Polish Embassy in London Ambasada Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Londynie (A.12)

Contains selected records of the Polish Embassy of the Polish government-in-exile in London relating to political relations with European countries, aid for the Warsaw ghetto uprising, deportation of Jews from the territories annexed by Germany, evacuation of Poles and Jews from the USSR, international aid for Polish civilians, situation in Poland under Soviet and German occupation, Polish prisoners of war, desertion of Jews from the Polish Army, 1944-1945, contacts with Jewish organizations in England, as well as other Jewish affairs. Documentation comprises correspondence, reports and speeches of the Ambassador Raczyński, Prime Minister St. Mikołajczyk and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, T. Romer, and other officials, and reports from a camp Miranda de Ebro, Czerniowce and the Eastern Małopolska (Poland). Copyright Holder: Instytut Polski i Muzeum im. Gen. Sikorskiego w Londynie Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie (Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile) was established after Germany and the Soviet Union occupied Poland in September 1939. The Polish government-in-exile was first based in Paris, but moved to London after the French army surrendered to the Germans in the mid-1940s. The Allied powers accepted the government-in-exile as the legitimate representative of the Polish people soon after it was created. The Polish government allied itself with the Allied powers, as its members believed that only a total military victory over Germany would restore Poland's independence and freedom. The government-in-exile led the Polish war effort throughout World War II, and amassed its own land, air, and naval forces. In addition, it commanded the largest underground army of the war, the Armia Krajowa (the Polish Home Army). In 1942, reports about the mass murder of Jews in Poland reached London. At that point, the Polish government-in-exile made several public declarations on the subject, and officially demanded that the Allied powers stop the Germans from continuing their campaign to murder Jews, and other individuals they deemed undesirable. From December 1942 onward, the government-in-exile backed the rescue work of Zegota, which offered aid to Jews throughout occupied Poland.