A Poland to Die For?

Star of Ashes and Diamonds   
Zbigniew Cybulsk

According to a survey in context of a new film about  Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, working as a Cold War spy for the CIA, as many as 41 percent of Poles would not sacrifice anything at all for their country.

19 percent said they would sacrifice their life or health and 17 percent claimed that they would give up all their assets for the good of their country.

The results, which were released on the tenth anniversary of Kuklinski's death indicate unsurprisingly that Poles from small towns and the countryside are slightly more willing to make sacrifices than their compatriots in cities.

About 43 percent of those questioned from cities of 50,000 inhabitants or more said they were not prepared to sacrifice anything for Poland, whereas in villages and small towns, the level was lower at 39 percent.

The debate about Kuklinski's motives has been reignited with new film Jack Strong, which was released in February 2014. President Bronislaw Komorowski declaring he was considering posthumous honors for the colonel. See post on film

CIA veteran David Forden told the Polish Press Agency following the premiere that Kuklinski “was deeply loyal to his country, and at the same time he grasped that this country was not free - that's why he decided to do what he did, knowing he was taking a huge risk.”