Register of the Poland. Konsulat Generalny (New York, N.Y.) Records

Prepared by Zbigniew L. Stanczyk

Hoover Institution Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, California 94305-6010

Phone: (650) 723-3563

Fax: (650) 725-3445

Email: hooverarchives@stanford.edu

Register of the Poland. Konsulat Generalny (New York, N.Y.) Records

Hoover Institution Archives

Stanford University

Stanford, California

Contact Information

Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Phone: (650) 723-3563
Fax: (650) 725-3445
Email: hooverarchives@stanford.edu

Prepared by:: Zbigniew L. Stanczyk
Date Completed:: 2000
Encoded by:: ByteManagers using OAC finding aid conversion service specifications

Descriptive Summary

Title: Poland. Konsulat Generalny (New York, N.Y.) records,

Date (inclusive): 1940-1948

Collection number: 76004

Creator: Poland. Konsulat Generalny (New York, N.Y.)

Collection Size: 7 manuscript boxes (2.8 linear feet)

Repository: Hoover Institution Archives

Stanford, California 94305-6010

Abstract: Correspondence, telegrams, memoranda, reports, agreements, minutes, histories, financial records, lists, press summaries, photographs, and printed matter, relating to the German and Soviet occupation of Poland during World War II, activities of the Polish Government-in-Exile (London), and displaced Polish citizens after World War II.

Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives

Language: Polish.

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for research.

The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible.

Publication Rights

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Poland. Konsulat Generalny (New York, N.Y.) records, [Box no.], Hoover Institution Archives.

Acquisition Information

Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 1976.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find the collection in Stanford University's online catalog at http://searchworks.stanford.edu/ . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in the online catalog is larger than the number of boxes listed in this finding aid.

Historical Note

Polish Consulate General in New York City.

Scope and Content Note

The records of the Polish Consulate General in New York (Konsulat Generalny Rzeczpospolitej w Nowym Jorku) were obtained by the Hoover Institution in 1976 from the family of Consul General Sylwin Strakacz, three years after his death.

The New York Consulate was the first Polish diplomatic post on American soil after Poland regained its independence. It opened on August 1, 1918, much before the Polish Embassy in Washington and shortly before the San Francisco Consulate did (the latter remained open only for a short time, to facilitate the transfer of Poles remaining in Siberia). The New York office played a significant role, but these records deal mostly with civic and administrative affairs, not political ones.

What could be of particular interest to researchers are the efforts of the Polish diplomats in organizing relief among Polish Americans for their compatriots released from the Siberian camps in 1941, as well as the assistance to Polish prisoners of war in Germany throughout the war. From the same period, one will also find interesting documents on Polish-Soviet relations and on Polish-Jewish cooperation in the United States.

The collection is a good illustration of confusion among Polish diplomats in 1944-1945, caused by uncertainty about the future of their homeland and, subsequently, by the loss of recognition internationally (see the correspondence of Sylwin Strakacz with Tadeusz Gwiazdowski and Jan Ciechanowski, the Polish ambassador). One of the first posts of Poland's diplomatic network, the New York Consulate was also one of the first to fall, in 1945, to the communist takeover.

Some materials in the collection date from beyond the consulate's closing year. Since they related to the subject of Polish post-war politics, they were added to the consular records by Mr. Strakacz, who stayed in the United States after 1945 and remained active in émigré circles.

It is difficult to determine if the New York Consulate used the uniform system of classification recommended by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Very likely, the order in which the documents came to the Hoover Institution was established by Mr. Strakacz himself.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the repository's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Poles--United States.

World War, 1939-1945.

World War, 1939-1945--Poland.

New York (State)

New York (N.Y.)

Poland.

Poland--Foreign relations--Soviet Union.

Poland--History--Occupation, 1939-1945.

Soviet Union.

Russia (Federation)

Soviet Union--Foreign relations--Poland.

Poland--Foreign relations--United States.

United States--Foreign relations--Poland.

United States--Foreign relations.

Poles--Soviet Union.

Series Description

box 1

Office Files, 1941-1945.

Scope and Content Note

Budget records, receipts, and reports related to personnel affairs, arranged alphabetically by subject

box 1-2

Correspondence, 1941-1949.

Scope and Content Note

Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent. Sylwin Strakacz's correspondence is included here as well under his name, even though he was the consul general for some of the years listed

box 2-3

Reports, 1943-1946.

Scope and Content Note

Reports issued by Polish government agencies on Poland's economy and foreign policy, arranged alphabetically by subject

box 3-5

Subject File, 1941-1948.

Scope and Content Note

Fliers, clippings, brochures, newsletters, programs, reports, resolutions, maps, arranged alphabetically by subject

box 6

Bulletins, 1946-1964.

Scope and Content Note

Bulletins issued by Polish Government-in-exil émigrés in London, Polish émigrés in the United States, and the British and American embassies in Warsaw, arranged alphabetically by alphabetically by title. These bulletins did not originate with the consulate, but were added later to the records by Sylwin Strakacz

box 7

Printed Matter, 1942-1949.

Scope and Content Note

Brochures, programs, and periodicals, arranged alphabetically by title

Container List

Box 1

OFFICE FILES, 1941-1945

General

General, 1941

Box/Folder 1 : 1

May

Box/Folder 1 : 2

September

Budget

Box/Folder 1 : 3

1944 - Receipts

1945

Box/Folder 1 : 4

General

Box/Folder 1 : 5

Receipts

Closing operations, 1945-1946

Box/Folder 1 : 6

General

Box/Folder 1 : 7

Ciechanowski, Jan

Box/Folder 1 : 8

Disciplinary Commission, 1942

Box/Folder 1 : 9

Employees - Personal characteristics, 1945

CORRESPONDENCE, 1941-1949

General

Box/Folder 1 : 10

1941

Box/Folder 1 : 11

1942

Box/Folder 1 : 12

1946

Prisoners of war

Box/Folder 1 : 13

1941

Box/Folder 1 : 14

1942

Box/Folder 1 : 15

Arciszewski, Tomasz, 1945-1946

Box/Folder 1 : 16

Borkowski, E., Captain, 1942-1944

Ciechanowski, Jan

Box/Folder 1 : 17

1942-1944

Box/Folder 1 : 18

1945

Box/Folder 1 : 19

Felerski, Adam, 1943

Box/Folder 1 : 20

Figas, Justyn, 1942

Gwiazdowski,

Box/Folder 1 : 21

1945-1947

Box/Folder 1 : 22

1949

Box/Folder 2 : 1

Interim Treasury Committee for Polish Questions, 1945-1946

Box/Folder 2 : 2

Jachimowicz, A., 1942

Box/Folder 2 : 3

Kosciuszko Foundation, 1940-1941

Box/Folder 2 : 4

Koszarski, Kazimierz, 1942

Box/Folder 2 : 5

Majewski, Kazimierz, 1942

Box/Folder 2 : 6

Marczynski, Dr., 1943

Box/Folder 2 : 7

Mikolajczyk, Stanislaw, 1947

Box/Folder 2 : 8

Paderewski, Ignacy, 1941

Box/Folder 2 : 9

Piskorski, Florian.

Scope and Content Note

Includes correspondence with Alex Habermann re transfer of funds from Swiss account, 1942

Box/Folder 2 : 10

Poland. Ministerstwo Skarbu (Ministry of Finance), 1941-1945

Box/Folder 2 : 11

Polish Women's Alliance of America, 1945-1946

Box/Folder 2 : 12

Pragier, Adam, 1945

Box/Folder 2 : 13

Ripa, Karol, 1943

Box/Folder 2 : 14

Sopicki, Stan, 1945

Strakacz, Sylwin

Box/Folder 2 : 15

1940

Box/Folder 2 : 16

1941

Box/Folder 2 : 17

1942

Box/Folder 2 : 18

1943

Box/Folder 2 : 19

1944

Box/Folder 2 : 20

1945

Box/Folder 2 : 21

1946

Box/Folder 2 : 22

1947

Box/Folder 2 : 23

1957

Box/Folder 2 : 24

Swietlik, F. X., 1941-1943

Box/Folder 2 : 25

Szymczak, M. S., 1942

Box/Folder 2 : 26

Tarnowski, Adam, 1945-1946

Box/Folder 2 : 27

Thackrey, T. O., 1945

Box/Folder 2 : 28

Tysowski, G., 1942

Box/Folder 2 : 29

Zygielbojm, Szmul, 1942

REPORTS, 1943-1946

Poland

Box/Folder 2 : 30

Air transportation, Post-war, 1943

Box/Folder 2 : 31

Cultural losses in World War II, 1944

Box/Folder 2 : 32

Political conditions, 1945-1946

Box/Folder 2 : 33

Polish Americans - Coordinating Committee of Polish American Associations in the East, 1944-1945

Box 3

Polish-Soviet relations, 1943-1946

Box/Folder 3 : 1

Index

Box/Folder 3 : 2

Nos. 1-125

Box/Folder 3 : 3

Nos. 126-215

Box/Folder 3 : 4

Nos. 216-399

SUBJECT FILE, 1941-1948

Boundaries

Box/Folder 3 : 5

Germany

Box/Folder 3 : 6

Soviet Union

Budget - Poland, 1940

Box/Folder 3 : 7

General

Box/Folder 3 : 8

Information and documentation projects

Ministries

Box/Folder 3 : 9

Finance (Ministerstwo Skarbu)

Box/Folder 3 : 10

Foreign Affairs (Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych)

Box/Folder 3 : 11

Justice (Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwosci)

Box/Folder 3 : 12

National Defense (Ministerstwo Spraw Wojskowych)

Box/Folder 3 : 13

Social Welfare (Ministerstwo Opieki Spolecznej)

Box/Folder 3 : 14

President (Prezydent)

Box/Folder 3 : 15

Prime Minister (Prezes Rady Ministrow)

Box/Folder 3 : 16

State Comptroller (Naczelna Izba Kontroli

Box/Folder 3 : 17

State Council (Rada Narodowa)

Box/Folder 3 : 18

State employees

Catholic Church

Box/Folder 3 : 19

General, 1945-1946

Box/Folder 3 : 20

Diplomatic relations with the Communist government of Poland, 1945

Box/Folder 3 : 21

Central European Federation Club, 1946-1947

Box/Folder 3 : 22

Czechoslovakia - Social conditions, 1947

Box/Folder 3 : 23

Espionage - Soviet Union, 1947

Box/Folder 3 : 24

Forced labor - Soviet Union. Map of camps, 1947

Germans

Box/Folder 3 : 25

Poland, 1945

Box/Folder 3 : 26

United States, 1942

Box/Folder 3 : 27

Great Britain. Parliament - Debates on Poland, 1945 August

Box/Folder 3 : 28

Health - Poland, 1945

Box/Folder 3 : 29

International relations. Article by Zenon Slomkowski, 1943

Jews

Box/Folder 3 : 30

Kielce pogrom, 1946

Box/Folder 3 : 31

Palestine

United States

Box/Folder 3 : 32

1942

Box/Folder 3 : 33

1945

Box/Folder 3 : 34

1946

Box/Folder 3 : 35

Liga Morska i Kolonialna. Agreement with Liberia, 1934

Box/Folder 3 : 36

Lithuanian Americans, 1942

Box/Folder 4 : 1

Mikolajczyk, Stanislaw. Clippings, 1947

Paderewski, Ignacy

Box/Folder 4 : 2

General, 1941 and 1947

Box/Folder 4 : 3

Guest book, 1941 January-1945 January.

Scope and Content Note

Contains signatures of prominent Poles visiting estate of Ignacy Paderewski

Poland

Box/Folder 4 : 4

Economic conditions, 1942

History - 1945-

Box/Folder 4 : 5

General, 1945-1948

Box/Folder 4 : 6

Reconstruction, 1945-1948

Politics and government

Box/Folder 4 : 7

1939

Box/Folder 4 : 8

1945

Box/Folder 4 : 9

1946

Box/Folder 4 : 10

1947

Poland. Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Box/Folder 4 : 11

List of Polish consular offices in 1946

Box/Folder 4 : 12

Resolutions after withdrawal of recognition, 1945

Box/Folder 4 : 13

Poland. Polskie Centrum Informacyjne (New York)

Box/Folder 4 : 14

Polish American Congress.

Note