Annus horribilis: Eesti ja Poola suhted Teise maailmasõja künnisel ja sõjakeerises. (Estonian)

Relations between Poland and Estonia were exceptionally cordial during the Interbellum. Estonia was one of the few countries in the wider Baltic region that had no political or territorial dispute with Warsaw. Estonia saw the mere existence of an independent and powerful Poland as one of the main cornerstones of Baltic security between two unpredictable great powers -- the Soviet Union and Germany. Intensive political and intelligence cooperation expressed the mutual interests of the two countries, which were further demonstrated by high-level visits: the state visit of Estonia's Head of State Otto August Strandman to Warsaw (9--10 February 1930), a reciprocal state visit of Poland's President Ignacy Mościcki to Tallinn (10--11 August 1930), and a private visit of the Head of State Konstantin Päts to Poland (7 May -- 4 June 1935). Poland considered Estonia to be an honest broker. Therefore, on 17 March 1938, the Polish ultimatum to Lithuania was delivered to Lithuanian authorities through the Polish Envoy to Estonia, Wacław Przesmycki (15 June 1891 in Kyiv -- 11 October 1973 in Stockholm). He had become remark ably active and visible in the local diplomatic community in Tallinn during his tenure (21 January 1935 -- 30 September 1939). To a certain degree, Przesmycki continued the approach of his predecessors, the active and influential Polish diplomats in Tallinn (the envoys Franciszek Charwat and Konrad Libicki, and the intelligence officer Wiktor Tomir Drymmer). Przesmycki was assisted by Defence Attaché Lt. Col. Stanisław Szczekowski, the representative of Poland's military intelligence to their Estonian partners. The first insignificant frictions in Estonia-Poland relations emerged in the autumn of 1938 in connection with Poland's ultimatum to Czechoslovakia and the subsequent annexation of the Těšín (Cieszyn) region by Poland. Polish diplomats in Tallinn reported a certain hesitation and even anti-Polish propaganda among the general public, stirred up by French, British, and Romanian legations in Tallinn. On 20 October 1938, Defence Attaché Stanisław Szczekowski reported to Warsaw that the much-trumpeted friendship between Poles and Estonians seemed to be superficial and could not be relied on. Envoy Przesmycki's opinion was more optimistic -- at the end of 1938, he reported a certain improvement of Poland's reputation in Estonia. In official relations, the emphasis on traditional friendship and common interests continued until the beginning of the Second World War, underlined by the visit of the Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian Armed Forces General Johan Laidoner to Poland on 17--22 April 1939 and several other visits at lower levels. At the same time, Polish diplomats in Tallinn monitored the rise of Nazi Germany's diplomatic activity with growing concern and tried to fight back. The German factor became more important in Poland-Estonia relations in the spring of 1939, as Germany unilaterally denounced the German-Polish declaration of non-aggression on 28 April 1939. On 7 June 1939, the German-Estonian (and German-Latvian) non-aggression pact was signed. In the spring and summer of 1939, Poland aligned with her allies France and the United Kingdom, as Estonia tried to secure her own neutrality like the majority of the countries in the Nordic-Baltic region. Polish diplomatic representatives in Tallinn monitored the visits of high-ranking German officers to their Estonian counterparts in June and July of 1940, and reported a growing distrust between Estonia and Poland. The reduction of the former 'sincerity' in Estonia-Poland relations was also noted by Estonian diplomats in Warsaw in the summer of 1939. Rapid and unwanted changes in Estonia-Poland relations started with the beginning of the Second World War as a result of the Hitler-Stalin pact of 23 August 1939. Estonia declared her neutrality in the war and abstained from taking sides. Nevertheless, Estonia's leadership was shocked by Germany's quick military advance in Poland. The 'Orzeł' incident on 18 September 1939, the escape of the interned Polish submarine from Tallinn, was immediately followed by massive Soviet military pressure combined with a propaganda campaign against Estonia. On 21 September 1939, at the initiative of Latvia's Foreign Minister Vilhelms Munters, Latvia severed its diplomatic relations with Poland. After the Soviet Union invaded Poland on 17 September 1939 and the 'Orzeł' incident, the activities of the Polish Legation in Tallinn had become more complicated. Przesmycki had protested against the internment of the Polish submarine, and Estonia's Foreign Ministry rejected the protest. On 30 September 1939, after becoming aware of Estonia's decision to accept the Soviet ultimatum on 28 September and under the threat of a massive Soviet military takeover of Estonia, Envoy Przesmycki and Defence Attaché Szczekowski, together with the Legation's staff and family members, left Tallinn for Helsinki, informing the Estonian authorities of their temporary departure. At the request of Przesmycki, the British Legation in Tallinn took charge of Polish interests in Estonia on the same day. This was accepted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia. The British representative and later Envoy to Estonia Wilfred H. Gallienne reported to London on 13 July 1940 that fear of a Soviet invasion of Estonia was the real reason for Przesmycki's departure from Estonia in September of 1939. The unpredictable Soviet Union had already threatened to revoke the immunity of the diplomatic staff of the Polish Embassy in Moscow, and some members of the Polish diplomatic staff had gone missing in the Soviet Union. There was no official severing of diplomatic relations between Poland and Estonia, and the British Legation continued to protect Polish interests in Estonia until Estonia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940. Nevertheless, Przesmycki tried to return to Estonia in October of 1939 but was refused by the Estonian Legation in Helsinki according to instructions from Estonia's Foreign Ministry. Przesmycki protested against this but to no avail. From Estonia's perspective, the British Envoy in Tallinn had already started representing Polish interests in Estonia, and there was no indication regarding any change in that British-Polish agreement. Moreover, as Soviet troops and security officers started arriving in Estonia en masse, Estonian authorities were unable to guarantee the personal security of Polish diplomats who could be harmed not only by the Soviets, but also by the Germans. Estonian diplomats abroad had brief contacts with their Polish colleagues in some of the countries where Polish diplomatic representations were able to continue their activities, but official Estonia did not establish relations with the government of Poland in exile, since the diplomatic activities of the latter were monitored and aggressively opposed especially by Nazi Germany. Fortunately, memories of the close relationship between Estonia and Poland persevered in Soviet-occupied Estonia and Soviet-controlled Poland during the Cold War. The lessons learned from Estonia-Poland relations between two world wars clearly show that sooner or later, a mere friendship without a military alliance would be harmed or even destroyed by mightier adversaries. The contemporary real military alliance between Poland and Estonia in NATO will help us to avoid the next annus horribilis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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