Courage and
reconciliation
The Kreisau Circle
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What kind of attitude did the Kreisau Circle have towards Poland?
The position of Helmuth James von Moltke was of great importance concerning the attitude of the Kreisau Circle towards Poland. In 1928, immediately after finishing his law degree, Moltke intended to learn Polish. He attached importance to Poland as a neighbouring country of Germany. During the war, he emphasized the necessity of reparations to Poland after the war. Among others, he was supported by Theodor Haubach (Social Democratic Party) and Paulus van Husen (Centre Party), who also have been dealing with Poland related topics many years before.
Haubach (1931): “the German-French and German-Polish understanding are the stable and durable foundation of future Europe.”
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How was the Kreisau Circle perceived in Poland after 1945?
Until the early 1970s, only the communist resistance was regarded as a real and worthy resistance in Poland. The attempt on Hitler’s life on 20 July 1944 was described as an attempt initiated by some members of the Nazi leadership to save their influence. The Kreisau Circle was practically unknown. Until the 1970s, the Cold War and the difficult political relations with the Federal Republic of Germany hindered dealing with the German resistance. The de-escalation, which was connected with the new eastern policy and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland, made it possible to pay more attention, nevertheless the German resistance remained a marginal topic. Karol Jonca, a legal historian of the University of Wrocław, was the only one who specifically wrote about the Kreisau Circle from the middle of the 1970s until the middle of the 1990s. Since 1989, there is an unlimited number of possibilities to gain information about the Kreisau Circle. One of which is frequently organized events by the Kreisau foundation.
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What did the Kreisau Circle say about reconciliation?
In the documents of the Kreisau Circle the word “reconciliation” is not mentioned. But the members of the group dealt with trials for war criminals and reparations for "persons whose rights were being infringed". For Helmuth James von Moltke thought there was a possibility that Silesia would be annexed by Poland (or Czechoslovakia) and in his opinion that had to be accepted. He was also the one who asked the following question about the possibly biggest challenge for post-war Europe in his letter addressed to Linonel Curtis: “How can we restore the faith in humanity in the hearts of our fellow citizens?” This question is related to the difficulty of reconciliation in post-war Europe. The fact that Moltke described this problem as the greatest challenge reflects the importance of the topic from the perspective of the Kreisau Circle.
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