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President Bush visited Poland 30 years ago

22.07.2019 17:00
This month marks three decades since George H.W. Bush became the first US president to visit Poland after the fall of communism.
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President George H.W. Bush meets with Polands Lech Wałęsa in 1989. Photo: National Archives and Records Administration [Public domain]
President George H.W. Bush meets with Poland's Lech Wałęsa in 1989. Photo: National Archives and Records Administration [Public domain]via Wikimedia Commons

The US leader arrived on July 9, 1989. His visit came after Poland on June 4 held its first partially free elections, which were the result of Round Table agreements signed earlier that year.

President Bush met with the then Polish leader, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, as well as with members of the Solidarity opposition.

America was closely following changes in Poland in 1989 because Warsaw was at that time one of the key European capitals where communist rule was collapsing.

Polish Radio's Wojciech Cegielski spoke to American journalist Alma Kadragic, who reported on the events of 1989 from Warsaw for ABC News, and to diplomat Thomas Simons, responsible for Polish affairs at the US Department of State in Washington.