Korbonski (Andrzej) Collection of Research Materials on Communist Poland, 1943(of originals)-1991

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Summary

Title:
Andrzej Korbonski Collection of Research Materials on Communist Poland
Dates:
1943(of originals)-1991
Abstract:
This collection consists of Radio Free Europe reports, photocopies of declassified U. S. Department of State documents and Polish government documents that Dr. Andrzej Korbonski gathered for research on his homeland of Poland under Communism.
Extent:
3.0 Boxes
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Series number, Box and Folder number, Andrzej Korbonski Collection of Research Materials on Communist Poland, 098, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.

Background

Scope and content:

Containing materials (all textual) in both Polish and English, this small collection (1.25 linear feet) consists principally of publications of the research arm of Radio Free Europe and photocopies of original documents from a major Polish state archive and from the United States Department of State (these are declassified). Dr. Andrzej Korbonski collected these sources for his research on Communist Poland.

The Radio Free Europe materials are in Series 1 and Series 2. These include reports on social, political, and economic conditions in Poland; noteworthy are the reports on the Polish Roman Catholic Church and John Paul II, and the rise of Solidarity under Lech Walesa. These reports are in English, although there are a number of press summaries in Polish in Series 2 that "East (sic) Europe Research" of Radio Free Europe gathered.

Of special interest is Series 3 with its photocopies of documents from the Archiwum Akt Nowych, a major Polish governmental repository. Samples of these documents include an information bulletin from the Ministry of Internal Affairs concerning meetings of Polish Roman Catholic bishops. Another concerns a statement from the Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II), to a member of the Polish Parliament concerning a religious procession. The materials are all in Polish in this series. Dr. Nibel Raab, of LMU's Department of History, graciously helped in the translation of some of the documents, which provided insight into the information that they contain.

Series 5 consists of photocopies of memoranda and telegrams sent either to President Franklin D. Roosevelt or to the Secretary of State from the Department of State, and messages from the Secretary of State to F.D.R. The memoranda and telegrams concern U.S. views of, and meetings with, the Polish government in exile in the last years of World War II. The materials also cover the U.S. government's relations with Polish Premier Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, U.S. financing of the Polish underground, the American Polish Congress, Polish-Soviet Union relations, the Warsaw Uprising, and U.S. and Soviet views on the post-war form of Polish government and society.

Most of the original material in Series 5 was classified until the 1970s. Names of note in this series include diplomat Averell Harriman (1891-1986) and U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull (1871-1955).

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Andrzej Korbonski (1927-2013) was a long-time political science professor at UCLA, whose research interests in Communist Poland and Eastern Europe stemmed from his Polish birth. Korbonski served in the Polish Free Army in Great Britain during World War II, and after the war ended, he immigrated to the United States. He earned a doctorate in political science from Columbia in 1962, upon which he gained a position in the Department of Political Science at UCLA in 1963. He retired from UCLA in 1994, although remaining active as an emeritus professor.

Dr. Korbonski published numerous books and articles on Communist Poland, a research pursuit that is reflected in the materials in this collection.

All information in this biography comes from the UCLA Department of Political Science web page "In Honor of the Life of Andrzej Korbonski".

Acquisition information:
Gift of Bohdan Oppenheim. Accession Number: 2013.33
Arrangement:

The Andrzej Korbonski Collection of Research Materials on Communist Poland is arranged in the following series:

Series 1: Radio Free Europe Research Department Situation Reports

Series 2: Radio Free Europe Polish Press Summaries

Series 3: Polish Government Documents

Series 4: Publications

Series 5: United States Government Declassified Documents

Series 6: Andrzej Korbonski Conference Papers and Other Research Materials

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Clay Stalls
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-11-18T14:40-0800

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open to research under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections.

Terms of access:

Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or executors.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Series number, Box and Folder number, Andrzej Korbonski Collection of Research Materials on Communist Poland, 098, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.

Location of this collection:
1 LMU Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90045-2659, US
Contact:
(310) 338-5710
Special.Collections@lmu.edu
Website