Evening star., 1953-08-30

satellite.
Objective View
Now an American citizen
and associate professor in
international relations, he
writes from the objective
point of view possible to q
person who has lived in a
country and yet not become
involved" in 1t. His family
had lived in Plonsk, his BIRTH
place. for 500 years. yet be-
cause they were Jewish and
ethnic and racial differences
are sharply observed. they
were not considered strictly
Polish by local standards.
Plonsk illustrates Poland's
historic plight in miniature.
When Mr.. Sharp was 6 years
= old, the Germans took 1t over.
Three years later it changed
hands again and he became a
subject of the Czar.
Worsow Newspopermon
For a Thousand years Po-
land, which because Of its
geography, has beer caught
between the upper and neither
millstones of Eastern and
Western pressure. Said a
Polish Army officer, in 1898:
with the Germans, we risk
the loss Of our liberty, with
Russia we face the loss Of our
souls"
That is not q wide range
Of choice as you see," says
Prof. Sharp. A Warsaw news
paperman, he fed Poland in
1899, two weeks before the
outbreak of war. After service
with the Polish government in
exile in France he made his
way to this country, arriving
on Easter Sunday of 1941.
With his knowledge Of IL
languages, he went to work
for the United Press, listening
to foreign broadcasts. In 1943
he joined the American Army
and with OSS saw service here
and abroad. All but one mem
ber Of his family was wiped
out by the Nazis. The remain
ing relative was killed by the
Russians.
After the war, stung by the
British critics remarks about
Polish histories, he resolved to
write one of his own which
would overcome the standard
objections. Travelling under a
grant from the Harvard Rus
sian research program, he Wis
tied Poland in 1948.
Let Down by West
Then he saw a newer and
tougher attitude on the part
OF the Poles, who have now
become much more interested
in mere survival than hereto
fore. Once again they felt
let down by the WestA as they
have been in the past by many
leaders from Napoleon to
Woodrow Wilson. Although
the West has been periodically
aroused to sympathy for Pol
ish problems, the help ex-
tended has never been suffi-
cient to satisfy Polish national
aspirations.
"The trouble is," says the
professor, a large and equable
man in his mid-fortieS, that
if you fight the Germans, Rus
Sia acquires great Importance
as an ally. If you want to
fight Russia you look upon
Germany as a possible ally.
Thus it becomes very difficult
to think about the Poles"
Mr.. Sharp believes there is
a tragic element" running
through Poland's fate and
says sympathetically, "Geog-
raphy is nobody's mistake"
A Futile Gesture
But" he goes on dispas-
sionately, "it is not necessary
to hasten a catastrophe. The
Poles have maintained a 10th
century mentality and it
doesn't go well in the goth
century. It is a psychological
problem, they remained land
owners when they no longer
had the land. The illustra-
tion is that the Polish cavalry
rode on horseback against the
Nazi tanks. A gallant but fu-
tile gesture"
AS regards Americas rela-
tions with Poland today, he
feels the important thing is ito
achieve some measure of har-
mony between what one says
and what one can do. The
most dangerous thing is to
make promises to which one
cannot live up."
Prof. Sharp, who lives in
Takoma Park with his Ger
man wife and their three little
American children, realizes he
is breaking the code" by writ
ing critically Of Poland. But
he hopes that his book may
serve some larger purpose than
the usual visit of coincidence"
type.
Tuft Biography
William s. White. Capitol