Poland. Ambasada (United States) records, 1918-1956

Summary

Creators:

Poland. Ambasada (U.S.)

Abstract:

Reports, correspondence, bulletins, communiques, memoranda, dispatches, and instructions, speeches and writings, and printed matter, relating to the establishment of the Republic of Poland; the Polish-Soviet War of 1920; Polish politics and foreign relations; national minorities in Poland; the territorial question of Danzig, Memel, the Polish Corridor, and Galicia; the Polish emigration abroad; Poland during World War II; and the Polish Government-in-Exile in London. A digital copy of this entire collection is available at https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/zespol/-/zespol/24339.

Extent:

111 manuscript boxes (46.2 Linear Feet)

Language:

Polish

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Poland. Ambasada (United States) Records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains reports, correspondence, bulletins, communiques, memoranda, dispatches, and instructions, speeches and writings, and printed matter, relating to the establishment of the Republic of Poland; the Polish-Soviet War of 1920; Polish politics and foreign relations; national minorities in Poland; the territorial question of Danzig, Memel, the Polish Corridor, and Galicia; the Polish emigration abroad; Poland during World War II; and the Polish Government-in-Exile in London. Includes correspondence, memoranda, and speeches and writings of Ambassador Jan Ciechanowski and his office, despatches sent by the Polish Ambassador and his office to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and instructions sent by the Ministry to the Ambassador and his office. Includes reports sent by the Embassy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as reports received by the Embassy from the Ministry, other Polish consular and diplomatic posts, Polish government offices, and various other governmental bodies.

Acquisition information:

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1976.

Physical location:

Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Alternative form available:

Also available on microfilm (139 reels).

Digital copy in Poland's National Digital Archive at https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/zespol/-/zespol/24339. It was digitized from microfilm by the Polish State Archives.

Other descriptive data:

The United States and Poland established formal diplomatic relations in January 1919, a month ahead of the other Allied powers. During the next eleven years Poland was represented in Washington by an envoy in the rank of minister and, since January 1930, by an ambassador. The following diplomats were the Second Polish Republic's chief representatives in the United States:

The archives of the Polish embassy in the United States fared better than those of other Polish diplomatic posts. Most of the embassy's files were tranferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archives during the 1930's. There about 38 linear meters survived World War II. This collection is now held in the Contemporary Records Archives (Archiwum Akt Nowych) in Warsaw. The rest of the embassy's records, as well as those generated during the war, remained in Washington until July 1945. When the United States withdrew its recognition from the London-based Polish government in exile, the Second Republic's Ambassador to the United States, Jan Ciechanowski, decided to protect all of the archival collections held in Washington from falling into the hands of the Soviet-sponsored government in Warsaw by transferring them to the Hoover Institution. The Hoover collection of the Polish embassy in Washington, supplemented by some related later emigre files and printed matter, occupies 111 manuscript boxes or about 14 linear meters. Ambassador Jan Ciechanowski's personal collection is held in the Archives of the Polish Institute and the Sikorski Museum in London.

Maciej Siekierski
June 1998

Indexed terms

Subjects:

World War, 1939-1945 -- Diplomatic history
World War, 1939-1945 -- Poland
World War, 1939-1945 -- Governments in exile
Minorities -- Poland

Places:

United States -- Foreign relations -- Poland
Poland -- Foreign relations -- United States
Poland -- Politics and government -- 1918-1945
Poland -- Emigration and immigration
Poland -- History -- Occupation, 1939-1945
Poland -- History -- Wars of 1918-1921
Poland -- Foreign relations -- 1918-1945
Galicia (Poland and Ukraine)
Gdańsk (Poland)
Klaipėda (Lithuania)
Poland -- Boundaries

Restrictions:

A digital copy of this entire collection is available at https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/zespol/-/zespol/24339. 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.

Terms of access:

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

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Poland. Ambasada (United States) Records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:

Hoover Institution

Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US

Contact:

(650) 723-3563

hooverarchives@stanford.edu

Website