73. Editorial Note
Vice President Richard M. Nixon arrived in Warsaw on the afternoon of August 2 for a 3–day official visit to Poland at the invitation of Aleksander Zawadzki, Chairman of the Council of State. His party included Dr. Milton Eisenhower, President of Johns Hopkins University and the President’s brother, George V. Allen, Director of the U.S. Information Agency, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, Acting Assistant Secretary of State Foy D. Kohler, and William Elliott, Special Adviser to the Secretary of State. Nixon flew to Warsaw from Moscow where he had visited the Soviet Union July 23–August 2. Documentation on his visit to the Soviet Union is in Part 1, Documents 92 ff.
In the autumn of 1957, the Polish Government had responded favorably to the suggestion of the U.S. Government that the Vice President visit Warsaw in connection with any European tour that he might make. When the Vice President’s visit to the Soviet Union was announced in the spring of 1959, Ambassador Romuald Spasowski informed Kohler on May 22 that the invitation for the Vice President to visit Poland was still open. On July 17, Kohler informed the Polish Ambassador that the Vice President would accept the invitation for a visit beginning August 2. The Polish Government responded favorably to this proposal on July 20.
Nixon and his party arrived at Babice Airport at 5:20 p.m. on August 2. The Vice President was greeted by Dr. Oskar Lange, Deputy Chairman of the Council of State, Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Jaroszewicz, and Foreign Minister Adam Rapacki. After welcoming remarks, Nixon and Lange headed a motorcade to the Vice President’s quarters at the Mylewicki Palace. A large and enthusiastic crowd greeted the American visitors with cheers, clapping, and flowers along the route.
For texts of Lange’s welcoming remarks at the airport and Nixon’s response, see Toward Better Understanding: Vice President Nixon’s Visit to the Soviet Union and Poland (Department of State Publication 6881), pages 36–38. Nixon’s arrival statement is also printed in Department of State Bulletin, August 24, 1959, pages 270–271. For Nixon’s own accounts of the warm welcome given him on August 2 by the Polish people, see Six Crises, pages 307–310, and RN, The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, page 213.
On August 3, the Vice President called on Aleksander Zawadzki at 10 a.m. He spoke of his sympathetic understanding of the sufferings of the Polish people during the war and expressed the hope that Poland would never again suffer as it had in the past. Zawadzki stated that the policies of the Polish Government were aimed at peace and promotion of understanding between all countries. Nixon then called on Czeslaw Wycech, the Marshal of the Sejm. After Nixon described his duties as [Page 191] presiding officer of the Senate, Wycech described the operations of the Sejm and then gave Nixon a tour of the main chamber. They also discussed Polish education and agriculture. After leaving the Sejm, Nixon laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then called on Wladyslaw Gomulka, First Secretary of the Polish United Workers Party. The memorandum of their conversation is printed as Document 74. In the evening, the Vice President and Mrs. Nixon were guests at a reception given by Zawadzki at the Council of Ministers’ Palace and both Zawadzki and Nixon made toasts. For texts of these remarks, see Toward Better Understanding, pages 38–42.
On August 4, Nixon visited Palmyra Forest, a Warsaw steel mill, and the University of Warsaw, and attended a luncheon given by Prime Minister and Mrs. Cyrankiewicz. That evening, the Nixons attended a reception given by Ambassador and Mrs. Beam at the Embassy to which many Polish dignitaries came. The texts of the address made by Nixon at this reception and Cyrankiewicz’s response are Ibid., pages 42–44. While the Vice President visited Palmyra Forest, Eisenhower, Rickover, and Elliott met with Polish leaders in their respective fields of interest. A summary of these conversations is in despatch 67 from Warsaw, August 13. (Department of State, Central Files, 003.1100–NI/8–1359)
On August 5, the Vice President and his party left Warsaw at about 10:30 a.m. For texts of Lange’s remarks made upon Nixon’s departure and the Vice President’s response, see Toward Better Understanding, pages 44–46. For texts of the remarks made by Acting Secretary of State Douglas Dillon upon Nixon’s arrival at Washington National Airport and Nixon’s response, see Ibid., pages 47–50. Nixon’s departure statement at Warsaw and his exchange of comments with Dillon at Washington are also printed in Department of State Bulletin, August 24, 1959, pages 271–273.
Documentation on Nixon’s trip to Poland is in several Department of State files. The chronology of his trip, a copy of the memorandum of conversation of Nixon’s talk with Gomulka on August 3, and the briefing papers for the trip are in Conference Files: Lot 64 D 560, CF 1411–1412. Documentation on the scheduling of the trip, preparations for it, and reports from the Embassy on the trip is in Central File 033.1100–NI. A memorandum by Sherer dated September 9, summarizing Nixon’s conversations with Polish officials and details of his schedule as well as the trip’s accomplishments is in the Polish Desk Files: Lot 64 D 152, Vice President’s trip to Warsaw.