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.