Poles in Australia towards Communism after 1945

The article analyzes the attitude of the Polish immigrant community in Australia towards Communism and the Communist authorities of the Polish People’s Republic. It focuses on the period between the end of World War II and the rise of the Solidarity Movement in Poland. Firstly it presents the confrontation between the majority of the Polish immigrant community and a group of communist immigrants from Poland, who cooperated with the Australian Communist Party in a propaganda campaign for the diplomatic recognition of the post-Yalta regime by the Australian government. It then it moves on to the discussion of the position of the organized Polish immigrant community, consisting mainly of post-war displaced persons and ex-servicemen, on the Polish communist state and its infiltration of the Polish community in Australia. In addition, the article presents how Polish immigrants related to the Communist influence in domestic politics, the Soviet international position, and Soviet-Australian relations. It points to Richard Krygier and Michał Białoguski - two examples of remarkable individual involvement in an anti-communist activity. In conclusion, it is argued that despite the relatively small size of the Polish community in Australia and its lack of strong émigré political centers, its dominant organized groups and majority of politically active individuals were deeply motivated by anticommunism. This stemmed from their individual and collective national experience, historical events in Poland and the world, and permeated the life and political engagements of the community.