If I were Polish would I trust the British?

In August 1939 the British signed a defensive agreement with Poland to try to stave off an imminent invasion of our ally. In September Nazi German and the Soviet Union invaded Poland and divided up the spoils. What followed is well recorded and millions of Poles suffered at the hands of the Germans and Soviets - millions died and there was a pogrom against the Jews.

Britain and France declared war on Germany as a result of the invasion of Poland but neither nation had the military power to save Poland.

Many Polish people fled Poland and thousands of Polish servicemen fought alongside the British Army to rid Europe of the scourge of Hitler. Many brave Polish pilots flew alongside the RAF to win the Battle of Britain and save our nation from Nazi tyranny.

At the end of the Second World War the three great powers: the US,GB and the USSR divided up Europe. Poland was to fall under the sphere of influence of the USSR and Stalin's tyranny. The British no longer felt that Poland was worth fighting for and we let them down.


The nation which Britain originally went to war for was left to its own devices.

In 1990 East Germany was absorbed by the West German Federal Republic and millions of East Germans found themselves becoming "citizens" of the European Union. There was no vote and East Germany did not have to make any application. East Germans were free to travel anywhere in the EU including the UK. No-one cared.

In 1990 Poland more or less became a state which was independent of the USSR and of course Polish citizens expressed the desire for their country to join the EU. The Poles had to wait until 2004 to join. It was my view at the time that Poland had as much right to join the EU as East Germany, and that Poland should have been admitted to the EU too, without question. Britain could easily have insisted upon this as a quid pro quo for East German incorporation but failed to do so. Britain was later, however, one of Poland's greatest supporters in its quest to join the EU.

Since 2004 Poland has been a model state within the EU. Many of its citizens have come to Britain to improve not just their lives but the life of Britain as well. Britain has a moral obligation and a duty to welcome our Polish friends as many of their fore fathers gave their lives to help Britain in its hour of need.

There is no excuse for the xenophobia and prejudice which some people in Britain are now showing towards Polish and other European citizens who have settled in Britain. They are entitled to be treated the same as any British citizen. Poland, Romania and Bulgaria expected to be treated as equals when they were invited to join the EU and they were entitled to be. Britain cannot change the rules because of the attitude of xenophobes.

If we did not want Poles, Romanians and Bulgarians to have the right of freedom of movement throughout the EU then we, in Britain, should have vetoed their application to join. We did not do this at the time as we wanted to expand our markets and make money. What sort of country would Britain turn out to be if it only welcomed people's money rather than the people themselves?

The Poles would be right not to trust us as if we let them down again.