ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 launches Nowak’s in-depth analysis of the part played by Britain in the Western policy on Poland during the “Polish crisis” of 1919–1920, and in particular by its key figure, Prime Minister David Lloyd George. In contrast to France and its chief political representatives, Lloyd George imagined talks with the Bolsheviks on “trade relations” would be the best policy to follow, particularly from the point of view of British interests, and that trade would secure peace and “gradually civilize the Bolshevik barbarians.” This notion and the political objectives Lloyd George tried to achieve on its basis form the backdrop to Nowak’s account of Britain’s diplomatic relations with the Polish state and the radically different aims pursued by Piłsudski, though both he and Lloyd George were ready to adjust the peace treaty newly signed at Versailles to accomplish their respective plans for peace in Europe.
