“We Provide the Assistance to Fighting Vietnam in All Possible Forms, in Size that We Can Afford” : support of the Polish People’s Republic for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam During the Vietnam War

The support provided to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam by China and the USSR during the Vietnam War is a relatively known and well-researched subject. However, the same cannot be said about the aid supplied by smaller communist states, obligated to it by both the ideological brotherhood and the Kremlin's expectations. This article focuses on the support provided by the Polish People's Republic. Poland delivered material aid and admitted Vietnamese students at its civil and military universities like other countries from the Eastern Bloc. In addition, Poland was also a member of the International Commission for Supervision and Control in Vietnam, and Poles used this unique position several times to try to broker peace negotiations between North Vietnam and the United States. Warsaw's actions, however, were far from altruistic. Polish leadership feared an uncontrolled escalation of the conflict, and the protracted war was a burden both for the domestic economy and for important relations with the United States.