The article explores war as a perplexing social phenomenon, one that often appears more enticing to mankind than peace despite the numerous advantages attributed to the latter, as exemplified in the writings of Hesiod. The origins of war remain somewhat enigmatic, but evidence of its existence can be traced back to Paleo-lithic settlements and ancient texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh. After the abandonment of divine laws, we find ourselves in a world see-mingly devoid of rules, witnessing a growing state of anarchy in in-ternational relations, a trend that has intensified since the early 21st century, culminating in Putin’s 2022 attack on Ukraine. Some phi-losophers, such as Umberto Eco, argue that humanity has entered a new era akin to the “Middle Ages” characterized by the resur-gence of private violence and the proliferation of religious and civil wars. Former ceasefires have given way to “cold wars” which, re-grettably, still have the propensity to escalate into “hot wars” as seen in the full-scale war in Ukraine. Furthermore, the current interna-tional landscape is overshadowed by the specter of nuclear deter-rence, where a precarious balance of fear prevails. Additionally, assumptions about the brevity of contemporary wars and the immi-nent return of refugees, which were advocated until very recently, now face reconsideration.

The content of the article is a historical analysis of the presence, understanding and validity of the Iron Curtain metaphor in the field of social sciences. After 1989, it might seem that the fall of the Iron Curtain had lost its relevance and the metaphor had become dead. It’s recall by Władimir Załęski in connection with the war in Ukraine prompted a re-analysis of the sense, meaning and emotions associated with it. The question of how this commonly known metaphor influenced (and influences) our understanding of reality and to what extent it constitutes a reliable analytical category is subject to reflection.

This article is an attempt to assess the role of arts- and-culture journalism and literature published in Jerzy Giedryc's Kultura as a vehicle of the political programmes espoused by the authors who could be regarded as the magazine's inner circle. An analysis of 637 issues of the monthly, generally known as Paryska Kultura, as it was published from 1947 until 2000 by the Instytut Literacki in Paris, shows that c. 65% of its East and/versus West themed content deals with history and culture, i.e. 1174 items of this kind feature Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus, and 663 items focus on Germany.

This article re-examines the material collected by the RFE Audience Research Department between 1958 and 1961 among Polish refugees and temporary visitors from Poland in the West. The aim of this analysis is to gain fresh insight into the attitudes and opinions about the Polish Section of the Radio Free Europe expressed by its listeners