IN A (NOT COMPLETELY) DISTORTING MIRROR. POLAND VIEWED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE AUTHORITIES AND OF THE POPULATION OF THE SOVIET UNION ON THE EVE OF AND DURING THE SOVIET AGGRESSION AGAINST POLAND IN SEPTEMBER 1939

This article intends to answer two fundamental questions: 1) What kind of image of Poland was created by the authorities of the Soviet Union on the eve of and during the Soviet aggression against Poland on 17 September 1939? 2) Did Soviet society accept this image uncritically, or was it capable of creating its own image of Poland independently? This study is based on an analysis that the Soviet authorities created a false image of Poland as a fascist country which had been defeated by Germany not as a result of its military advantage but as a result of its incorrect policy towards ethnic minorities. The image of Poland was generally accepted by the society of the Soviet Union which was subject to a monopolistic propaganda of the state. Only a small minority of society rejected the image promoted by the authorities - as untrue and a justification for Moscow's imperial policy.