Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXIX, Eastern Europe; Eastern Mediterranean, 1969–1972

171. Memorandum From the Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon¹

Washington, July 25, 1972.

SUBJECT

• How Polish Officials Regard Your Warsaw Visit.

In the weeks since your Warsaw trip, we received several State Department cables and also intelligence reports on the views of Polish officials about the outcome of the visit. The reports all agree that Polandʼs leaders regard your visit as a definite success, which reinforces their countryʼs prestige and influence and opens the door to improve US-Polish bilateral relations, particularly economic.

In late June, Polish diplomats sought out their US opposite numbers in several places with specific purpose of telling them about an official assessment of your visit cabled them from Warsaw. According to their assessment, as the diplomats described it, the Polish leaders were greatly impressed by your handling of the Warsaw talks and considered you a forward-looking leader with modern ideas. The assessment also reportedly said that they look forward to pursuing an “independent” policy in European affairs and had noted the strong residual friendship toward the US which exists among the Polish people.

Two separate intelligence reports are confirmatory. One, [1 line not declassified] says that these officials considered that:

• —your signature of the communiqué with Gierek proves that you fully accept him as Polandʼs leader.
• —your coming to Warsaw via Tehran, rather than directly from Moscow, was good since it demonstrated that you regarded your Warsaw talks as separate from the Moscow Summit.
• —you had recognized that the differences between the Moscow and the Warsaw communiqué stem from the independence of Polish policies.

A particularly sensitive intelligence report [1 line not declassified] confirmed that the Polish leadership was satisfied with the visit, which had increased Polandʼs influence within the communist bloc and throughout Europe. The source of this particular report added that your visit had also heartened Polish intellectuals.

We have learned separately that the Polish government plans a special book on the visit. It will contain color photographs and appear in perhaps several hundred thousand copies.

An additional sign of the Polish governmentʼs favorable view of your visit is the unprecedentedly large number of high Polish officals, including the Foreign Minister, who attended Ambassadorʼs Stoesselʼs Fourth of July reception.

It is noteworthy that not only the Polish government but also the intellectuals in Poland, who are not necessarily Gierek supporters, and the Polish-American community all consider the trip a success. It was to be expected that Gierek would use your visit to strengthen his domestic position, but non-government elements in Poland have also evidently benefited from it.

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 481, Presidentʼs Trip Files, Presidentʼs Poland Trip. Secret; Sensitive. Sent for information.