ABSTRACT
1. A trip to Poland in early 1989 is a surprisingly depressing experience. Where one had hoped to find an atmosphere of renaissance, of hope and of vitality, one finds instead the admirable, but more sombre qualities of courage in adversity, despairing energy, and wistful utopianism. Perhaps these are in the character of Poles; perhaps in the nature of the problems they face; but I was left with the feeling of a people touched by genuine heroism, faced with an impossible task.
