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Polish government-in-exile

The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (Polish: Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic, which brought to an end the Second Polish Republic.

Government of the
Republic of Poland in exile
Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
na uchodźstwie
 (Polish)

Warsaw (de jure)
Capital in Exile
Paris
(1939–1940)
Angers
(1940)
London
(1940–1990)

30 September 1939

30 July 1941

19 October 1972

31 December 1991

Despite the occupation of Poland by hostile powers, the government-in-exile exerted considerable influence in Poland during World War II through the structures of the Polish Underground State and its military arm, the Armia Krajowa (Home Army) resistance. Abroad, under the authority of the government-in-exile, Polish military units that had escaped the occupation fought under their own commanders as part of Allied forces in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.


After the war, as the Polish territory came under the control of the communist Polish People's Republic, the government-in-exile remained in existence albeit without effective power. It lost recognition of the majority of states upon formation of the Provisional Government of National Unity on 5 July 1945 though continued to be hosted and informally supported by the United Kingdom, while the last country to withdraw its diplomatic recognition on 19 October 1972 was the Holy See (the Vatican City). However, only after the end of communist rule in Poland did the government-in-exile formally pass its responsibilities and insignia onto the government of the Third Polish Republic at a special ceremony held on 22 December 1990 at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, while the liquidation of its apparatus was declared accomplished on 31 December 1991.


The government-in-exile was based in France during 1939 and 1940, first in Paris and then in Angers. From 1940, following the Fall of France, the government moved to London, and remained in the United Kingdom until its dissolution in 1990.

History

Establishment

On 17 September 1939, the President of the Polish Republic, Ignacy Mościcki, who was then in the small town of Kuty (now Ukraine)[1] near the southern Polish border, issued a proclamation about his plan to transfer power and appointing Władysław Raczkiewicz, the Marshal of the Senate, as his successor.[2][3] This was done in accordance with Article 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, adopted in April 1935.[4][5] Article 24 provided as follows:

(Związek Walki Zbrojnej, ZWZ)

Association of Armed Struggle

(Armia Krajowa)

Home Army

(Szare Szeregi)

Grey Ranks

Polish resistance movement in World War II

Polish Armed Forces in the West

Polish Armed Forces in the East

special envoy of the government

Tadeusz Chciuk-Celt

Ignacy Schwarzbart

Szmul Zygielbojm

Finance Minister and Minister in the Middle East for the Sikorski government; Ambassador to London for Mikolajczyk

Henryk Leon Strasburger

alternative President of the Republic of Poland (1972–1990)

Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki

(Polish: Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego; PKWN), 1944–1945

Polish Committee of National Liberation

""

Western betrayal

Engel, David (2014). In the Shadow of Auschwitz: The Polish Government-in-exile and the Jews, 1939–1942. UNC Press Books.  9781469619576.

ISBN

Cienciala, Anna M. "The Foreign Policy of the Polish Government-in-Exile, 1939–1945: Political and Military Realities versus Polish Psychological Reality" in: John S. Micgiel and Piotr S. Wandycz eds., Reflections on Polish Foreign Policy, New York: 2005.

online

Davies, Norman. God's Playground: A History of Poland, Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present (2005)

Kochanski, Halik. The Eagle Unbowed: Poland and the Poles in the Second World War (2012)

excerpt and text search

Statement of the Polish government in exile following the death of General Sikorski (1943)

Publications on the Polish government (in exile) 1939–1990

Stamp Issues by the Polish government in exile

Polish Chancellery website: Prime Ministers IInd Republic of Poland in exile

Polish World War II website on the Polish government in exile