Although still a politically fragile state, from the mid-1950s onward, the Polish People’s Republic participated in one of the defining events at the center of world politics—the end of European imperialism in Southeast Asia, which led to, among other things, the creation of postcolonial Vietnam. This talk will illuminate the robust and multifaceted yet often overlooked Polish-North Vietnamese connections, encompassing cultural encounters, the continued presence of North Vietnamese students in state socialist Poland, diplomatic and infrastructural support, and humanitarian assistance. Specifically, I will highlight the efforts of Polish and Vietnamese experts in constructing a hospital in Vinh, a frontier city in the province of Nghệ An in north-central Vietnam. The construction of the hospital faced numerous challenges, including a scarcity of materials, aerial warfare, and U.S. bombing, which led to delays in the hospital’s completion. As a result, it took decades for the process of designing, adapting and rebuilding the hospital to be completed.
This case study of the hospital in Vinh offers a unique perspective on the evolving nature of the Polish-Vietnamese relations during and after the decolonization process, highlighting the intricate dynamics between wartime activities and social practices of socialist modernization. Envisioning the material conditions of modern life in a postcolonial Vietnam, the Polish and Vietnamese experts and bureaucrats sought to improve human welfare. The plans for the hospital capture the shifting understandings of the socialist vision of the "good life," which went beyond industrialization, land reform, and mass upward mobility, but became entangled in postcolonial state-building in the face of war.
This talk will also delve into the intricacies of archival research in Vietnam, offering insights into the challenges and methodologies employed in accessing and interpreting historical records from Vietnam.
