Polish Consulate General in London Konsulat Generalny Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Londynie (A.42)

Contains selected records of the Polish Consulate General in London of the Polish Government in Exile relating to deprivation of the Polish citizenship 1938-1944, deserters (mainly Jews), passport matters, Polish citizens in foreign armies (Foreign Legion), polices towards Jews in different countries, major Jewish political and social organizations in UK. Includes list of recruits (many Jews), lists of Polish citizens including Jews interned or imprisoned by the British, copies of dispatches, correspondence with the Polish Jewish Refugee Found, correspondence with the Rabbi Union and the Council of Polish Jews in UK, the Federation of Polish Jews in UK and other Polish-Jewish organizations, refugees in Jamaica and India, statistics and name lists of refugees , the matter of citizenship, individual cases concerning Jewish recruits, applications for dismissal from the army, etc. The Consul General of the Polish Consulate General in London was Karol Poznański (1934-1945). 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.