Herman Lieberman (4 January 1870 – 21 October 1941) was a
Polish lawyer and socialist politician.
Life
Lieberman was born into a
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish family in
Drohobycz
Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hro ...
,
Galicia, then part of
Austro-Hungary. From 1907 to 1914 and from 1917 to 1918, he was a member of parliament in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he joined the
Polish Legions of
Józef Piłsudski
Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...
as a private. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and took part in the
Battle of Kostiuchnówka
The Battle of Kostiuchnówka was a World War I battle that took place July 4–6, 1916, near the village of Kostiuchnówka (Kostyukhnivka) and the Styr River in the Volhynia region of modern Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. It was ...
, for which he was awarded the
Polish Cross of Valor. During the
Oath crisis, when Polish troops refused to swear allegiance to Emperor
Wilhelm II of Germany
, house = Hohenzollern
, father = Frederick III, German Emperor
, mother = Victoria, Princess Royal
, religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United)
, signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...
, Lieberman served as the lawyer for the Polish soldiers who were charged with treason by the German authorities.
After World War I Lieberman became a leader 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' ...
(''PPS''), serving on its executive committee. In January 1919 he became a member of the Polish ''
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...
'' (parliament). In 1923 he successfully defended the
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
workers charged in the aftermath of the
1923 Kraków riot.
After the
May 1926 ''Coup d'État, he opposed Piłsudski. He was arrested and beaten by the police and then sentenced in the 1931–32
Brest trials to two and a half year in prison. Rather than serving the sentence he emigrated to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. While abroad he supported the republican cause in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
and published a critical response to
Marcel Déat
Marcel Déat (7 March 1894 – 5 January 1955) was a French politician. Initially a socialist and a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), he led a breakaway group of right-wing ' Neosocialists' out of the SFIO in 1933 ...
's pamphlet ''
Why Die for Danzig?
''Why Die for Danzig?'' (french: Pourquoi mourir pour Dantzig?) is an anti-war French political slogan created on the eve of World War II.
Article
The phrase originated in the title of an article ("Mourir pour Dantzig?") by the French Neo-Social ...
'' which advocated appeasement of
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
.
During
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, after the 1939
German invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...
, Lieberman joined
Władysław Sikorski
Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader.
Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish i ...
's
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
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 ...
, England. From 3 September 1941 to 20 October 1941, Lieberman was the government's minister of justice.
He died in 1941.
Award
In 1941 Lieberman was posthumously awarded Poland's highest
decoration, the
Order of the White Eagle, by the President of the Government in Exile
Władysław Raczkiewicz
Władysław Raczkiewicz (; 28 January 1885 – 6 June 1947) was a Polish politician, lawyer, diplomat and President of Poland- in-exile from 1939 until his death in 1947. Until 1945, he was the internationally recognized Polish head of st ...
, in recognition of his exceptional services to
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 ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieberman, Herman
1870 births
1941 deaths
People from Drohobych
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Ukrainian Jews
Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe)
Jewish Austro-Hungarian politicians
Jewish Polish politicians
Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia politicians
Polish Socialist Party politicians
Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1907–1911)
Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1911–1918)
Members of the Legislative Sejm of the Second Polish Republic
Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1922–1927)
Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930)
Jewish socialists
Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International
Justice ministers of Poland
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)