Poles in the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in Korea

Abstract

In the years 1950–1953, the Korean Peninsula was engulfed in a bloody war. Peace negotiations began as early as 1951, but the signing of the Armistice Agreement could not take place until July 27, 1953 in Pan Mun Jom, four months after the death of the USSR leader, Joseph Stalin. The Armistice Agreement closed an extremely tragic stage in Korean history, but also an extremely hot period of tense relations between Western and Eastern block. At the same time, the Korean Peninsula was artificially divided into two countries. Korea emerged from the war ruined. In order to implement the tasks assumed in the Armistice Agreement and to achieve the assumed goals, several bodies were established, incl. Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, composed of representatives of four countries: Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Sweden and Poland. The tasks of the Commission consisted in performing functions related to supervision, observation, inspection and investigations related to the replacement of military personnel, weapons and equipment, as well as in connection with the reported incidents in the demilitarized zone. Poles participate in its activities continuously until today.