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Poland. Ambasada (Great Britain) records
45013  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Use
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Alternative Form Available
  • Introductory Note
  • Scope and Contents

  • Title: Poland. Ambasada (Great Britain) records
    Date (inclusive): 1918-1945
    Collection Number: 45013
    Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
    Language of Material: Mainly in Polish
    Physical Description: 134 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder (55.9 Linear Feet)
    Abstract: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial records, studies, conference proceedings, printed matter, and photographs, relating to Anglo-Polish relations, especially relations between Great Britain and the Polish government-in-exile in London during World War II; Anglo-Polish trade; Polish foreign policy and participation in the League of Nations during the interwar period; conditions in Poland during World War II; and wartime activities of the Polish government-in-exile. A digital copy of this entire collection is available at https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/zespol/-/zespol/22832 .
    Creator: Poland. Ambasada (Great Britain)
    Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

    Access

    A digital copy of this entire collection is available at https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/zespol/-/zespol/22832 . 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

    Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1984.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Poland. Ambasada (Great Britain) records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

    Alternative Form Available

    Also available on microfilm (163 reels).
    Digital copy in Poland's National Digital Archive at https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/zespol/-/zespol/22832 . It was digitized from microfilm by the Polish State Archives.

    Introductory Note

    Poland and Great Britain established formal diplomatic relations in February 1919. During the decade that followed Poland was represented in London by an envoy in the rank of minister and, since November 1929, by an ambassador. The following diplomats were the Second Polish Republic's chief representatives in Great Britain:
    • Eustachy Sapieha: 1919-1920
    • Jan Ciechanowski: 1920-1921
    • Wladyslaw Wroblewski: 1921-1922
    • Konstanty Skirmunt: 1922-1929
    • Edward Raczynski: 1934-1945
    The archives of the Polish embassy in Great Britain shared the turbulent history of Poland. A large portion of the embassy's archives was tranferred to Warsaw during the 1930's. Part of this documentation was destroyed during the war. The surviving 22 linear meters are now held in the Contemporary Records Archives (Archiwum Akt Nowych) in Warsaw, and are described in a detailed published inventory. Most of the embassy archives remaining in London were evacuated to Canada and the United States during the early years of the war on orders of Count Edward Raczynski who, during 1941-1943, was both Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador in London. In July 1945 the United States and Great Britain abandoned their Polish ally, withdrawing recognition from the London-based Polish government in exile. To protect the archives from falling into the hands of the representatives of the Soviet-dominated government in Warsaw, Poland's Ambassador in Washington, Jan Ciechanowski, transferred all of the archival collections held in Washington to the Hoover Institution. The Ciechanowski deposit included the archives of the Polish embassies in Washington, Moscow-Kuibyshev, and London. The Hoover part of the archives of the Polish embassy in Great Britain occupies 133 manuscript boxes or about 17 linear meters. What remained in London, about 6 linear meters, has been preserved in the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum. The Polish Institute's holdings also include the papers of Edward Raczynski and Jan Ciechanowski.
    by Maciej Siekierski

    June 1998

    Scope and Contents

    This collection contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial records, studies, conference proceedings, printed matter, and photographs, relating to Anglo-Polish relations, especially relations between Great Britain and the Polish government-in-exile in London during World War II; Anglo-Polish trade; Polish foreign policy and participation in the League of Nations during the interwar period; conditions in Poland during World War II; and wartime activities of the Polish government-in-exile. Includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, notes, financial studies, and other material from the office of the Commercial Counsellor at the Polish Embassy in London, and from the League of Nations.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Poland -- History -- Occupation, 1939-1945
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Diplomatic history
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Poland
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Governments in exile
    Poland -- Foreign relations -- 1918-1945
    Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- Poland
    Poland -- Foreign relations -- Great Britain
    Great Britain -- Commerce -- Poland
    Poland -- Commerce -- Great Britain
    League of Nations