Romuald Spasowski is a man burdened by the monumental issues of our times. Known to Americans because he defected from his post as Polish ambassador to the United States days after martial law was declared in Poland, he is in fact a mirror into which many thoughtful people will want to gaze deeply. His autobiography affords everyone the opportunity to relive and sense the drama, the frustration and the harsh reality of political life in socialist Eastern Europe.
This is accomplished between the covers of a book that captures with detail and complexity the choices and imperfections of real people`s lives in real situations. ”The Liberation of One” avoids the simplifications and gesturing so common among those who set out to write books of political meaning which will endure. The story as it unfolds is absorbing. Spasowski is the son of a writer and philosopher and, whether by blood line or by cultivation, the style of this book is as engrossing as any spy novel or classic–though it will require more dedication to read. It has an Eastern European flavor that provides every detail and weaves innumerable nuances together into the fabric of a theme.
The crescendo event in Spasowski`s life is his defecting and embracing Catholicism. He provides a sensitive, personal account of this period, which at the outset seems a bit conventional. ”Book One” flashes back to his youth and events leading to and through World War II in Poland (1920-45). The graceful prose and vivid images set off remarkable autobiographical detail. Perhaps the fine detail is a result of the young Spasowski`s having been raised by a writer and thrust into long, seminal conversations and experiences with his father.
Day-to-day life for Spasowski was an intellectual experience. Readers of Polish heritage and those with some historical perspective will find the pages even richer than will the casual reader, but everyone will be confronted by the complexities of nationalism, ideology and religion in Eastern Europe–past and present.
He describes with great delicacy of feeling the relationships and frailties of his father, his friends, his wife, children and relatives. He penetratingly explores his own principles, character and worth throughout, resulting in a story of realism rather than of romantic heroes. Indeed, most characters in the book remain in their dilemmas throughout their lives, insecurely choosing paths that twist and often fail them. Spasowski adeptly shows how human rationality invites ideological deception, whether by Nazis, Bolsheviks, monarchists, capitalists or what Spasowski might call ”pure Communists.”
He illuminates the adamant, obsessively confident world view which so often surfaces in Soviet rhetoric today. As Spasowski`s life unfolds, the parts cease to fit the plan; principles are cracked, later broken. In ”Book Two” he shares with remarkable candor his meteoric rise to positions in post- War Poland. At times pure, narrow-gauged zealousness accounts for his success, but this purity of principles–a contrast to those around him –becomes both an asset and a liability as he discovers the naivete that has resulted from his strident commitment and idealism.
Spasowski is not a funny man. Far from it, but real life is funny and the book is peppered with amusing moments. Among them the picture of a Polish military delegation, just after the war, visiting an American base and being served corn flakes. The Polish officer ordered his men to eat. Moments after they finished, the waiters brought the pitchers of milk.
Or young Spasowski`s greatest espionage ”achievement”: He was charged with clandestinely identifying the location of all British troop deployments in a particular sector of postwar Germany. He faced utter failure. In the course of scolding one of his subordinates over a matter of laundry, the bedeviled subordinate pulled from his drawer the routing of the British laundry service in that sector to excuse the error. Behold, every stop indicated with great precision the location and size of all British troop detachments.
Spasowski was 35 when he was sent to the United States as ambassador in the 1950s. His six-year experience evidently was positive and, we later find, quite profound. His career in the Polish foreign service has many twists both in Warsaw and abroad. He presents images of Castro, Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, Dobrynin, Gromyko, Gierek and many more figures who have affected our lives. The web of intrigue–both of bureaucratic politics and foreign espionage
–entrapped victims around Spasowski; he was often traumatized, angered and finally alienated.
”Book Three: The Ideal Abandoned” describes with intricacy and feeling the process that ultimately broke down his confidence about the course of Polish development, the integrity of the leadership, and–most crucially–his ability to make a contribution. He catalogs intraembassy intrigue, absolutely hapless decision-making at the highest levels in Warsaw, and what can only be called crude confusion over the course of economic development for the Polish state. Readers will learn a great deal about political confusion–planned or otherwise. Corruption, privilege and intolerance come into focus, but more significantly Spasowski finds himself feeling guilty by association. This becomes one of his most captivating qualities.
There are important messages here about American-Polish-Soviet relations and valuable insight into genuine efforts of Eastern Europeans to understand us. Above all, the frictions between the party and the government, at the very essence of political power in socialist states of Eastern Europe, are laid out in illustration after illustration. It is important to remember that these are the insights of one central figure in Polish foreign affairs. It is a view in sharp focus and its texture is persuasively real. But it is not history in the scientific sense. It omits pieces of the complex puzzle and should not form the basis for any absolute or final ”truth.”
Those seeking a moving, intimate portrait of a man both idealist and survivor will certainly be rewarded. And those who would delve into this book for a rare, even exclusive, look at the inner workings of a communist political system in its infancy and adolescence will be treated to a very special insight as well. For many, this volume may rank among the most memorable pieces of nonfiction to appear this decade.
Although the epilogue is unfortunate and out of phase with the otherwise subtle and delicate writing, overall this is an engaging story of a fascinating life. Spasowski`s father had written a treatise titled ”The Liberation of Man.” The aging son has now written ”The Liberation of One.” Both impressive in their place and time, there is something tragic in the lowered sights.
