On December 13, 1981 the government of the "People's Republic" of Poland declared martial law in an attempt to quell the growing opposition to communist rule. Pro-democracy movements were banned and their leaders, including Lech Walesa, were incarcerated. The action drew the sharp rebuke from leaders around the world including Margaret Thatcher.
Reacting to reports that the Communist government was employing "church watchers" to take down the names of those who were attending religious services for later persecution; the Pope, himself a Pole, used the influence of the church throughout the crisis to quietly sustain the work of Walesa's Solidarity movement in his absence but fearing that injecting the Vatican in the situation would only worsen matters, was careful about what he said in public
Meanwhile, across an ocean, another man was being deeply affected by the Catholic faith and worsening conditions in his homeland. Francis Romuald Spasowski was, by all accounts, a good and faithful Communist. His father, a university professor and leading intellectual, had taught his son the "virtues" of Marxism from birth. He served his government following World War II, believing that Communism held great promise for his fellow countrymen. Fluent in English and Spanish, he was appointed the Polish Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Argentina in the early 1950s before being sent to the United States to represent his country in 1955. He was recalled in the 1960s and sent on a number of other diplomatic missions on behalf of the Polish government.
In 1978, Spasowski returned to the United States, again as Poland's ambassador. Spasowski's wife, a practicing Roman Catholic, joined him during his assignment. For years, the ambassador's wife's religious beliefs had been slowly undermining his inclinations toward Communism. The day that a fellow Pole was elevated to the papacy was one of great joy for all Poles, especially Roman Catholics like Mrs. Spasowski. However, this appointment was of grave concern for the Communist government, itself at odds with religious institutions, particularly the Vatican.
On October 16, 1978, a special mass was held at Saint Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C. to celebrate Karol Cardinal Wojtyła's elevation to the papacy. As Polish Ambassador to the United States, Romuald Spasowski and his wife were invited to attend, and they did - taking a place of honor in the first pew. This began Spasowski's contentious relationship with Poland's government.
In September of 1981, Spasowski's daughter and son-in-law, supporters of Walesa's Solidarity movement were forced to flee from Poland. Arriving in the United States they sought, and were granted, asylum. The next month, the Polish Foreign Ministry ordered the ambassador home, but he protested and was granted an extension pending review.
The imposition of Martial Law proved to be Spasowski's breaking point. On December 19, 1981, he contacted the United States' State Department and informed them of his intention to defect. The very next day, flanked by FBI agents and under the protection of the United States Goverment, the ambassador made clear his intentions to the world. The Polish government's response was swift and decisive; they confiscated his family's property, branded him a traitor and sentenced him to death.
President Ronald Reagan found himself in what we might consider a tough spot. He was disgusted by what the government was doing in Poland and certain that the Kremlin was behind it, but as with all things during the Cold War, he knew that appearances must be considered. Siding forcefully with Solidarity would be seen as an act of aggression toward the Polish government and Soviet Union. But Reagan saw the issue as a simple case of good vs. evil. Embracing the ambassador and siding with Solidarity, to the President, was simply the right thing to do. Undeterred by the message he would send, Reagan invited the defector and his wife to meet with him in the Oval Office.
Accounts of the meeting vary, some say Vice President George Bush was in attendance, others that Nancy was present, Reagan remembered it differently in his book, "An American Life," stating that he met with them alone. During that reportedly emotional meeting, Ambassador Spasowski told the President that the Polish people had taken to lighting candles and placing them in their windows to show that even in the face of oppression, the light of liberty still burns strong in their hearts. The Ambassador then made the unusual request that the President light a single candle on Christmas Eve and place it in a window at the White House as a sign of solidarity with the Polish people.
The next day, Reagan took to the airwaves with what was to be his Christmas address to the nation. Following his meeting with the Ambassador, he changed the speech entirely - devoting a full half of it to the worsening situation in Poland. He closed by telling the American people of the Ambassador's request, and asking that they join him in honoring it. In his words...
Let the light of millions of candles in American homes give notice that the light of freedom is not going to be extinguished. We are blessed with a freedom and abundance denied to so many. Let those candles remind us that these blessings bring with them a solid obligation, an obligation to the God who guides us, an obligation to the heritage of liberty and dignity handed down to us by our forefathers and an obligation to the children of the world, whose future will be shaped by the way we live our lives today.
Christmas means so much because of one special child. But Christmas also reminds us that all children are special, that they are gifts from God, gifts beyond price that mean more than any presents money can buy. In their love and laughter, in our hopes for their future lies the true meaning of Christmas.
The response to Reagan's call to action was immediate and forceful. The Soviets and Polish government condemned him immediately, but others found their voice. Perhaps most notably, Pope John Paul II closed his Christmas Eve address by stating in Polish that he was sending an embrace, "to all of Poland, our common homeland," including "those here in the square who represent Solidarity and all those listening on the radio."
That Christmas Eve, millions of candles found their way into windows around the world, but perhaps the two that burned brightest were the one on the second floor of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the one facing St. Peter's Square from a window in the Pope's private study.
EPILOGUE
Spasowski later converted to Catholicism under the spiritual direction of (who else?) the Jesuits. Read this beautiful homily dedicated to the Ambassador delivered by Rev. William Watson, S.J. during Gonzaga's Mass of the Holy Spirit in 1999.
Read about the event in Reagan's own words thanks to Google Books.
Before TIME magazine sold its editorial board to the Democrat party they were a reputable news magazine. Check out their reporting on the issue.
A transcript of Reagan's 1981 Christmas Speech to the nation courtesy of the Reagan Library at the University of Texas.
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