M.2 - Archive of Itzhak Schwarzbart, member of the Polish Government-in-Exile in London, 1939-1958

M.2 - Archive of Itzhak Schwarzbart, member of the Polish Government-in-Exile in London, 1939-1958
 
 Dr. Itzhak Ignacy Schwarzbart was born in Chrzanow, Poland, in 1888. He studied to be a lawyer and began his legal career in 1913. He served as the Assistant Editor-in-Chief of a daily newspaper that appeared in Krakow, 1921-1925, while writing for other daily newspapers as well. During the period between World War I and World War II, he served as a representative at Zionist Congresses and was active in the Jewish faction in the Krakow Municipal Council and the leadership of the Jewish community. In 1931, he played a decisive role in the formation of Group B of the Union of General Zionists. In November 1938, Schwarzbart was elected to the Polish Sejm (lower house of parliament) as a representative of the Krakow district. Following the German occupation of Poland in September 1939, Schwarzbart left Poland together with ministers of the Polish government, moving first to Romania, and from there to France, where the Polish Government-in-Exile was established in December 1939 and Schwarzbart was appointed as a member of the Polish National Council in exile. After the surrender of France in July 1940, Schwarzbart moved to London along with the other ministers of the Government-in-Exile. Schwarzbart served as a member of the Polish Jewish Representation from the day it was founded in October 1940. Additionally, in January 1940, Schwarzbart established the "Committee On Behalf of Polish Jewish Affairs", which changed its name to the "Organizing Committee of the Polish Jewish Representation", in March 1940. From his office Schwarzbart also worked as a member of the Office of the National Council of the Polish Republic while serving as representative of the Delegation of Polish Jewry. In addition to his cooperation with the Jewish Agency, the World Zionist Congress and other Jewish organizations, Schwarzbart also worked with the refugees in Britain. As a result of this activity, he was appointed as Chairman of the Nachum Sokolov Zionist Council in Europe.
 
 The record group contains the archives from Schwarzbart's office from 1940-1946. It consists of Dr. Schwarzbart's correspondence with Jewish and Polish institutions, protocols, reports from the Government Delegation for Poland (the representatives of the Polish Government-in-Exile in Occupied Poland), reports of the Polish Jewish Representation including testimonies of Jewish refugees from occupied Poland, texts of radio broadcasts Schwarzbart prepared for the BBC, material regarding the plight of the Jews in occupied Poland as well as Dr. Schwarzbart's diary from January 1940-December 1947 which dealt mainly with the condition of the Jews of Occupied Poland, resistance, extermination of the Jews, rescue activities, anti-Semitism in the Polish Army and more.
 
 Dr. Isaac (Ignacy) Schwarzbart's archives were submitted to Yad Vashem in 1962. Approximately one quarter of the material was already arranged in 200 files; the rest was loose and disorganized. Work on the archive was essentially a reconstruction of the original structure. The changes that were introduced consisted mainly of numbering the files within each section consecutively.