Poles see U.S. as their greatest ally, followed by Germany, study shows

12 comments

1. # Poles consider the U.S. to be their country’s greatest ally, followed – perhaps more surprisingly – by Germany, according to a survey conducted at the end of July.

   While the majority of respondents (47.5%) indicated the U.S., 7.8% nominated Germany, with 6.7% naming Britain, according to the study by the SW Research agency for the Rzeczpospolita daily.

   Given a troubled history, and the massive destruction that the Nazis unleashed on Poland in World War II, it is possibly Germany coming second in the survey that will raise the most eyebrows.

   The pro-EU Polish government, which came to power late last year, has been seeking to improve relations with Berlin. The two countries held intergovernmental consultations in early June for the first time since 2018.

   After the meeting, Donald Tusk, the Polish centrist prime minister, said that bilateral relations were on the right track after years marked by disputes over historical wrongs and EU policy under Poland’s previous nationalist-populist government.

   The two countries’ leaders are broadly aligned on approaches to security and defense, and they are also on the same page with regard to policy over EU enlargement.

   # Alignment with the West

   Poland became a member of NATO in 1999 and then the European Union in 2004.

   Poland is also a part of the Weimar Triangle, a format in which it cooperates with Germany and France.

   Poland looks to the US as the main guarantor of its security, and some 10,000 American soldiers are stationed in the country.

   Four out of 10 women (39%) and almost six in 10 men (57%) regard the U.S. as Poland’s closest ally, according to the survey. Almost a quarter (24.8%) of respondents said they had no opinion on the matter.

   Source: Rzeczpospolita

   [SIDE NOTE: Dear TVP, how do you misspell your own country’s source? You guys are lucky that Poland has far more pressing matters. Otherwise I imagine Gremi/Rzeczpospolita would be making a stink about it.]

2. Hell has frozen over it seems

3. Not just because of WW2, but because German attitude towards Russia has long been naive. Only the US took Poland’s security concerns serious. Besides, it is good to ally strongly with the most powerful military in the world that respects your sovereignty. Germany for a long time didn’t have the military capacity to do much.

4. …*Why*?

5. Oh cool!

6. I know israel in the middle east is controversial, but look how the US has protected them from Iran

7. Frankly Germany being number 2 at approximately 7% isnt that great

8. it’s odd Germany is higher than UK

9. This is going to be the biggest barrier to any future European integration. The policies and decisions of France and Germany in the 2008-2022 period will come back to haunt the EU again and again. 2008 was the year that the US propose to allow Ukraine into NATO but [Germany and France said no](https://www.euractiv.com/section/security/news/old-and-new-europe-divided-at-nato-summit/). Also in 2008, when the US wanted to put a missile defense system in Poland, [France opposed](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2008/11/14/sarkozy-questions-us-missile-shield-plan/). After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, France also continued to [supply Russia with arms](https://disclose.ngo/en/article/war-in-ukraine-how-france-delivered-weapons-to-russia-until-2020) that it would later use to invade Ukraine again in 2022. There was, of course, [NordStream 2 that was approved after the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine and shootdown of MH17](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/07/what-have-nord-stream-2-and-gas-got-to-do-with-ukraine-standoff) despite US warnings and became an absolute [disaster for Europe](https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/gas-pipeline-nord-stream-2-links-germany-russia-splits-europe). There was also the [intelligence failure regarding the 2022 Russian invasion](https://www.france24.com/en/france/20220331-french-military-spy-chief-quits-after-failure-to-predict-russian-invasion). I can go on and on but I think the point is made. It’s no wonder that Poland and Eastern European countries view the US more favorably than any other European countries.

10. Pole: I never thought I would die by side by side with a German  

    German: How about side by side with a friend?  

    Pole: Aye, I can do that

11. the Poles once thought the Britains were their biggest ally, too

    … lets hope history does not repeat !

12. 7% of Poles see Germany as their second closest ally….. maybe if Goebbels was the statistician.