Wizyta generała Wojciecha Jaruzelskiego w Watykanie w 1987 roku
General Wojciech Jaruzelski’s visit to Vatican in 1987

Summary/Abstract: This article takes with the issue of General Wojciech Jaruzelski’s visit to the Vatican, which took place at the beginning of 1987. It is a part of the results of the author’s research on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and the Holy See in 1989. The issue of normalization of relations between Warsaw and the Holy See in the 1980s, had not yet been taken up in the scientific discourse. The source basis are materials found by the author as a result of a query in the Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw and the Archive of New Files in Warsaw. Additionally, notes from interviews and meetings published by priest Alojzy Orszulik used. Moreover, audiovisual materials in the form of the Polish Film Chronicle (PKF) were used. The aim of the article is to present the preparations for the visit of General Jaruzelski to the Vatican, to reconstruct the atmosphere and relations between the state and the Catholic Church as well as Poland and the Holy See at that time and, finally, to present the course and the result of this visit. The article presents various views and summaries from both sides: Polish People’s Republic and the Holy See. At the end, the answer to the question is why General Wojciech Jaruzelski’s visit to the Vatican has become a breakthrough.

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