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484 Document No. 70: Letter from Helmut Kohl to george H.W. Bush June 28, 1989 In their telephone conversation on June 23 (see previous document), Bush mentioned his upcoming trip to Poland and Hungary, and asked Kohl for his suggestions and personal views on what the West should be doing to help the transition to democracy . Kohl responded that he would send a letter laying out his views, and Bush assured him it would be treated in strict confidence. That communication, which appears here, includes a briefing that compares the “painful” history of German–Polish relations to the “exemplary” relations between Germany and Hungary, and details the backstage negotiations between Germans and Poles over a “package” that is being put together to resolve ongoing controversies before Kohl travels to Poland for his own “breakthrough” trip. Ironically, Kohl’s visit would put him in Warsaw on the day the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, and his attention to Poland would be supplanted by the demands of dealing with East Germany and ultimately unification (see Document No. 100). Here, Kohl highlights for Bush the “paramount Polish interest ” in “economic-financial cooperation,” while reinforcing Bush’s own cautious and parsimonious approach by warning that the grim Polish economic situation is the result of earlier “careless policies on national debt” and “failed attempts by the West to provide aid.” Kohl explicitly rejects the analogy of the Marshall Plan (a version of which Poles like Lech Wałęsa would continue to ask for) in favor of treating the Poles the way Western financial institutions handle developing countries, with a donor conference making all decisions about aid. Dear george, As we agreed during our telephone conversation at the end of last week, I would like to inform you about the main points of my policy and my concrete plans regarding Poland and Hungary. The german–Polish relationship is stamped with a long, painful history, which has left a heavy political toll on the relationship between the states and deep emotional wounds in the consciousness of the people that have not yet healed. This history painfully returns to our consciousness in connection with the 50th anniversary of the start of World War II, which began with the attack on Poland and the creation of the Hitler–Stalin pact that shortly beforehand divided Poland for the fourth time. Precisely because of this I would like to make a political and psychological breakthrough this year in our relations with Poland and open new ways for understanding between the states and for reconciliation between our peoples. Poland and Hungary make up the leading group of the Warsaw Pact countries that have undertaken radical reforms in the political, economic, and social spheres and thereby paved the way toward more political pluralism, increased Melyakova book.indb 484 2010.04.12. 16:20 485 attention to human rights, more private initiative, and the step-by-step introduction of market economics. The West should use its best powers to support these processes—and I know we are of the same opinion on this—not least because successful reforms in Poland and Hungary promise to have a positive effect on the Soviet Union as well as on the gDR, and herein lies our particular german interest. I would like to reinforce both the new beginning in our bilateral relations and our support for the Polish reform process through an official visit to the People’s Republic of Poland this year. Of course, before then a multitude of open questions must be resolved and a “comprehensive package” has to be proposed, as I discussed with Prime Minister Rakowski earlier this year. We have appointed delegates to negotiate this package (from our side it is Horst Teltschik). The delegates have met seven times since late January and have already to a large extent brought their positions closer together, but their talks have to continue. We have agreed from the beginning that until we have a conclusive “comprehensive package ,” the date for my visit will not be set. The comprehensive package consists of a number of difficult questions. To some extent, the federal government under my leadership and that of my predecessors has been striving to find solutions to these problems for decades. Among other things, this concerns the following issues: – A number of agreements, such as a youth exchange, the formation of cultural institutions, collaboration in scientific-technological work, collaboration in environmental work, protection and promotion of investments; – humanitarian and historical issues: care for the...

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