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The Government Delegation for Poland ( pl, Delegatura Rządu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na Kraj) was an agency of the
Polish Government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
during World War II. It was the highest authority of the Polish Secret State in
occupied Poland ' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 Octobe ...
and was headed by the Government Delegate for Poland, a ''de facto'' deputy Polish Prime Minister.Delegatura Rządu na Kraj
at ''Encyklopedia WIEM''
The Government Delegation for Poland was intended as the first provisional government of war torn Poland until the Exiled Polish Government could safely return from abroad to a liberated Poland.


History

Initially there were two Delegations formed, one for the Polish areas annexed by Germany, and one for the
General Government The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...
. A delegate for the Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union was never appointed. From 1942, power was consolidated and there was only one delegate chosen, in the rank of deputy prime minister. He in turn had 6 deputies for each of the regions, whose responsibilities were further delegated to
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
-level officers. In July 1944 the delegate's three deputies were promoted to ministers, and a Home Council of Ministers ('' Krajowa Rada Ministrów'') was created. The Home Council became the local counterpart of the
Polish Government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
. The Delegation's political body was the
Political Consultative Committee Political Consultative Committee ( pl, Polityczny Komitet Porozumiewawczy, ''PKP'') was the beginning of the political arm of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland during World War II. It was formed on 26 February 1940 by several Polish polit ...
('' Polityczny Komitet Porozumiewawczy''), a council comprising 4 main political parties. On 21 March 1943 it was renamed the
Home Political Representation Home Political Representation ( pl, Krajowa Reprezentacja Polityczna, ''KRP'') was the representation of the four major Polish political parties continuing their activities underground ( PPS-WRN, SL, SN and Labor Party). It was the political arm ...
('' Krajowa Reprezentacja Polityczna'') and became an underground coalition parliament, comprising members of the
Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...
, National Party, People's Party and Labor Party. It became the controlling body of the Delegation and the Headquarters of the
Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) es ...
(''Armia Krajowa''). On 9 January 1944 it was turned into a
Council of National Unity Rada Jedności Narodowej (''Council of National Unity'', RJN) was the quasi-parliament of the Polish Underground State during World War II. It was created by the Government Delegate on 9 January 1944. History Originally the political arm of the ...
(''Rada Jedności Narodowej''), the
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
of underground Poland. During
Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest ( pl, akcja „Burza”, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home ...
, in 1944, the Council's local representatives and local
Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) es ...
commanders, as the representatives of the legitimate Polish government and the Polish Army, emerged from underground and welcomed the advancing
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
. Despite several instances of successful cooperation with the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, most of the Polish representatives and commanders were soon arrested by the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
and sent to Russian prisons or to the
Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...
. During the
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...
, the central Government Delegation for Poland likewise came out of hiding and began acting officially as the Polish parliament in the liberated areas of Poland. After the Uprising's suppression, most of the Delegation's members left Warsaw with the civilian population and managed to evade the Germans. However, contact with local branches in Soviet- and German-occupied areas was broken. In February 1945, the Government Delegation including most members of the
Council of National Unity Rada Jedności Narodowej (''Council of National Unity'', RJN) was the quasi-parliament of the Polish Underground State during World War II. It was created by the Government Delegate on 9 January 1944. History Originally the political arm of the ...
and the
Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) es ...
Commander-in-Chief, were invited by Soviet General Ivan Serov to a conference on their eventual inclusion in the Soviet-backed Provisional Government. They were promised
safe conduct Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...
beforehand but immediately arrested by the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
, and brought to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, where they were brutally tortured for several months and tried in a staged Trial of the Sixteen. All perished.The Moscow Trial of the 16 Polish Leaders
, ''Liberty Publications'',
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, 1945, 24 pages with 2 ill.
Meanwhile, in Poland, the Delegation was reconstructed and continued in its duties until finally disbanded on 1 July 1945.


Departments

The Delegation's activities encompassed all areas of organized society. It comprised 12 branches, roughly corresponding to the ministries of the
Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
in London. #Internal Affairs #* Security of the Delegation #* Provisional Administration - shadow administration to take over the administrational duties after liberation or during an all-national uprising #*
Państwowy Korpus Bezpieczeństwa Państwowy Korpus Bezpieczeństwa ( Polish for "National Security Corps", abbreviated ''PKB''; sometimes also called ''Kadra Bezpieczeństwa'') was a Polish underground police force organized under German occupation during World War II by the P ...
-underground police #* Council to Aid the Jews #* preparing reports on the situation in occupied Poland # Information and Press #* providing the society with news from abroad #* propaganda #* printing Rzeczpospolita, the official organ of the Office # Labour and Social Affairs #* cooperation with
Polish Red Cross Polish Red Cross ( pl, Polski Czerwony Krzyż, abbr. PCK) is the Polish member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Its 19th-century roots may be found in the Russian and Austrian Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonw ...
and Central Welfare Council # Education and Culture #* Organisation of the Underground schools and universities # Industry and Trade # Agriculture # Justice # Liquidation of the Effects of the War # Public Works and Reconstruction # Treasury # Post Offices and Telegraphs # Communications Near the end of the war, Departments of Foreign Affairs and of War Matters were created, but they have not played any significant role. Other notable units and bureaus included: * Bureau of the Newly Acquired Lands ( Polish ''Biuro Ziem Nowych'') ** Established 1942. The Bureau's main task was to document the Polish claims on German lands east of the
Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows ...
river and the area of
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
as well as planning of their post-war development. Despite the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
agreement to grant
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
with the lands east of the
Oder–Neisse line The Oder–Neisse line (german: Oder-Neiße-Grenze, pl, granica na Odrze i Nysie Łużyckiej) is the basis of most of the international border between Germany and Poland from 1990. It runs mainly along the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers a ...
, the plans of the bureau were never fulfilled since most of its workers were arrested by the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
and sent to
Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...
s across Russia (see, however, Recovered Territories). * '' Kierownictwo Walki Cywilnej'' (''Directorate of Civil Resistance'') (since 1941) With regard to territorial structure, there were: * in
General Government The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...
: ** Regional Delegation for
Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the ban ...
** Regional Delegation for
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
** Regional Delegation for
Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...
** Regional Delegation for
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
-City ** Regional Delegation for
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
-
voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...
* in the Polish territories annexed by Nazi Germany: ** Regional Delegation for Ciechanów ** Regional Delegation for
Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...
** Regional Delegation for Pomorze (Pomerania) in
Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
** Regional Delegation for
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...
** Regional Delegation for Śląsk (Silesia) in
Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popu ...
* in the Polish territories annexed by the Soviet Union: ** Regional Delegation for
Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok U ...
** Regional Delegation for
Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
(Lviv) ** Regional Delegation for Nowogródek (Navahrudak) ** Regional Delegation for
Polesie Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...
** Regional Delegation for
Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...
(Vilnius) ** Regional Delegation for Wołyń (Volhynia)


See also

*
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
*
Participants in World War II 500px, , thumb Almost every country in the world participated in World War II. Most were neutral at the beginning, but only a relatively few nations remained neutral to the end. The Second World War pitted two alliances against each other, the ...
* List of Government Delegates for Poland * Armed Forces Delegation for Poland


References

* * *Grzegorz Ostasz
The Polish Government-in-Exile's Home Delegature
{{Authority control Poland in World War II Polish Underground State