page_title: Romuald Spasowski
section_title: Second U.S. Ambassadorial Tour and Defection
hierarchical_section_title: Romuald Spasowski / Second U.S. Ambassadorial Tour and Defection
caption_attribution_description: Ronald Reagan walks in the rain with Romuald Spasowski and his wife in December 1981 shortly after his defection
context_page_description: F. Romuald Spasowski, once an ardent Communist and Poland's ambassador to the United States, is best known for having defected at the height of the Solidarity crisis in 1981.
context_section_description: Spasowski returned to the United States for a second tour as ambassador in 1978.
  Spasowski's wife had been a practicing Catholic for many years. The former Wanda Alina Sikorska was a cousin of Poland's former prime minister, Gen. Władysław Sikorski. Wanda Spasowska's influence and religious views helped undermine her husband's belief in Communism. For years, Spasowski's faith in the Polish Communist regime had been wavering, but the ascension of a Pole to the papacy in 1978 provided the impetus for a clear break. The day Karol Cardinal Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II, Spasowski attended a special Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C., taking a place of honor in the first pew. It marked the beginning of an increasingly contentious relationship with the Polish Foreign Ministry.
  The formation of Solidarity in September 1980 deeply moved Spasowski. He is said to have privately voiced support for Solidarity's leader, Lech Wałęsa, and the labor movement's goals. Spasowski's daughter and son-in-law, supporters of Solidarity, fled to the United States early in 1981 and received asylum.
  In October 1981, the Polish government ordered Spasowski home. He protested, and the recall order was rescinded.
  On December 13, 1981, Polish government leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski started a crack-down on Solidarity, declaring martial law.
  On the afternoon of December 19, 1981, Spasowski telephoned the U.S. State Department to announce that he was defecting and requesting asylum. The next day he told a worldwide radio audience that he had defected to show support for Solidarity and Lech Wałęsa. "The cruel night of darkness and silence was spread over my country," he said.
  The Polish government confiscated his family's property, branded him a traitor and condemned him to death in absentia.
caption: Ronald Reagan visited with the Spasowskis shortly after they defected
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