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Document No. 91: Report on Conversation between Marshal Kulikov and Senior East German Military Officials, June 13, 1981
- Central European University Press
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Document No. 91: Report on Conversation between Marshal Kulikov and Senior East German Military Officials, June 13, 1981 ——————————————————————————————————————————— In this colorful account of a conversation between Soviet Marshal Viktor Kulikov and East German generals in Dresden, Kulikov reveals a great deal about both Soviet military strategy and thinking toward Poland, and quite a bit about his own personal views as well. His reference to a Soviet operational group working at the base at Legnica is significant because by the following month there is evidence that it had been withdrawn, which indicates the timing of the Kremlin’s decision to give up on a military solution, at least for the foreseeable future. On the personal side, Kulikov sprinkles his remarks with disparaging comments about Poland. He tells his audience how happy he is to see the orderly landscape of the GDR after the chaos in Poland, and alludes to the “Polish disease” of Catholicism and to the “misery” of Polish nationalism and argumentativeness. ____________________ […] At the beginning of his remarks, Marshal of the Soviet Union [Viktor] Kulikov explained why this meeting was taking place in the guest house of the 1st guard tank army in Dresden. There are two reasons for it: 1. Since all his activities are being tracked by the Polish comrades, he wanted to avoid having this meeting with representatives of the National People’s Army of the GDR and of the Czechoslovak People’s Army become public. 2. He intentionally drove by car from Legnica to Dresden to break free from the Polish atmosphere and to see once again properly cultivated agricultural areas as well as cities and villages that make the heart jump. Marshal of the Soviet Union Kulikov stressed that he was holding this conversation on behalf of CPSU CC Politburo member and Minister of Defense of the USSR Cde. Marshal of the Soviet Union [Dmitrii] Ustinov. The goal of the meeting consists in giving information about the 11th plenum of the CC of the Polish United Workers’ Party and in presenting recommendations on how to continue work regarding the Polish Army. […] Marshal Kulikov currently assesses the state of the Polish Army as follows: He himself has had many meetings and encounters with the leading cadres of the Polish Army and is in permanent contact with Minister [Wojciech] Jaruzelski and all his deputies. The higher commanders of the Polish Army know the situation in the country and are worried that the party and state leadership are not pointing the way out of this complicated situation. 446 […] The Polish Army’s comrade-in-arms relationship with the Northern Group of the Soviet Army can be called normal. However, there are preliminary indications of deficient supplies of products to the Northern Group, to which the Polish government is committed. Too little meat, eggs, and other products have been provided to the Northern Group in the last few days, so that the Soviet Union, among other things, is forced to provide supplies to all pilots of the Northern Group directly from the Soviet Union. Lately, trends toward anti-Soviet behavior have emerged. Discussions such as the following arise: – what are the Soviet troops doing on Polish territory, – it is time for their redeployment to the Soviet Union, and other utterances. Furthermore, memorials to the Soviet Army are being defiled. […] Addressing the situation in its entirety, Cde. Kulikov voiced [the following]: To sum up, Poland is on the brink of a catastrophe. Attacks against the police are on the increase so that the army remains the only organized force. Cdes. [Stanisław] Kania and Jaruzelski have not met their repeated promises to alter the conditions. This concerned both the registration of “Rural Solidarity” and the incidents in Bydgoszcz. In a personal conversation, Marshal of the Soviet Union Kulikov pointed out to Cde. Jaruzelski that it would certainly be appropriate to discharge Deputy Prime Minister [Mieczysław] Rakowski from his position. Cde. Jaruzelski answered that he agreed completely with Cde. Kulikov. Under normal conditions, Cde. Rakowski would have to be discharged from his function as deputy prime minister. But since he is a very skillful negotiator and often has very good ideas, it would not be appropriate to discharge him. A general disease of the Poles is Catholicism. Ninety percent of all Poles declare themselves openly Catholic and, certainly, more than half of the remaining 10 percent are Catholics who just do not avow it openly. The funeral service following Cardinal [Stefan] Wyszyński’s death...