Polish Consulate General in London Konsulat Generalny Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Londynie (A.42)

Identifier
irn42082
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2010.286
  • RG-59.041
Dates
1 Jan 1919 - 31 Dec 1946
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Polish
  • English
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

2,779 digital images, JPEG

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie (Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile) was established after Germany and the Soviet Union occupied Poland in September 1939. The Polish government-in-exile was first based in Paris, but moved to London after the French army surrendered to the Germans in the mid-1940s. The Allied powers accepted the government-in-exile as the legitimate representative of the Polish people soon after it was created. The Polish government allied itself with the Allied powers, as its members believed that only a total military victory over Germany would restore Poland's independence and freedom. The government-in-exile led the Polish war effort throughout World War II, and amassed its own land, air, and naval forces. In addition, it commanded the largest underground army of the war, the Armia Krajowa (the Polish Home Army). In 1942, reports about the mass murder of Jews in Poland reached London. At that point, the Polish government-in-exile made several public declarations on the subject, and officially demanded that the Allied powers stop the Germans from continuing their campaign to murder Jews, and other individuals they deemed undesirable. From December 1942 onward, the government-in-exile backed the rescue work of Zegota, which offered aid to Jews throughout occupied Poland.

Archival History

Instytut Polski i Muzeum im. Gen. Sikorskiego w Londynie

Acquisition

Forms part of the Claims Conference International Holocaust Documentation Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This archive consists of documentation whose reproduction and/or acquisition was made possible with funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Source of acquisition is the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London, England, created by the Polish Government in Exile, records of the Polish Consulate General in London, A.42. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received the digitized collection via the United States Holocaust Museum International Archives Programs in October 2010.

Scope and Content

Contains selected records of the Polish Consulate General in London of the Polish Government in Exile relating to deprivation of the Polish citizenship 1938-1944, deserters (mainly Jews), passport matters, Polish citizens in foreign armies (Foreign Legion), polices towards Jews in different countries, major Jewish political and social organizations in UK. Includes list of recruits (many Jews), lists of Polish citizens including Jews interned or imprisoned by the British, copies of dispatches, correspondence with the Polish Jewish Refugee Found, correspondence with the Rabbi Union and the Council of Polish Jews in UK, the Federation of Polish Jews in UK and other Polish-Jewish organizations, refugees in Jamaica and India, statistics and name lists of refugees , the matter of citizenship, individual cases concerning Jewish recruits, applications for dismissal from the army, etc. The Consul General of the Polish Consulate General in London was Karol Poznański (1934-1945).

Conditions Governing Reproduction

Copyright Holder: Instytut Polski i Muzeum im. Gen. Sikorskiego w Londynie

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.