In an article for the Winter 1984/1985 issue of Foreign Affairs, “A Divided Europe: The Future of Yalta,” Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote that “Yalta is unfinished business. Forty years after the fateful Crimean meeting of February 4-11, 1945, between the Allied Big Three of World War II, much of our current (1984/1985) preoccupation with Yalta focuses on its myth rather…
Importance of U.S.-Polish Ties Underscored by Vice President Bush During 1987 Visit to Krakow
The audio report is in Polish and English. Link to audio. In 1987, the U.S. Department of State upgraded the status of the Consulate in Krakow, designating it as a Consulate General. On September 29, 1987, visiting U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush led a designation ceremony and spoke about the strength of U.S.-Polish ties, especially ties with Southern Poland.…
We are condemned to reach an agreement in Poland, Walesa told VOA Polish Service in 1987
Poland’s communist regime organized a referendum on political and economic reforms, which was held on 29 November 1987. Around a third of eligible voters did not participate, defying the regime. It was the first time that Communist authorities in Eastern Europe had lost a vote. I covered the referendum for the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service. After the vote,…
Lech Walesa on Importance of Voice of America in Poland’s Struggle for Freedom and Democracy
“Nie wyobrażalne jest by mogło to mieć miejsce tak szybko i tak skutecznie gdyby nie Głos Ameryki.” — Lech Wałęsa, 2002. “It is not conceivable that it would have happened so quickly and so effectively if not for the Voice of America.” — Lech Wałęsa, 2002. October 5, 2013 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Nobel Committee announcement that…
I found this book several years ago by pure chance in a bookstore in San Francisco selling old and antique books. Ambassador Arthur Bliss Lane’s daughter, Peggy, lived in San Francisco, which may explain how the book ended up in a local book shop. She died at a relatively young age from a sudden illness when Bliss Lane and his…
Zbigniew Brzezinski Interviewed for 1989 Worldnet Program on Historic Changes in Poland
In a March 1989 Voice of America-Worldnet-Polish Television program moderated by Ted Lipien, then director of the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski discussed historic political changes, which were taking place at that time in Poland and throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Dr. Brzezinski was being interviewed by journalists in Poland which was still under communist rule…
1984 Interview With Czeslaw Miłosz on Polish-Jewish Relations (in Polish – po polsku)
Link to audio. The interview (in Polish – po polsku) with Czesław Miłosz was recorded in Oxford on September 19, 1984 at a conference on Polish-Jewish relations. Miłosz talks about Poland’s multicultural traditions, Polish-Jewish relations in the 19th century, during the interwar period, and under communism. He discusses anti-Semitism, Polish-Jewish relations in his home city of Wilno (Vilnius – now…
September 1987 – Vice President George H.W. Bush discusses Poland, U.S. Polish-Relations, Solidarity, Lech Walesa, Polish Americans
“There’s great affection from the American people for the people of Poland.” – Vice President George H.W. Bush, September 24, 1987 Voice of America correspondent Wayne Corey and VOA Polish Service director Ted Lipien recorded the interview at the White House on September 24, 1987 shortly before Vice President George H.W. Bush left on his trip to Poland. The…
Vice President George H.W. Bush’s September 1987 Visit to Poland – Report in Polish (po polsku)
Vice President George H.W. Bush began a four-day visit to Poland on Saturday, September 26, 1987. His visit facilitated talks between Solidarity and the communist regime and eventual peaceful fall of communism in Poland. I interviewed Vice President Bush at the White House before the trip and accompanied him as Voice of America Polish Service correspondent. I filed this report…
Poland, A Season of Light, and of Darkness
In 1982, the United States International Communication Agency (USICA), earlier and later called the United States Information Agency (USIA), published a booklet “Poland: A Season of Light, and of Darkness,” to complement its “Let Poland Be Poland” television film produced by the agency as a response of the Reagan Administration to the imposition of martial law in Poland by General…
Interweaving of Public Diplomacy and U.S. International Broadcasting
Interweaving of Public Diplomacy and U.S. International Broadcasting A Historical Analysis by Ted Lipien Published in American Diplomacy, December 2011 Summary U.S. policy makers have used traditional diplomacy, public diplomacy and government-sponsored journalism to promote America’s interests and to influence public opinion abroad. On the journalistic side, the so-called surrogate radios: Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty – more…
Reagan and Korbonski on Yalta and Poland
As Poland prepares for next year’s 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Rising, I wanted to share [highlight]Stefan Korboński[/highlight]‘s 1984 letter to The New York Times, in which the last chief of the Polish wartime underground State repeated President Ronald Reagan’s earlier statement that the United States rejects any interpretation of the Yalta agreement that suggests American consent for the division of…
Digital Journal Op-Ed: America could learn from rappers’ tribute to Radio Free Europe
by Ted Lipien Published April 7, 2013 by Digital Journal Truckee – Led by Peja of the Polish rap group Slums Attack, Europe’s rappers recorded a multilingual tribute to political and cultural freedom message of the American-funded station Radio Free Europe. Using historical film footage of Radio Free Europe broadcasters, rappers from several European countries make statements similar to dissident voices…
LIPIEN: Remembering a Polish-American patriot
Three years ago, on September 1, 2010, The Washington Times published my article about Zofia Korbońska, an anti-Nazi and anti-Communist resister and a Voice of America Polish Service journalist who had passed away on August 16, 2010.
Voice of America during the martial law in Poland – Radio stanu wojennego
Radio of the Martial Law Thirty years ago, on December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski had declared martial law in Poland, imprisoning Lech Walesa and other Solidarity Trade Union leaders. The Polish communist rulers placed the country under a complete information blockout, but thanks to radio programs in Polish from the Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe (RFE)…