An UNRRA volunteer feeding small Polish or Czech boy. Hundreds of thousands of women and children were abducted into Germany to serve as slave labour during the years of WW2. The UNRRA, together with Red Cross, was trying to find out their origin and wehereabout of their families.
Professor Lange who knew the malnutrition and despair from his home town Tomashov of Mazovia, robbed by the Imperial German Army as he was young lad, obtained massive humanitarian and recovery aid for them. The distinguished citizen of Poland and US was burried in the Communal Military Cemetery (or Powązki Military Cemetery) in Warsaw in 1965 but…
(Polski: Grób Oskara Langego, Date 23 July 2008, Source Own work. Author GrzegorzPetka Public Domain + YouTube video America in Color The 1940s)
As a result of historical policy or the policy of remembrance of the governing Law and Justice party such historical figures like Professor Lange were condemned as alleged oppressors and traitors. Three weeks ago a new memory law was proposed by a prominent member of the ruling political camp, under which the resting in peace of Professor Lange should be prohibited and his remnants, together with the remnants of all other Polish Communist leaders, exhumed to make place for a grandiose monument of the anti-communist partisans as well as common terrorists called officially the cursed soldiers.
To get right to the point... Oscar Richard Lange was the son of a Polish
To get right to the point... Oscar Richard Lange was the son of a Polish factory owner of German origin. He was sick with tuberculosis from the age of 9. In 1914, his parents sent him to a sanatorium in Switzerland, where medicine doctors managed to stop the progress of this incurable disease. It was clear that he would not live to old age, and nobody was hiding it from him. Despite this, he did not break down, did not fall into any addictions and tried to use his enormous abilities in the field of mental work for the benefit of his homeland, Poland and the entire civilised world. He turned out to be a brilliant economist who contributed to the victory of the anti-Nazi coalition. He also developed the theory of market socialism, which still remains the cornerstone of neo-Marxianeconomic theory.
He wasn’t a political fanatic but a pragmatist
Attached (since he was 14 years old!) to the patriotic Polish left he thought about Poland all the time, also when he lived for many years in the Western countries. He has been for some years professor of economics at the University of Chicago and since the year 1943 has been a citizen of the United States, which he relinquished to serve Poland as Ambassador at the US Federal Government. Due to his ardent patriotism Oscar Lange resigned his post at the American university and returned to Poland to acquaint himself with the real conditions in his native land and also to become familiar with the new leftist government and its wishes. Earlier, he made an informal diplomatic trip to the USSR, where he met with Stalin to obtain assurances from him that Poland would return to the world map as a strong and nationally independent state.
On July 5, 1945, the Provisional Government of National Unity in Warsaw was recognized by United States but it lasted till December before the Polish Embassy in Washington was reopened
The “Evening Star” daily in Washington reported in its Sunday issue:
(Embassy of Poland at 2640 16th Street, NW in Washington, D.C.
Date 19 August 2008, 13:21:45. Source; originally posted to Flickr as Embassy of Poland, Author Josh Carolina, CC B-Y 2.0)
“The handsome Polish Embassy on upper Sixteenth street will be opened again early this week, when the newly appointed Ambassador, Dr, Oskar Lange, Mrs. Lange and their small son, Christopher, take up their residence there. There has been much interest in the new Ambassador, who arrived from Poland early last week and is having a brief vacation before assuming his new role.”
(Katharine M. Brooks, In Diplomatic Circle. Polish Envoy Arrives Here, Sunday Star, 9 XII 1945, p. 7 = B-3)
Oscar Lange accepted the post of Ambassador in the USA because of a desperate need to provide a huge international aid for his native country — Poland was unable to avoid famine if unsupported by Great Powers
Lange was already famous in US as a gifted amateur diplomat who surprisingly solved the dividing the Allies problem of international recognition of Polish Government.
In Poland death, desolation, malnutrition and disease have become the common experience of the whole nation. Railways — lifelines of supplies for everyday life during the 1940s, and public utilities like electric power plants as well as water stations have been largely smashed. Many bridges were wrecked by retreating German soldiers who also took away many thousands of horses — another basic mean of transportation in this part of Europe, used still on a large scale also in agriculture, was temporarily lost.
Horses whose stock was restored in the post-war period, served Polish individual husbandmen (small private landowners), together with tumbrels, for another more than 25 years.
(YouTube video: Communist Poland Documentary)
Only some richest Western countries were able to deliver food and medical supplies to millions of men, women and children who for more than five years have been suffering from malnutrition and ravaging diseases. The effort to protect their health and life itself through maintaning and increasing the UNRRA relief deliveries was now the main goal of their Ambassador in Washington.
Summer 1945. Left: The interior of an American bullet train car. Right: Poles at the destroyed railway station. Waiting for hours, even days, for the next train, made up almost entirely of freight wagons left behind by German railroad workers.
.
(Screenshots
from feature films: Leave Her To Heaven, Prawo pięści — The Law
of the Fist)
To put it briefly: the United Nations Agency for Relief and Reconstruction (UNRRA) was largely the result of a shift in sentiment in American society — first anger, then sorrow
In the summer of 1943, the Allied forces landed in southern Italy. Fulfilling the order of the King, Field Marshal Badoglio signed an armistice. Most unfortunately the failure to supply the basic needs of life in Southern Italy by Allied Military Government, divided into many local branches and lead separately by British and American military personnel became obvious for everybody. The sight of despairing Italian women in the newsreel frames, who asked in vain for bread for their children made a shocking impression on the American public. The anger at fascist Italy disappeared under this impression.
At the request of the demon of work, being a compassionate people’s leader at the same time, President Roosevelt, an international conference was convened to plan relief for world’s needy in the liberated areas. As put in words by US Senator Herbert Lehmann, the first Director General of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration: “We failed once, we dare not fail again.”
The principle of helping people to help themselves was adopted but, on the other hand, medical supplies and equipment, together with food, were of first importance
Food including for sugar and chocolate, to limit the extension of epidemic diseases and illnesses resulting from dirt, hunger and multiplied by malnutrition. The next goal of the heroic efforts of thousands and thousands of volunteers was to restore the agriculture in Europe. There was desperate need also for seed for planting since seed reserves were used for providing food during the last and worst months of the war. Europe was indeed still able to produce the most of its food supplies.
Along with Oskar Lange, several other Polish diplomats came to Washington, including Stefan Litauer from the city of Lodge (Lodz, Łódź)
He was the new charges d'affaires (secretary and chief of staff) who worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw already in the interwar period. The same Washington newspaper wrote about him:
“He was chief of the London bureau for the Polish News Agency for 15 years, until he disagreed with the Polish government in London, when he resigned that post. He then became a member of the staff of the London News Chronicle, and needless to say he speaks flawless English. He was connected with the News Chronicle for sometime, until the establishment of the present government, when he accepted the post at the Embassy at Washington. He is a widower, in the prime of life and his only son Casimir is in the Polish consular service, after serving with the Polish Army.”
At that time, many people connected with the government in exile and even with the sanation regime worked in diplomacy, administration, as well as in the army and security forces of the new Poland — the country was on the brink of ruin and in desperate need for skilled workers
So it was to start all over again, because a lot of things and buildings had become destroyed and unusable. The few engineers, officers of the army and the police as well as civil servants. teachers and interpreters who were found and enlisted after the liberation from the Nazi thugs were barely able to cope with their work.
The authorities of “nationally owned” Poland initially resorted to men who could successfully disguise themselves as simple workers, to former prisoners of war who were usually protected by the German Wehrmacht throughout the war, and — especially since July 1945 — to those who had lived in safe foreign countries during the entire reign of terror, which is still world-famous today. Another great contribution made by Oskar Lange to the reconstruction of Poland was that his example encouraged many thousands of compatriots living in the West — and they were usually excellent specialists in at least one field — to return home.
Taking advantage of his excellent knowledge about the US political circles and using his personal influence in Washington Ambassador Lange was able to strenghten the feeling of sympathy and compassion for his home country. There was one great acclaim throughout United States: Poor poor heroic Poland! Let’s help the wonderful nation!
Only one example. On May 3, 1946, a special debate took place in the House of Representatives on the fight against the threat of a humanitarian catastrophe in the country. There were sentences like these, loudly pronounced, to hear: “The heroes of Poland are entitled to as much credit as are their British allies for holding the thin and wavering line of freedom and Christianity. Proportionally, they have done as much as any other nation or element on the firing line. They were alwas on the one side - the right side - never on both sides”
(CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - HOUSE, 1946, p. 4446)
Already during first months of the Lange's embassy activities the UNRRA supplies became much larger than in 1945. Poland received enormous quantities of food, medical and sanitary supplies, machines and other goods under Western humanitarian and development aid till September 1946.
Only through March Poland had received over 13,000 trucks and 3,200 trailers, also 28 locomotives and 600 railroad cars to facilitate the transportation. The railroad repair carriages were sent to help the Polish railways personnel to regain the full net of train tracks. Whole trainloads of American engineering and industrial equipment came to Silesia. The US Army huge wartime railroad repair base was send from England, together with a group of technical advisors.
It’s matter of fact that Poland was among the recipient nations which had been especially hard hit by starvation, dislocation, and political disturbances. On the other hand, however, no other country, except for Italy, had so clever and skillful advocates of their cause in the front the governments’ teams as well as passionate general benefactors, including young idealistic volunteers, also clergy, as Poland had. As a result the largest recipients of UNRRA commodity aid, in millions of US dollars were China, $518; Poland – $478 and Italy – $418. We should be also aware of enormous quantities of goods and commodities which were bought, gifted and delivered for the immense during the 1940s sum of money of circa half a billion American dollars.
After almost unbelievable amount of awful crimes and greviances the western neighbour country of Poland influenced once again the fate of Polish people on a positive way
The American reconstruction aid was preferable also because there was no huge language barrier between many American and most Polish technicians; both sides had German language skills. This double role of Germany in the history of Poland can be, by the way, considered as a general rule for the difficult ways of Polish-German relations.
The great technical support of Polish reconstruction was accompanied by equally generous medical supplies
During the same month the men and women of UNRRA provided the Polish people with $13,000,000 worth of medicaments and sanitary facilities as well as 21 field hospitals. The relief and recovery shipments to New Poland became fully practicable after the ports of Gdansk and Gdynia were reopened as a result of some months of extremely hard work of Polish workmen and engineers. The railroad connection from the Baltic Sea coast to the big industrial city of Lodge (the textile industry) and to Upper Silesia (heavy industry, hard coal mining) was re-established on a similar way. Another, earlier accessible route was Rotterdam – Rhine – Bavaria – Bohemia – Upper Silesia – Lodge.
Lodge (Lodz. Łódź) played the role of the interim capital city after Warsaw was almost completely destroyed by the Third Reich's troops
The almost untouched by the war city became also an important UNRRA goods transportation hub from where, for example, the agricultural tractors, assembled by the People of Lodge, were send to the farms in many parts of Poland, using an also almost untouched net of overland roads. The city was (and remained up today) located almost exactly in the middle of Republic of Poland.
June 1945. The forefront of the long line of Farmall tractors that left Lodz to several Polish provinces. Each tractor driver was also an instructor of the Polish Recovery Corps. This unique city preserved large technical staff, which during the occupation was saved from the Gestapo by the resistance movement, strongly supported by many Polish Germans, faithful to the country in which they were born.
(A sscreenshot from the YouTube video: Polska Kronika Filmowa 23-1945 Przybycie do Łodzi transportu darów UNRRA)
There is a highly interesting story behind the agricultural tractors which were delivered to Poland from United States. They were state of art Farmall brand, M model.
McCormick-Deering Farmall tractors were manufactured by International Harvester Company, based in Chicago and consequently probably with participation of Polish industrial workers. In the year 1939 engineers of the company designed a new line of farmers tractors with more powerful power unit, greater speed and smooth, up to date appearances. Many other improvements were introduced by the Americans, making the small but handsome tractors leading with speed and fuel economy for the small, medium-sized and a bit larger farms.
Easy control of this new agricultural workhorse was an entirely new and better experience for Polish repairmen and tractor drivers who made desperate attempts to make operational the steel-wheeled tractors abandoned by German farmers who fled in panic westwards
All tractors gifted by the UNNRA were rubber-wheeled. The big steering wheel which turns with amazing ease, also the great versatility of the whole vehicle and refined, comparatively silent engine should be emphasized. Only Massey Ferguson Model 35 was able to outmatch this nice and safe vehicle in Northern American market circa 1950.
The Farmalls were able, as general-purpose tractors, substitute horses after massive losses among draught animals in Poland during last months of WW2
When we say about horses... Every of these smooth small tractors had enough power to do the work of six to eight horses in the fields or in the field of grain and straw transportation.
(A screenshot from the YouTube video: FARMALL M H 1930s Sales video)
The UNRRA tractors were in use with the State-Owned Machinery Centres, where some socialist enthusiastic youths learnt how to operate them to save their country. They had already assisted peasants during the first post-war harvest in July 1945. There was above all, a pragmatic approach behind such a solution, although some years later these Centres were additionally used to establish the state and cooperative large-scale agricultural operations throughout the Polish countryside.
The Farmall M was designed to make possible to replace a farm owner by his teenage son at field work if necessary. Almost everything was miniaturised at it and the tractor's handling was simplified to make possible replacement of conscripted adult farmers by older boys.
(YouTube video: Farmall M, channel: Roger Miller)
The farmers in US were allowed to purchase Farmalls only using the lottery system during WW2 because most of the American industry output was going on the war. It should be also mentioned that agricultural machinery was still rationed there in the year 1946. If an American farmer did managed to buy a Farmall model it was a big day for his whole family because everybody knew how much hard work can be spared for them because of the great power and reliability of the new, versatile and multirole iron horse. It was perfectly natural, useful and healthy that also Polish youngsters were amazed by him. In both cases farming was in their blood.
Obtaining light-weight American agricultural tractors and mastering the techniques used in them were of strategic importance because UNRRA did not supplied meat or fłour
United States itself fought against acute meat shortages. The situation was somehow better with pork and this sort of meat was delivered with canned meals by UNRRA but in rather limited quantities. In June, 1946 the Economic Stabilizer Chester Bowles considered the meat rationing throughout the country. In Poland, the battle for tractors was won — thanks to the engineers who worked in England and then helped build the Ursus Mechanical Works.
Both UNRRA and the Lange's diplomatic team were doing a splendid work but Polish Ambassador worked to hard and his health deteriorated even more
“Polish feast fοοd, which the chefs ‘worked over three days and nights without sleeping’, was so wonderful that it disappeared before all of the more than 500 guests could taste it. Even the Polish Ambassador's wife, Mme. Lange, was left out. She later visited the kitchen. A great day was being celebrated yesterday at the Embassy. It was the 200th anniversary of the birth of the illustrious Polish hero, Tadeusz Kosciuszko. It was also the first party that the new Polish Ambassador, Dr. Oskar Lange, and his attractive wife have given since the envoy presented his credentials to President Truman in December. Nothing was left undone to make the affair a memorable one.”
(Ann Cline, Feast Food Exhausted. Hundreds Throng Embassy To Honor Noted Polish Hero, Evening Star, Feb. 13, 1946, p. 20, B-3)
He left nothing undone, was present everywhere where he could present arguments or deliver very emotional speech about his country’s needs for aid and reflief. Since early age his hearth was fulfiiled with compassion for the weak, for the exploited, helpless and starving people and with ardent patriotism. As a result his tuberculosis made another progress. It forced him to use a stick for every walking but he don’t cared much about that.
He acted like a soldier who don’t afraid wounds or even death in fight for his motherland’s survival
He
knew that generous humanitarian and reconstruction aid from United
States, Canada and Britain is crucial for Poland’s existence and
strong position in international affairs in future. He was able to
foresee that this window of priceless opportunity to
acquire, among other things, unique in Eastern Europe technical
skills and experience
will
close soon for his
compatriots.
So he was in hurry.
In the summer of 1946 he was seriously ill once again. Stefan Litauer and another clerk of the Polish embassy had to replace him during the second international UNRRA conference in September, 1946. In this conference the decision to cease most of aid deliveries to Europe and increase them for Asia was made.
Oskar Lange won one of the biggest victories in the history of Polish diplomacy
If you coonsider it In more general terms there were, of course, many factors which produced a common belief that Poles were victims and heroes of World War II during his lifetime. For example there was no such a political concept like Holocaust in the year 1946. The Zionist movement was still engaged in the fight for the Hebrew State against Arabs and Great Britain. There were many terror attacks in the British mandate territory in Palestine and to assert the Jews were only the victims of crimes was quite impossible.
Regarding the international background, the deadly outbreak of violence against the Jews on July 4th, 1946 in one of the big cities in Poland wasn't received and condemned as particularly shocking in United States or in United Nations. The Polish State judged and condemned to death nine men accused of the killing. The Polish antisemitism narrative was still absent in international affairs. Mainly because of the common knowledge about great role which the Polish dogfight aces played in the victorious for the Allies outcome of the Battle of England, the right-wing as well as the left-wing American politicians focused on positive aspects of Polish history.
But as the old saying goes, 'All that glitters is not gold'
During the first years after the Second World War only United States, Canada, Argentina and — in a rather limited extent — also the British Commonwealth, the Soviet Union as well had reserves of food, medical supplies and machinery at their disposal. By delivering aid to the nations in need the great powers mentioned (except for Argentina, blamed with collaboration with Axis powers) gained huge capital of sympathy and admiration throughout the world.
Especially United States and Soviet Union took advantage of this capital to develop some notions of political philosophy; we are the good guys, we are the chosen men ad women who withholds the ideology of fascism where the whole apocalypse begun. The world can, however, ill afford two katechons at the same time.
“The United States has more than 68 per cent of the world's registered vehicles, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Other American countries account for 5,12 per cent; Europe for 20,9 per cent.” The Free-Lance Star, June 3, 1946, p. 2. Additionally, almost all the motorcars being in use in roads and streets of US in that time were home made, except for few luxury cars from Britain and Germany. This Buick Century, Model 1942, was frequently used by high ranking government an diplomatic corps members, probably also by Oscar Lange as Polish Ambassador.
(photo source: flickr.com, 2017, slightly dimmed)
During the years 1944-47 many strenous efforts were made to build the American economic and technological development zone on worldwide scale. The UNRRA deliveries (the United States was the leading donor) was a good way to encourage many nations to become the part of such a zone. The strong man of Soviet Union Joseph Stalin considered thoroughly advantages and disadvantages of such a solution, but finally made the decision to build own socialist States zone, based on Soviet, German and Bohemian technologies. According to famous Russian economist Mikhail Khazin the failure of United States Government efforts in this field trigerred the Cold War.
The buildings of an American research and development institute, a screenshot from YouTube video: The Crimson Ghost 1946 Full Movie Colorized
A concept where Anglo-Saxon nations alone would make plans for the post-war future of the world was hardly to be judged as an expression of the determination of United Nations to lay down the foundation of the post-war life cooperatively and internationally. As a result, the cold war was about to outbreak. Unfortunately for Poland, receiving UNRRA aid and Soviet fuel, vehicles and grain supplies at the same time.
There is no such thing as unselfish development aid. The rules of international affairs big game are hard. Therefore Poland was lucky country that had some statesmen like Professor Lange who were able face reality and try to keep up with the times.
The
good deeds remain often unrewarded
The German-American press reproduced one of the first voices condemning Lange as an alleged careerist and traitor:
“In The New York Sun, the well-known journalist George E. Sokolsky advocates tightening the laws of naturalization. To justify his demand, he cites the example of the Polish ambassador Oskar Lange who gave up his American citizenship when Poland became a vassal state of Russia, and offered him the post of ambassador in Washington.
‘There are thousands of Oskar Langes here in the country,’ says Sokolsky, ‘to whom naturalization means nothing more than a safe haven and a protective pass. For them naturalization is not an emotional but a practical matter. Stricter procedures should be introduced to protect the country from those who doesn’t love any country, and therefore neither do America.”
Ein „Bürger zweier Welten", Ohio Waisenfreund, 22 VI 1946, p. 5
Who was an author of this strong moral condemnation of the seriously sick and despite of that workaholic in saving his motherland Polish envoy at US Federal Government?
George Ephraim Sokolsky was born in 1893 in New York state. His father was a Russian-born rabbi. His career as an international journalist and, most probably, also an American secret service agent begun in the year 1917 in Russia. Since 1918 he begun his multi-role activities in China. According to English language Wikipedia: “He acted as an informant and propagandist for sundry conflicting Asian and Western clients, including Cen Chunxuan. He became ‘China's official intermediary between foreign bankers and Chinese ministries.’”
Another eloquent opponent of Lange, trying to tear to shreds Lange’s reputation, a former member of the colonels group under the Sanation regime - Ignacy Matuszewski was an arrant liar, falsifying also the 20th century history. A small example of his spreading false national proud arguments journalistic essays that he wrote as emigre in US:
“Are there too few arrogants in England and America, ready to lecture us in such magazines as the New York Post P.M. [Post Meridium - afternoon edition], Time or Life, that Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Finns, Bulgarians, Yugoslavs etc. etc. should submit without resistance to the benefit of Stalin's rule? Are they not those arrogant chickens who groped at home when General Sosnkowski first smashed German armored divisions near Lemberg [Leopolis, now Lviv] - are they not yelling on the radio today that the Supreme Commander of the Polish Army is pro-Nazi?”
(Ignacy Matuszewski, English language Wikipedia, References, Ref. number 4.)
Colonels Matuszewski and Rajchman, who oppressed the Polish nation with rogue taxes, did not forget to take the gold bullion of the Polish treasury to Canada, and then told fairy tales, persuading the doomed to lose in advance one and then another uprising. Years after their death, their remains were brought to the motherland and buried in the same cemetery where Oskar Lange should rest in peace. Currently, Prime Minister Morawiecki lined up that there are "scoundrels" in this cemetery. The head of the Polish government has no doubts that "they were scoundrels themselves, or they were the ones who served scoundrels".
(Trwa walka o ekshumację komunistów z Wojskowych Powązek, onet.pl, 1 IV 2021.
The picture from Wikimedia Commons: Groby pułkownika Ignacego Matuszewskiego i majora Henryka Floyar-Rajchmana na Cmentarzu Wojskowym na Powązkach
Data 11 grudnia 2016, 14:21:18
Źródło Praca własna
Autor Mateusz Opasiński)
Unfortunately, not one Polish general vanquished so much as a single German armoured division during Poland's 1939 defensive war. Additionally, the afore-mentioned General did not coordinate the defence of Lemberg/Leopolis, it was one of many Polish Army and Air Force officers of German origin, Ladislau Langner. The colonel’s essays were full of such errors and distortions, and the nations he mentioned… Were not able or obliged to wage not only a war on two fronts, but also a civil war at the same time. This would only lead them to the eventual loss of both independence and the most important basics of life. Polish non-communist opponents of the Sanation regarded this line of thinking in political terms as a form of national suicide in the name of poetic struggle. Thankfully after the year 1944, the Polish nation proved to be wise enough not to take the words of dead poets too seriously anymore.
Man
who gave up his life for the motherland
For three more years, Professor Lange represented Poland in Washington and New York (simultaneously as an ambassador and delegate to the United Nations). He looked at international affairs and the situation in the country according to principles of polical realism. He tried to inform the American public opinion about the first great achievements of the People's Republic of Poland. As a result of Stalin's erroneous policy of boycotting the United Nations his diplomacy days were numbered. He has found that people are sometimes not only ungrateful but also cruel.
His wife Irena, nee Oderlander, a woman who liked to dress up ... He gave his life and health for the country where he was born. She was a citizen of the world and decided to enjoy life. She decided that it was better to stay in a rich country than work for a country that started almost from scratch. She made this decision for herself and their school-aged son. Oskar Lange realized that 18 years of his life, his marriage is about to be wretched. By making a terrible sacrifice, he remained faithful to his fight for a better tomorrow for his homeland and left for Warsaw.
The poor boy did not understand in the name of what false and cruel gods bad people separated him from the wise and good father. He literally howled in despair! He remained faithful to him. After 1956, he met with him many times in Warsaw and London. Christopher Lange became a journalist in Detroit. He followed in his father's footsteps and put his talent to good use. He wrote and published five books about his father, about his merits for America, for Poland, and for the whole world.
Professor Dr. Lange was neither a traitor nor a careerist. As it was possible to demonstrate, he played a crucial role in providing his home country with humanitarian and development aid of strategic importance.
He paid for it with another stage of loss of health as well as a deprivement of personal happiness. Nevertheless, he did not turn back on the path he had chosen — to help his countrymen at home. After return to Poland, this time permanently, he made a serious contribution, inter alia, to the reconstruction of higher education system. The period of the worst crimes and distortions related to Stalinism began, which Oskar Lange did not approve of but on the contrary, as a young man he heavily criticized Stalin's rule. When he went to Moscow in April 1944, in an attempt to keep Vilnius and Lemberg (Lviv) within the borders of the motherland, he risked his life. Fortunately, Stalin decided that it was not worth being unforgiving towards this man.
Since the year 1949 he had to grin and bear it and work for such a Poland as was possible and permitted in the international situation of that time. At the same time, he was developing an economic reform plan
Oskar Lange was not only one of the most ardent but also the most effective Polish patriots as well as an outstanding, world-renowned scientist. The destruction of the general benefactor's tomb would be a disgrace to the Polish State and a crime that cries out to heaven for vengeance. It is imperative to launch a nationwide and international campaign to defend common sense and a minimum of human decency. Also the right to freedom of expression on 20th century figures and events, an exchange of views on social and economic issues as well. It’s necessray to stop the hate campaign and the revolving only around the notions of neoliberalism. Strong and wise shall be free!
