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The London Victory Parade of 1946 was a British victory parade held after the defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II. It took place in the United Kingdom capital of London, on June 8, 1946, mainly encompassing a military parade through the city.
Lack of Polish participation
Parade is also notable for claims that all Polish servicemen were excluded from taking part by the British government, and some consider this as one of the causes of the feeling of "Western Betrayal" in Poland, one Polish unit was actually invited but chose not to attend. The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8 June 1946 in London, England lists Poland as a nation scheduled to take part by parading its flag with an honour guard and lists the Polish airforce as one of the foreign airforces scheduled to parade. On 6 July 1945 the British government officially recognised the Soviet installed Provisional Government of National Unity and withdrew recognition from the London-based Polish government in exile. Therefore the 1946 invitations to the victory parade were sent to the Soviet installed Provisional Government of National Unity and not to Polish government in exile. This invitation to send representatives was accepted but no representatives actually arrived. The Times newspaper reported at the time “The Polish Government accepted, but the contingent has not yet arrived.” Some authors claim that the Polish government was ordered by the Soviet leadership to not send representatives.
Although Poland was the fourth largest European ally during World War II, in 1946 Polish forces were split between the Polish Armed Forces in the West and Polish Armed Forces in the East, which took part in Moscow Victory Parade of 1945. After public and media outcry that no units from the Polish Armed Forces in the West had been invited to the London parade, invitations were extended to representatives of Polish airmen who had taken part in the Battle of Britain to march in uniform . But as The Times noted in June 1946 “Unfortunately, it seems that none of the Polish servicemen who fought in the West under British command will take part. Polish airmen who took part in the Battle of Britain were invited, but they do not wish to march unless Polish soldiers and sailors of the Western Command can march with them." It should be noted that, with the exception of the honour guard for each nation’s flag and the bands of certain nations, no units of any army or navy from any non-Commonwealth/Empire nation were invited to take part.
See also
References
- ^ Lynne Olson, Stanley Cloud, A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II , Knopf, 2003, ISBN 0375411976, Excerpt (prologue).
- Kwan Yuk Pan, Polish veterans to take pride of place in victory parade, Financial Times, July 5 2005. Last accessed on 31 March 2006.
- ^ The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8th June 1946 in London, England Part 1
- ^ The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8th June 1946 in London, England Part 2
- Davies, Norman, 1982 and several reprints. God's Playground. 2 vols. New York: Columbia Univ. Press. ISBN 0-231-05353-3 and ISBN 0-231-05351-7
- Written answer from British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to question regarding Polish participation in Victory Parade 4 June 1946. Hansard
- Peter D. Stachura, The Poles in Britain, 1940-2000: from betrayal to assimilation, Routledge, 2004, ISBN-10: 0714684449
- Statement to Parliament by British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 5 June 1946. Hansard
- Dr Mark Ostrowski To Return To Poland Or Not To Return - The Dilemma Facing The Polish Armed Forces At The End Of The Second World War.University of London (1996)ASIN: B001ONE4L8 Chapter 1
- Rudolf Falkowski, The Victory Parade. Last accessed on 30 September 2009.
- Władysław Anders, “An Army in Exile” MacMillan & Co., London 1949. page 299
- Edward Lucas Okiem Brytyjczyka - Szokująca wizja Wprost
- Edward Lucas English translation of Wprost article
- Dr Mark Ostrowski Op.Cit Chapter 1