History

Audio, Cold War, Featured, Glos Ameryki, History, International Broadcasting, Poland, Public Diplomacy, Radio, VOA

We are condemned to reach an agreement in Poland, Walesa told VOA Polish Service in 1987

Poland’s communist regime organized a referendum on political and economic reforms, which was held on 29 November 1987. Around a third of eligible voters did not participate, defying the regime. It was the first time that Communist authorities in Eastern Europe had lost a vote. I covered the referendum for the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service. After the vote,…

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Audio, Cold War, Glos Ameryki, History, International Broadcasting, Media, Photo, Poland, Public Diplomacy, Radio, Video, VOA

Lech Walesa on Importance of Voice of America in Poland’s Struggle for Freedom and Democracy

“Nie wyobrażalne jest by mogło to mieć miejsce tak szybko i tak skutecznie gdyby nie Głos Ameryki.” — Lech Wałęsa, 2002. “It is not conceivable that it would have happened so quickly and so effectively if not for the Voice of America.” — Lech Wałęsa, 2002. October 5, 2013 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Nobel Committee announcement that…

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Audio, Cold War, Glos Ameryki, History, International Broadcasting, Poland, Public Diplomacy, Radio, VOA

Zbigniew Brzezinski Interviewed for 1989 Worldnet Program on Historic Changes in Poland

In a March 1989 Voice of America-Worldnet-Polish Television program moderated by Ted Lipien, then director of the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski discussed historic political changes, which were taking place at that time in Poland and throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Dr. Brzezinski was being interviewed by journalists in Poland which was still under communist rule…

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Audio, Cold War, Featured, Glos Ameryki, History, International Broadcasting, Poland, Public Diplomacy, Radio, VOA

1984 Interview With Czeslaw Miłosz on Polish-Jewish Relations (in Polish – po polsku)

Link to audio. The interview (in Polish – po polsku) with Czesław Miłosz was recorded in Oxford on September 19, 1984 at a conference on Polish-Jewish relations. Miłosz talks about Poland’s multicultural traditions, Polish-Jewish relations in the 19th century, during the interwar period, and under communism. He discusses anti-Semitism, Polish-Jewish relations in his home city of Wilno (Vilnius – now…

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Audio, Cold War, Glos Ameryki, History, International Broadcasting, Poland, Public Diplomacy, Radio, VOA

September 1987 – Vice President George H.W. Bush discusses Poland, U.S. Polish-Relations, Solidarity, Lech Walesa, Polish Americans

“There’s great affection from the American people for the people of Poland.” – Vice President George H.W. Bush, September 24, 1987   Voice of America correspondent Wayne Corey and VOA Polish Service director Ted Lipien recorded the interview at the White House on September 24, 1987 shortly before Vice President George H.W. Bush left on his trip to Poland.  The…

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Audio, Cold War, Glos Ameryki, History, International Broadcasting, Photo, Poland, Public Diplomacy, Radio

Vice President George H.W. Bush’s September 1987 Visit to Poland – Report in Polish (po polsku)

Vice President George H.W. Bush began a four-day visit to Poland on Saturday, September 26, 1987. His visit facilitated talks between Solidarity and the communist regime and eventual peaceful fall of communism in Poland. I interviewed Vice President Bush at the White House before the trip and accompanied him as Voice of America Polish Service correspondent. I filed this report…

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Cold War, Glos Ameryki, History, International Broadcasting, Photo, Poland, Public Diplomacy

Poland, A Season of Light, and of Darkness

In 1982, the United States International Communication Agency (USICA), earlier and later called the United States Information Agency (USIA), published a booklet “Poland: A Season of Light, and of Darkness,” to complement its “Let Poland Be Poland” television film produced by the agency as a response of the Reagan Administration to the imposition of martial law in Poland by General…

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Cold War, Glos Ameryki, History, International Broadcasting, Photo, Poland, VOA

Reagan and Korbonski on Yalta and Poland

As Poland prepares for next year’s 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Rising, I wanted to share Stefan Korboński‘s 1984 letter to The New York Times, in which the last chief of the Polish wartime underground State repeated President Ronald Reagan’s earlier statement that the United States rejects any interpretation of the Yalta agreement that suggests American consent for the division of…

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Cold War, Digital Journal, History, International Broadcasting, Poland, Public Diplomacy, RFE

Digital Journal Op-Ed: America could learn from rappers’ tribute to Radio Free Europe

Digital Journal Op-Ed: America could learn from rappers’ tribute to Radio Free Europe by Ted Lipien Truckee – Led by Peja of the Polish rap group Slums Attack, Europe’s rappers recorded a multilingual tribute to political and cultural freedom message of the American-funded station Radio Free Europe. Using historical film footage of Radio Free Europe broadcasters, rappers from several European countries…

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