Originally posted by bikekil
On Gen,
You'd like to sound like a well educated in Polish history, so let me quote you
"Do not fool yourself with the ONLY Polish government sitting on their high stools in London and "electing" an idiot for the Prime Minister in exile."
Was it or was it not an only Polish goverment at the time? You can call Sikorki a fool, your choice, for me it's a hero who said what should be said, but i don't have to force you to feel the same. If i were him, i would declere a War and call Stalin an idiot.... but earlier then he did 
...
"Your government (before it fled abroad) and the Commander-in-Chief ( before Sikorski) were wise enough not to declare the war on the Soviet Union even when the armed border conflict between the Red Army and Polish border guards was in progress."
First of all, unfortunatelly for you i know pretty much about that attack because my grandpa fought with the Soviets there and i have to assure you - he was not in a border guard. It was a no less and no more then a war. Saying it was a kind of a border conflict is a sign of a great arrogance, great ignorance or... i won't insult you... or just a lack of knowledge 
but still, my first question is waiting for an answer - do you think that after Soviets attack our lands on 17.IX.1939 we had to declare the war with them? In my opinion Soviets already declared the was by attacking our lands without declering a war... soulnd cowardly to me if you ask me... but hey... they were sneaky snealy huh? 
Ever heard of Ribbentrop - Molotow pact? Still saying it was a border conflict after which Soviets were supposed to het half of our lands? Isn't it too much for a border conflict? Now that's foolish
To answer the rest of it. If you read my earlier posts you would see me admitin the crimes on the Sovied POW's capturen in Poland. So you would finally find one Pole who admits it and saying "i'm sorry" about it
But hey, you are so well educated - you know better
Let me tell you how it is. There is a big issue about Polish - Ukrainian crimes. It's a probably topic for another thread but let me assure you. In Polish TV you will find a lot of documentary movies about the Polish crimes on Ukraine. I'm not a TV maniac but seen at least 10 during the last year. DOn't be fooled, Ukrainians executed and murdered a lot of Poles there too, but the point is - i would be more then happy if in Ukraine people could see that much about their crimes in that conflict (hard to call it other then that) as we in Poland see about ours in our TV. That's the great thiung IMO and i hope to see more of it, so i was not so arrogant dick who knonws only about the crimes done by his neighbours and not by his own people.
Other than that, i believe we can live in peace and friendship with Ukraine as it apeared lately... and which was as it apeared a salt in Russian eye, don't you think?
As for Pilsudski, a lot of people in Poland call him a hero. I say it's pretty risky, but i also think he did a lot of good for Poland. It's hard to make people think and talk about his crimes on the Soviet POW's as the best know part of Polish- Bolshevick war here is a "Miracle over Vistula" where Red Army was stopped and pushed back. That's why we call him a hero... but you are right, we should also speak about his crimes and i hope we will, no matter what your take on Katyn is
OK, Bik,
#) I thought it's obvious from my appreciation of the wise decision of Polish government (real GOVERNMENT of Poland on Polish territories before 17.IX.1939)) and the direct order of the Polish Commander-in-Chief (before Sikorski) :
NOT TO DECLARE WAR ON THE SOVIET UNION,
but limit the armed conflict between the USSR and Poland to the BORDER CONFLICT using only the Polish border guard troops - that's what I also would have done if I were trained in the art of diplomacy.
Your brave grandfather who fought (in the Polish Army, I guess ?) against the Soviet Red Army did it in violation of the direct order of the Polish Commander-in-Chief.
#) There were NO POLISH GOVERNMENT after 17.IX.1939 because Romania agreed to accept the presence on her territory of only private Polish citizens but NOT THE POLISH GOVERNMENT (!), and the members of the Polish government agreed to their status of private Polish citizens. Later on the members of the FORMER POLISH GOVERNMENT assembled in London and PROCLAIMED THEMSELVES ' POLISH GOVERNMENT IN EXILE' (a diplomatic term denoting the status of the former government which is still claiming to be a legitimate governing body). So, there were NO POLISH GOVERNMENT but there was the POLISH GOVERNMENT IN EXILE.
#) To the so-called "Ribbentrop - Molotov pact" there were made in September and October of 1939 important changes by Hitler and Stalin, so
that instead of "half of our [Polish] lands" (as you said) the Soviet Union received only the internationally accepted ('Lord Curson line') territories of Western Belorussia and Western Ukraine (Belorussia and Ukraine were the constituent republics of the USSR).
Now you can address your claims to the newly independent republics of Belorussia and Ukraine.
#) My congratulations, you are the first Polak that I know who admits Polish crimes against Soviet POWs.
#) About heroic Pilsudski.
One of my colleagues, a Polak, called Pilsudski
"Polish Hitler".
#) About Ukrainian crimes against Polish people.
Because the Ukrainians were treated as slaves by the Poles for several centuries, it's no wonder that the slave revolts were far from the duel between gentlemen. Still, the final atrocities in this fight were commited by the Polish side ('Operation Visla' in 1947).
