Art versus politics: Polish-Dutch international cultural relationships at the outset of the Cold War (1947–50)

Abstract

This study explores the international cultural relationship between the Netherlands and the Republic of Poland during a period of growing political tensions between the Western world and the Eastern Bloc. Seemingly, both countries did not have any significant cultural ties during this period. However, various archival documents indicate that such ties existed, providing new insights into the history, scale and nature of bilateral artistic and cultural relations between the countries that developed during the early Cold War reality of a divided world–in some cases in spite of political tensions, but frequently also for their sake of political rivalry.