on the charge of maintaining contacts with “reactionary emigration circles”. Nevertheless, the Primate and the General met in person in Rome in May 1963, during Cardinal Wyszyński’s stay in the Holy See. The article is supplemented by an edition of correspondence concerning their mutual contacts. The text should be treated as a complementary contribution to the history of Polish emigration.