Romuald Spasowski F . Romuald Spasowski ( August 20 , 1920 – August 11 , 1995 ) , 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 . Early life . Francis Romuald Spasowski was born in Warsaw , Poland . His father , Władysław , was a university professor and leading intellectual . Although not a member of the Polish Communist party , Władysław Spasowski wrote " The Liberation of Man , " an important Communist theoretical work , and raised Romuald to believe in Marxism long before it was fashionable in Polish intellectual circles . Romuald studied and then taught at the College of Mechanics until Germany invaded Poland in 1939 . The Spasowski family was active in the Polish resistance during World War II . Spasowski and his father were arrested several times by the Gestapo . His father committed suicide in 1941 after being tortured by the Nazis . Spasowski hid in his mother ' s home in Milanówek for a time , where the family harbored several Jewish families . But in 1942 he fled to the Soviet Union . Spasowski served as an officer in the Polish Army division formed in the Soviet Union under Gen . Zygmunt Berling . Intensely loyal to Poland and convinced that Communism held great promise for his homeland , he joined the Polish United Worker ' s Party , the official Communist party in Poland , and entered government service almost immediately after the war . In time , Spasowski served on the Central Auditing Commission , which maintained and audited the party ' s finances . Spasowski was appointed a member of the Polish War Crimes Mission at the Nuremberg trials . Fluent in both English and Spanish , Spasowski served as Poland ' s ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1951 to 1953 and then two years as ambassador to Argentina . Spasowski ' s first tour as Polish ambassador to the United States lasted from 1955 to 1961 . He was the youngest member of the ambassadorial corps at the time . He kept a low profile during the Cold War with the exception his annual appearances at observances marking the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising of 1943 . His and his family ' s commitment to religious tolerance led him to denounce Polish anti - Semitism during these occasions . In a speech in 1958 , Spasowski said , ' I will not say to you here that in Poland anti - Semitism has been eliminated . ' In 1964 , Spasowski represented Poland as a member of the International Commission for Supervision and Control in Vietnam , which was established to mediate peace between Hanoi and Saigon during the Vietnam War . From 1967 till 1971 Spasowski served as Poland ' s ambassador to India . In the mid - 1970s , Spasowski was named Deputy Foreign Minister in the Polish Foreign Ministry . In the mid - 1970s he also served as the Chief of the Polish Military Mission in West Berlin . Second U . S . Ambassadorial Tour and Defection . 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 provided the impetus 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 " . Later years . Spasowski toured the United States throughout the 1980s , denouncing the Communist regime in Poland and playing a leading role in the U . S . Information Agency ' s anti - Communist television program , ' Let Poland Be Poland ' . Spasowski was baptized a Catholic in 1985 . In 1986 , Spasowski published his autobiography , " The Liberation of One " , and eventually became an American citizen . After the overthrow of Communist rule in Poland in 1989 , Spasowski ' s death sentence was revoked . In 1993 , Polish President Lech Wałęsa restored Spasowski ' s Polish citizenship . Spasowski died at his home in Oakton , Virginia , in 1995 . The cause of death was cancer . Spasowski was survived by his wife , Wanda , and a daughter , Maria Grochulska , of Warsaw . His son , Władysław , died in India in 1970 .