51. Editorial Note

Adlai E. Stevenson, former Governor of Illinois and Democratic Party candidate for President in 1952 and 1956, visited Warsaw August 8–12, following a visit to the Soviet Union. During his stay, he talked with Foreign Minister Adam Rapacki and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Jozef Winiewicz on August 9, and with Stefan Jedrychowski, Chairman of the Planning Commission of the Council of Ministers, and Franciszek Modrzewski, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, on August 10.

In despatch 39 from Warsaw, August 12, Ambassador Beam reported the details of Stevenson’s visit and noted Stevenson’s remarks that his conversations with Rapacki were agreeable but seemed to bring forth nothing new. Rapacki had complained about the abrupt tone and manner of the U.S. rejection of the Rapacki Plan and said it discouraged Polish initiative in foreign affairs. Stevenson also reported that Rapacki viewed the Eastern and Western positions on German reunification as irreconcilable and foresaw no progress toward a solution. Rapacki had complained to Stevenson about the general posture of the United States in international affairs and asserted it was making a mistake in confronting the Soviet Union with inflexible courses of action. Rapacki believed this made it impossible for Khrushchev to risk his prestige by accommodating himself to Western policies.

Beam reported that in his talk with Jedrychowski, Stevenson had inquired about the workings of the CEMA. Jedrychowski had restated the standard Polish line that CEMA was a logical Eastern camp cooperative organization but that Poland did not intend it to block development of better trade relations with the West and in particular with the United States. Beam concluded that Stevenson’s visit “made a favorable impression upon the various Poles and foreign diplomats whom he saw and seemed to accomplish a useful purpose.” (Department of State, Central Files, 032–Stevenson, Adlai/8–1258)

For a selection of Stevenson’s diary entries and letters about his visit to Poland, see The Papers of Adlai E. Stevenson, volume VII, pages 279–288. Documentation on Stevenson’s visit to the Soviet Union is in Part 1, Documents 5354.