Overview of the Wacław Stachiewicz papers

Finding aid prepared by Hoover Institution Library and Archives Staff

Hoover Institution Library and Archives

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Stanford University

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Title: Wacław Stachiewicz papers

Date (inclusive): 1926-2003

Collection Number: 2017C15

Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives

Language of Material: Polish

Physical Description: 9 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder (2.1 Linear Feet)

Abstract: Writings, notes, correspondence, government documents, and printed matter relating to Polish participation in World War II and to Polish émigré affairs.

Creator: Stachiewicz, Wacław, 1894-1973

Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Access

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Use

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Acquisition Information

Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2016.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Wacław Stachiewicz papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Biographical Note

Wacław Stachiewicz was born in Lwów (now Lviv in the Ukraine), a large Polish city in Austrian Galicia, the south of the country occupied by the Habsburgs since 1772. He graduated from a local gimnazjum and went on to study geology at the Polish University of Lwów. During this time, he was a member of Polish patriotic and paramilitary organizations. When World War I broke out in 1914, he joined the Polish legions, which, under the command of Józef Piłsudski, were fighting Russia on the side of Austria. When the Habsburg monarchy failed to live up to its promises to help in the restoration of an independent Poland, Stachiewicz deserted the Austrian side and joined the Polish armed underground in central Poland.

After Poland regained its independence in November 1918, Stachiewicz advanced rapidly in the military. He participated with distinction in the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, which stopped the Soviet advance into Europe. During 1921–24 he studied in the École Supérieure de Guerre in Paris. After returning to Poland, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and given successive commands of infantry regiments. In 1935 he was appointed brigadier general and chief of staff of the Polish armed forces. He supervised the restructuring and modernization of the army, establishing more efficient mobilization procedures and strategic plans in the event of war with Russia and Germany. Stachiewicz was largely responsible for Poland's defensive preparations and the subsequent armed response to the invading armies of Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia in September 1939, the first month of World War II.

General Stachiewicz was in Warsaw when the war began. He later moved east with his staff to avoid being cut off in the capital. After the Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland, Stachiewicz crossed into Romania, along with the Polish government, where he was interned. He escaped in 1940 and made his way to Algeria, where he was interned again, this time by the French. Stachiewicz was eventually able to make his way to London, but the Polish government in exile there refused his services. After the war, Stachiewicz moved to Montreal, Canada. There he devoted his time to research and writing about Poland's preparations for war. He also assisted his wife, Wanda, in organizing the Polish Library at McGill University. General Stachiewicz died and was buried in Montreal in 1973.

Scope and Content of Collection

Writings, notes, correspondence, government documents, and printed matter relating to Polish participation in World War II and to Polish émigré affairs.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Poland -- Emigration and immigration

World War, 1939-1945 -- Poland

Poland. Polskie Siły Zbrojne